Skip to main content
Running a time-bound campaign is a proven way to boost referrals during specific periods, such as holidays, sales events, or product launches.

​
Define Your Promotion

​
Your Special Offer

Design an offer more compelling than your usual referral incentive:
  • Entry into a prize draw
  • Higher-value reward (e.g. £20 instead of £10)
  • A free gift with purchase
  • Tickets to an event
  • Exclusive or early access to a sale or product launch
  • Extended reward validity period
  • Co-branded or partner rewards

​
The Promotion Period

Clearly define campaign timeframes:
  • Start and end dates for showing the promotion to customers (when referrers see the promotion)
  • Friend purchase/sign-up deadline - the last date referees can complete a qualifying action. Often set a few days after the official end to give customers time to complete a purchase.
For after-purchase rewards with approval (common in finance, utilities, and insurance), the referee receives the promotional reward if they sign up before the deadline. The transaction date determines eligibility, not the approval date. Example: A promotion runs 1st Jan to 31st Jan. Alice tells Bob, who creates an account on 15th Jan. Bob doesn’t meet eligibility criteria until 2nd Feb. Bob receives the promotional reward because his account was created before the deadline. If Bob had created his account after 1st Feb, he would receive the standard offer.

​
Qualification Criteria

Decide what’s required from both parties. By default, a promotional offer uses the same criteria as your regular offers. Consider additional criteria sparingly - stricter requirements can harm effectiveness:
  • Do referred friends need to purchase above a specific value?
  • Do referrers need to introduce more than one friend for the better reward?

​
How You’ll Promote It

Determine your awareness channels:
  • Email newsletter
  • Dedicated promotional email campaigns
  • Homepage banners or popups
  • Social media posts and paid ads
  • In-app notifications or website messaging
During the promotional period, push referrers to engage. Make qualification criteria and deadlines clear.

​
After the Promotion Ends

Set a “follow-up” offer to continue referral activity - this can be your previous standard offer.
  • Referrers who share after the promotion period are automatically moved to the follow-up offer
  • Referees who transact after the purchase deadline are automatically moved to the follow-up offer
  • For competitions, use the Reports for Download section to select a winner
If you don’t set a follow-up offer, your referral programme will pause at the end of the promotion.

​
Ready to Launch?

When you’re ready, fill out the promotion request form and the Operations Team will handle setup.
Example time-limited referral offer from Huel with competition entry

An example time-limited referral offer from Huel featuring a competition entry.

Other brands run similar promotions built around a mystery bundle prize.
Example time-limited referral offer with mystery bundle prize

An example time-limited referral offer featuring a mystery bundle prize.

An enhanced reward value is another common way to make a promotion stand out.
Example time-limited referral offer with enhanced reward

An example time-limited referral offer featuring an enhanced reward.

Last modified on July 10, 2026