Prepopulate referral messages to increase conversions.

Your "Tell a friend" messages will bring in more referrals if you prefill them and get the copy right. Boost conversions with prefilled copy indicating either the sender's endorsement or the recipient's incentive.

One study found that prefilling "Tell a friend" messages can dramatically improve your conversion rates. It also found that the effect varies depending on the copy you choose. The research focused on two types of prefilled messages. The first was the sender informing the friend that they had bought the product and it's worth checking out. This boosted conversion rates by 11% and also improved customer satisfaction, but it had no impact on subsequent referrals. The second type involved the sender giving the friend an incentive to refer others. This did not impact purchase likelihood, but it did result in 53% more referrals. And while combining the two messages may seem like the obvious choice, it was actually found to cancel out the benefits. So the rule of thumb put forth by the study was that if you're selling something, go with the first option. If you're giving something away for free, go with the second. And of course, make sure to A/B test your copy.