Overview
The Advocate Invite Email is a promotional message used to invite people to join your referral program. It's designed to introduce the value of participating and encourage recipients to start sharing.
When to Send an Advocate Invite Email
The best practice is to trigger this email when you launch your referral program, inviting your existing customers to become advocates and start referring right away. This helps jump-start participation, build early momentum, and ensure the program's high visibility from day one.
You can also send this email periodically to drive ongoing awareness, re-engage potential advocates, and grow referral participation over time.
Ready to get started? Learn here how to Add an Promotional Email and then Upload and Email an Audience.
Key Metrics
The Invite Email is tracked in the Email Stats Report and also appears as a Promotional Source in your dashboard, allowing you to see how many shares it generates.
Open Rate: First impression emails often perform well with clear value props and brand recognition
Share rate: Measures how many recipients become active Advocates after receiving the invite
Best Practices
Lead with a strong value proposition: highlight what’s in it for the advocate
Be clear and concise: explain what the program is and how to get started
Include a clear CTA: link to a landing page or sharing experience
Match tone to your brand: keep messaging aligned with other campaign communications
Editable Elements in Extole
In Extole, you can edit:
Subject line and headline: Tailor to reflect urgency, exclusivity, or benefits
Body copy: Customize the invitation message and referral program overview
CTAs: Link directly to the Advocate experience or sign-up flow
Visuals: Add logos, banners, or program-related imagery
Reward name: Clearly communicate what advocates can earn for participating
Testing and Optimization
Subject line: Test urgency, personalization, or value-first approaches
Headline: “Join and earn” vs. “Start referring” style messages
Body copy: Short vs. detailed introductions
CTA: Placement, button label, and destination
Visuals: Branded banners or benefit-focused imagery
By testing regularly, you’ll discover what clicks with your audience and keep improving your program to drive more—and better—referral traffic. See more tips for optimization here.