How do KingSumo referral campaigns work?

Referral campaigns reward people for referring friends. They are available to selected KingSumo accounts only: email support@kingsumo.com to ask for access.

How a referral campaign works

  • People join on your campaign page with their email and get their own referral link to share (shown as Copy page URL).
  • Each friend who joins through that link counts as a referral right away, on every type of campaign. On purchase campaigns, purchases are also tracked as conversions.
  • When someone reaches the number of referrals you set, they win the prize automatically. Only the first prize in your list is awarded this way.

Referral campaigns are separate from giveaways. They are available to selected accounts only: if your Dashboard has no Referral Campaigns tab, email support@kingsumo.com to ask for access. For giveaway referrals, see Why are some people getting more than one entry? Looking for a KingSumo affiliate program instead? See Is there an affiliate program for the KingSumo Web App?

How to create a referral campaign

  1. Open Dashboard and switch to the Referral Campaigns tab (shown only on accounts with access).
  2. Click New Campaign.
  3. In Campaign Details, add the title, tagline, who's running the campaign, your logo and the default share text.
  4. In Prize, choose an awarding system: No Prize, One Prize, Multiple Prizes or Give/Get.
  5. Under Prizes will be awarding, choose Email Leads or Purchases. For purchases, enter your web store address.
  6. Set when the prize is won — Only once, after or Continuously, every a number of referrals — and how it's delivered: Delivered by me, manually., Redeemed from a URL, or a Shopify discount code if your Shopify store is connected.
  7. If you've connected Mailchimp, ConvertKit or Klaviyo (Lifetime Plan), choose a list for each under Integrations. Then click Save.

KingSumo then shows "Your referral campaign is live!" with ways to promote it, including Embed the campaign widget on your website.

Tracking purchases

For purchase campaigns, the promote page gives you a tracking pixel to place on your order confirmation page:

<img src="…?e=EMAIL&v=VALUE&r=REFERENCEID&s=SIGNATURE" width="1" height="1">

  • e — the buyer's email; v — the order value (a number); r — your order or reference ID.
  • s — a signature: the MD5 hash of the email, value, reference ID and your API secret joined together, in that order.

Your API secret is on Account → API, which is part of the Lifetime Plan. See How do I use the KingSumo API?

Where do I see referrals, conversions and prizes?

The campaign list shows Referrals, Conversions and Won Prizes. Click a number to see the details. On the prizes list, Resend Email sends a winner's prize email again.

Troubleshooting

I don't see a Referral Campaigns tab

Referral campaigns are available to selected accounts only. Email support@kingsumo.com to ask for access.

Purchases aren't being counted

Check that the pixel is on your order confirmation page and that the signature uses the exact email, value and reference ID in the pixel, plus your API secret.

A winner didn't get their prize email

Prize emails are only sent for URL and Shopify prizes. Use Resend Email on the prizes list, or deliver manual prizes yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a giveaway and a referral campaign?

A giveaway has a draw at the end. A referral campaign rewards everyone who reaches your referral target.

Who can use referral campaigns?

Selected accounts only, for now. If your Dashboard has no Referral Campaigns tab, email support@kingsumo.com to ask for access. Purchase tracking also needs your API secret, which is on the Lifetime Plan.

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