Purpose
Generate a full spread of short-form copy variants for a referral program — subject lines, in-app nudges, share CTAs, and reminders — each tailored to a specific incentive and audience, labeled by tone and psychological angle, so growth teams can populate every touchpoint and A/B test without writing from scratch.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Write copy for a refer-a-friend or referral program
- Generate subject lines, CTAs, or in-app nudges for a referral campaign
- Produce referral messaging variants for A/B testing across channels
- Launch or refresh a referral/advocacy program's copy assets
- Create share prompts or reward-reminder messages for existing referrers
- Rework referral copy for a new audience segment or offer structure
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Incentive offer: What the referrer and/or friend receives (e.g., "$20 credit each," "1 free month," "20% off first order")
- Reward structure: One-sided (referrer only) or two-sided (both parties) — and the exact value on each side
- Target audience: Who is being asked to refer (e.g., existing paying customers, free-tier users, newsletter subscribers)
- Product/service: 1–2 sentence description of what the product is
- Brand tone: Playful / warm / premium / direct / no-nonsense
- Redemption trigger: What the friend must do for the reward to unlock (e.g., first purchase, sign-up, completes onboarding)
- Channels in use: Which touchpoints matter — email, in-app, SMS, push, landing page, or all
If reward structure or channels are unspecified, assume a two-sided offer across all six touchpoint types and note the assumption.
Instructions
Generate 48 Variants Across 6 Touchpoint Types
For each variant, include:
- The copy itself (filled in with the actual offer and product — never bracketed placeholders)
- Angle: The psychological driver (e.g., reciprocity, altruism, self-interest, social proof, urgency, exclusivity)
- Tone: The register used (matched to or contrasting with brand tone for testing spread)
Vary the angle across each set — do not repeat the same driver for every variant in a group.
Touchpoint 1 — Email Subject Lines (10 variants) Inbox-facing lines that earn the open for a referral invite email.
- Keep under 50 characters where possible; note any that exceed it
- Include at least 3 that lead with the referrer's reward, 3 that lead with the friend's reward, and 2 that lead with altruism ("help a friend save")
- Angle spread: self-interest, reciprocity, curiosity, urgency, social proof
- Avoid "Refer a friend!" as a literal subject — it underperforms
Touchpoint 2 — In-App Nudges (10 variants) Short banner, tooltip, or modal copy shown to logged-in users at a natural moment.
- Two lengths per angle where useful: a one-line banner (under 12 words) and a two-line modal (headline + supporting line)
- Trigger the nudge conceptually to a moment of satisfaction (post-purchase, task completed, positive milestone) — note the recommended moment for each
- Angle spread: altruism, self-interest, exclusivity, timing/momentum
Touchpoint 3 — Share CTAs (8 variants) Button and link text plus the one-line prompt beside it that gets the user to actually send an invite.
- Provide the CTA button text (2–4 words) and a supporting microcopy line for each
- Include variants for share-by-link, share-by-email, and social share
- Angle spread: ease/friction-removal, mutual benefit, generosity framing
- Avoid generic "Share" or "Invite" — specify the outcome ("Send $20," "Give a free month")
Touchpoint 4 — SMS / Push Messages (8 variants) Ultra-short mobile-native copy for referral prompts and share reminders.
- SMS variants under 160 characters; push variants with a title (under 40 chars) and body (under 90 chars) — label which is which
- Include the offer value explicitly in every message
- Angle spread: urgency, reciprocity, momentum, reward-in-reach
Touchpoint 5 — Landing Page Headlines (6 variants) The H1 and subhead pairing for the referral program landing or share page.
- Provide a headline plus one supporting subhead for each
- Two should be reward-led, two should be relationship-led, two should be aspiration/status-led
- Angle spread: clarity, social proof, altruism, exclusivity
Touchpoint 6 — Reward Reminder Copy (6 variants) Follow-up messages nudging users who started but didn't complete a referral, or reminding them a reward is pending unlock.
- Cover three states: didn't send an invite yet, friend hasn't completed the trigger action, reward is about to expire
- Two variants per state
- Angle spread: loss aversion, near-completion momentum, urgency
Recommended-Test Shortlist
After the six sets, select the single strongest variant from each touchpoint type (6 total) and note in one line why each would be the recommended control to test against.
Output Format
- Structure: 6 labeled touchpoint sections; each variant numbered with its copy, angle label, and tone label; recommended-test shortlist at the end
- Length: 900–1,300 words
- Format: Swipe file style — scannable, listed, minimal prose between variants
- Sections: Email Subject Lines → In-App Nudges → Share CTAs → SMS/Push → Landing Headlines → Reward Reminders → Recommended-Test Shortlist
- Tone: Growth-marketing pragmatic — copy is punchy and ready to paste; annotations are terse and functional
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] All 48 variants are present (count them: 10 + 10 + 8 + 8 + 6 + 6)
- [ ] The actual incentive value appears in the copy — no bracketed placeholders anywhere
- [ ] Every variant carries both an angle label and a tone label
- [ ] Angle drivers vary within each touchpoint group — no single group repeats one angle throughout
- [ ] Character/length constraints are respected for subject lines, SMS, and push (flag any exceptions)
- [ ] The recommended-test shortlist names exactly one variant per touchpoint (6 total) with a one-line rationale
Notes
- Two-sided incentives generally convert better than one-sided — if the offer is one-sided, note that framing the referrer's reward as "give and get" still tends to lift shares
- Referral copy performs best when it leads with the friend's benefit for altruistic audiences and the referrer's reward for transactional ones — the angle spread lets the team test which fits
- The highest-leverage touchpoint is usually the in-app nudge timed to a moment of satisfaction; prioritize testing there before email
- Recommended workflow: ship the shortlist as the initial control set, then rotate in the runner-up angle per touchpoint as the first challenger round
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills