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Creating a campaign

Create and activate referral or affiliate campaigns, choose how affiliates join, and manage campaign names, short codes and expiry.

Written by Adam

Create a referral campaign (also called a refer-a-friend campaign) to encourage customers to recommend your store, or an affiliate campaign to work with partners such as creators, influencers and ambassadors. Configure the rewards and friend offer to suit your program.

Create a campaign

Create a referral campaign

  1. Open Referral campaigns.

  2. Click Create new referral campaign. This creates a stopped campaign for you to set up.

  3. Open Campaign details in the Get started section to name the campaign and review its details.

Create an affiliate campaign

  1. Open Affiliate campaigns.

  2. Click Create new affiliate campaign.

  3. Enter a Campaign name, Campaign URL and Campaign short code, then click Create campaign.

You no longer choose Curated, Instant access or Invite only. To manage how people join, open the campaign’s Affiliates tab and use its Enrollment section:

  • Invite an affiliate or Invite many via CSV to add partners you have already chosen. Invitations skip the approval queue.

  • Use Approve them myself to decide whether public applicants wait for your approval.

  • Use Copy link or Embed on site to share the join page or add signup to your site.

Additional target audiences can admit contacts without application approval, including someone still awaiting review. Check Advanced targeting settings if you want applicants to wait for your decision. See Managing affiliate signups for enrollment, invitations and application review.

Set up your campaign

Configure rewards, the friend offer, emails, widgets, theme and target audience before activating. Use the getting-started guide for your platform: Shopify or other platforms.

Activate the campaign

  1. Open your campaign from Referral campaigns or Affiliate campaigns.

  2. Open the Activate campaign menu and choose Activate campaign.

  3. Complete any required setup or review prompts before activating.

A live campaign enrolls eligible contacts and lets enrolled advocates or affiliates refer friends and earn rewards. Campaign emails, pages and widgets operate according to the settings you enabled. Review your enrollment and email settings before activation.

Campaign expiry

  1. Open your campaign’s Get started > Campaign details. For an affiliate campaign, open Advanced Settings first.

  2. Under Campaign expiry, select Expires on and choose a date.

  3. Click Save.

On the selected date, the campaign is set to paused.

Creating a campaign FAQ

Can I schedule a campaign start date?

You can set an expiry date, but there is no scheduled start-date option. Activate the campaign when you are ready to launch. For feature requests, let us know; see the product updates page for announcements.

What is the difference between the campaign name and short code?

  • Campaign name: The name you give the campaign. You can rename it in Campaign details.

  • Campaign short code: The identifier used in integrations, such as Klaviyo properties named “RC [short code] - …”. You can edit it before the campaign’s first activation. After activation it stays locked, even if you later pause or stop the campaign. Create a new campaign if you need a different short code.

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