Automations

Automations are our built-in, behaviour-triggered messages — sent via email/SMS — that keep subscribers informed, engaged, and rewarded throughout your referral campaign. ReferralHero offers 14 powerful automations out of the box (the most in the industry), with more coming soon.

Welcome Automations

Sent to new subscribers based on their referral status and your campaign’s conversion goal.

Message	Subscriber Type	Description
Verification Message	Organic & Referred (based on setting)	Sent to subscribers to verify their email or phone number.
Welcome Message	Organic Only	Sent to subscribers who have not been referred when they are added to your campaign.
Referral Welcome Message	Referred Only	Sent to referrals if your campaign tracks only one conversion event, or when they complete the final conversion event in a multi-step campaign.
Pending Welcome Message	Referred Only	Sent to referrals after completing the first conversion event in a campaign that tracks two or three events.
Follow-Up Message	Organic & Referred	Sent to subscribers after a set amount of time (e.g., 6 hours) after signup.
Activation Message	Organic & Referred	Sent to subscribers who haven’t referred anyone after a set time (e.g., every 30 days).
Quick Add Invitation Message	Referred Only	Sent to referrals added through the Quick Add feature.

Participation Automations

Triggered when advocates actively participate by referring others.

Message	Subscriber Type	Description
First Referral Message	Any	Sent to advocates when they refer their first friend.
Referral Message	Any	Sent to advocates when they generate a referral, except the first (which triggers the First Referral Message).
Referral Visitor Message	Any	Sent to advocates when a unique referred visitor clicks their referral link.
Milestone Message	Any	Sent to advocates when they reach a specific number of referrals (e.g., 5 referrals).
Reminder Message	Any	Sent to advocates who haven’t referred anyone in a while (e.g., 30 days since last referral).

Reward Automations

Triggered when a subscriber qualifies for or is manually given a reward.

Message	Subscriber Type	Discription
Reward Message	Any	Sent when a subscriber unlocks a reward. One message per reward, unless rewards are grouped (then one message for the group).
Promoted Reward Message	Any	Sent when a subscriber is manually promoted via the dashboard or API.

Email Modes

ReferralHero offers two modes for creating email automations:

1. Basic Mode A simplified mode for fast editing. You can modify text and add personalization using merge tags — but layout and styling options are limited.

2. Advanced Mode Advanced Mode gives you full design flexibility. You can either:

   1. Use one of ReferralHero’s 4 built-in templates, and customize the content using the visual editor, or

   2. Write your own email using custom HTML.

Custom HTML

If you're using Advanced Mode, you can insert your own custom HTML layout and styles.

To use your custom HTML:

Step 1: In the "Select email template" section, choose No template if you want a completely blank starting point.

Step 2: Click the Source code button (second from the right in the toolbar).

Step 3: Paste your HTML code into the popup and save your changes.

Merge Tags

A merge tag looks like a snippet of text. ReferralHero replaces that text with the dynamic content the merge tag refers to, like the person name or email.

This is the complete list of available merge tags:

Merge tag	Description
%name%	Subscriber's name
%email%	Subscriber's email address
%crypto_wallet_address%	Subscriber's Crypto wallet address
%phone_number%	Subscriber's phone number
%confirmation_link%	Quick add invitiation email confirmation link
%referrer%	Referrer's name if present otherwise Referrer's email address
%reward_value%	Reward value
%referral_code%	Subscriber's unique referral code
%position%	Subscriber's position in list (Eg: 5)
%position_ordinal%	Subscriber's position in list in ordinal number (Eg: 5th)
%people_ahead%	Number of people ahead in the queue
%referral_link%	Subscriber's referral link
%total_referred%	Subscriber's total number of referrals
%subscriber_id%	Subscriber's id.
%coupon%	A unique random coupon code from a Coupon Group of your choice
%group_payout_reward_value%	Group payout reward value
%tremendous_reward_link%	A unique Tremendous reward link.
%facebook_link%	Referral link with source set to "Facebook"
%facebook_icon%	Facebook icon with a link to share on Facebook.
%facebook_share_link%	Facebook link to share via Facebook.
%twitter_link%	Referral link with source set to "Twitter"
%twitter_icon%	Twitter icon with a link to share on Twitter.
%twitter_share_link%	Twitter link to share via Twitter.
%email_link%	Referral link with source set to "Email"
%email_icon%	Email icon with a link to share via email.
%email_share_link%	Email link to share via email.
%whatsapp_link%	Referral link with source set to "Whatsapp"
%whatsapp_icon%	Whatsapp icon with a link to share on Whatsapp.
%whatsapp_share_link%	Whatsapp link to share via Whatsapp.
%facebook_messenger_link%	Referral link with source set to "Facebook Messenger"
%facebook_messenger_icon%	Facebook Messenger icon with a link to share on Facebook Messenger.
%facebook_messenger_share_link%	Facebook Messenger link to share via Facebook Messenger.
%linkedin_link%	Referral link with source set to "Linkedin"
%linkedin_icon%	Linkedin icon with a link to share on Linkedin.
%linkedin_share_link%	Linkedin link to share via Linkedin.
%reddit_link%	Referral link with source set to "Reddit"
%reddit_icon%	Reddit icon with a link to share on Reddit.
%reddit_share_link%	Reddit link to share via Reddit.
%telegram_link%	Referral link with source set to "Telegram"
%telegram_icon%	Telegram icon with a link to share on Telegram.
%telegram_share_link%	Telegram link to share via Telegram.
%line_link%	Referral link with source set to "Line"
%line_icon%	Line icon with a link to share on Line.
%line_share_link%	Line link to share via Line.
%advocate_dashboard%	Link to the advocate's dashboard
%advocate_first_name%	Advocate's first name
%advocate_last_name%	Advocate's last name
%extra_field%	Subscriber's extra field 1
%extra_field_2%	Subscriber's extra field 2
%extra_field_3%	Subscriber's extra field 3
%extra_field_4%	Subscriber's extra field 4
%first_name%	Subscriber's first name
%last_name%	Subscriber's last name
%last_referral_name%	Name of last referral
%referral%	Referrals for which reward/automation is unlocked
%total_positions%	Total positions in the list

Test Message

ReferralHero allows you to send test messages — for both email/SMS — before launching your automation.

To send a test:

• Scroll to the bottom of the automation editor.

• Enter an email address or phone number.

• Click Send Test Email/SMS.

ReferralHero will send the latest saved version of your message, so make sure to save your work before sending a test.