Referral Links
Referrals are built into every membership program. Active members get a personal short link they can share. When someone new joins through that link, the member who shared it earns 25 points and their referral count goes up by one. You see those counts in the hub and can tie rewards to them with milestones.
There is no separate switch to turn referrals on or off — they work automatically once members are active.
Related: Manage members · Membership Hub overview · Gamification & milestones · Leaderboards · Membership block · Memberships overview.
How it works (short version)
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | An active member opens their membership in the fan portal and copies their Refer a Friend link |
| 2 | A friend opens that link and lands on your public Flo page |
| 3 | The friend joins your program (free tier, subscription, or one-time price) |
| 4 | Flo credits the referring member with 25 points and adds 1 to their referral count |
The friend does not need a special discount or code at checkout — the link carries the referral for them.
For your members — sharing a link
Where members find their link
On the fan portal, each active membership card includes a Refer a Friend section:
| What they see | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Earn 25 points for every friend who joins with your link. | The reward for a successful referral |
| Their personal link | A short address like myflo.link/r/abc123xy (your live domain, without https:// in the display) |
| Copy | Copies the full link; the button briefly shows Copied |
Only members with active access get a real link. If someone is cancelled, paused without access, or not a member yet, they will not receive a working referral URL from this panel.
What the link looks like
Flo gives each active member one short link per membership program:
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Short path | /r/ followed by their unique code (eight characters) |
| Full URL (what gets copied) | Your Flo app address + /r/ + code |
When a friend opens the short link, Flo sends them to your public Flo page and keeps the referral attached (as ?ref= on the page address). From there they can use your membership block or any join button that leads to checkout — the referral stays with them through join.
Creator preview (not a live member link)
If you preview the portal while signed in as the creator — and you are not also an active fan member of that program — the Refer a Friend area shows a sample link (for example …/r/xxxxxxxx) and a note that fans who subscribe get a real link there. To see a live link in preview, sign in with a fan account that has active membership for that program.
For new fans — joining through a referral
What the friend experiences
- They tap or click the member’s shared link.
- They arrive on your Flo page (your username URL).
- They choose a tier and complete join — same flow as any other visitor, including free tiers and paid checkout.
They do not type a code manually. As long as they started from the referral link (or a page URL that still includes the referral), Flo attributes the join to the right member.
Referral links on your Flo page
If you use a Membership block on your Flo page, join buttons automatically keep the referral when someone landed with ?ref= in the address. See Membership block.
Fans can also open your join / membership portal directly with ?ref= on the URL; checkout uses the same referral when they subscribe or pay.
Points and referral counts
What the referring member earns
| Event | Points |
|---|---|
| Friend successfully joins through their link | +25 |
| Friend joins on their own (no link) | No referral points |
Referral points are in addition to the usual join points the new member gets for signing up (50 points for joining). Only the person who shared the link gets the 25 referral points.
Referral count
Each successful referral also increases that member’s referral count by 1. That number is separate from points but uses the same underlying join events.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| One credit per new member | The same new member cannot be counted twice for the same referrer |
| No self-referral | A member cannot refer themselves |
| Wrong or expired code | If the code does not match an active member, no referral credit is given |
| Short codes ignored | Referral codes must be at least six characters to count |
Credits apply when the new membership is actually created — including free joins, subscriptions, and one-time paid tiers.
For you — tracking referrals
Members tab
Open Dashboard → Memberships → your program → Open hub → Members.
| Tool | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Referrals column | How many members that person has referred, or — if none |
| Sort | Click the Referrals header to sort highest or lowest |
| Export CSV | Includes a Referrals column for every row |
For the full members workflow, see Manage members.
What you do not configure separately
Flo does not offer a dedicated “referral program settings” screen for things like:
| Not in Flo today | What to use instead |
|---|---|
| Custom commission % per referral | Your normal tier pricing; referrals only add points and counts |
| Turn referrals off globally | Referrals are always available to active members |
| A separate referral reward amount in settings | 25 points per successful referral (fixed); use milestones for extra rewards |
Rewarding top referrers
Referral points feed into leaderboards like any other activity. Use milestones when you want automatic rewards at referral milestones.
Open hub settings
In your program hub, click Settings (top bar or bottom of the left nav).
Gamification
Open the Gamification section.
Add a milestone
Under milestones, choose When → Referrals, set a number (for example 3 referrals), then choose what to Give — a badge, tier upgrade, or DM message to the member.
| Trigger | Example |
|---|---|
| Referrals | “When a member refers 5 people, award badge Ambassador” |
| Points (includes referral points) | “When a member reaches 200 points, send a thank-you DM” |
Details on badges, levels, and other triggers: Gamification & milestones. Rankings: Leaderboards.
Common situations
| Situation | What Flo does |
|---|---|
| Friend joins a free tier via the link | Referrer gets 25 points and +1 referral count |
| Friend completes paid checkout | Credit runs after membership is active (same points and count) |
| Friend already had access and joins again | Referral credit only applies to a new qualifying membership record; duplicates are ignored |
Member shares link but friend bookmarks the Flo page without ?ref= | Attribution needs the referral on the join path — safest approach is sharing the short /r/ link |
| You gift or add a member manually | They can refer others once they are active and use their portal link like any other member |
Invalid or unknown /r/ code | Visitor is sent to the Flo home page, not your profile |
Tips for growing referrals
| Tip | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Mention referrals in a community post | Reminds active members where to find Refer a Friend |
| Add a Referrals milestone | Celebrates members who bring friends |
| Highlight leaders on the Leaderboard | Points from referrals count toward ranking |
| Keep your Membership block on your Flo page | Join buttons preserve referral links from shared URLs |
What's next?
- Manage members — Referrals column, search, and CSV export
- Gamification & milestones — automate rewards at referral thresholds
- Leaderboards — weekly, monthly, and all-time rankings
- Membership block — join buttons that keep
?ref=from shared links - Membership Hub overview — Settings → Gamification and all hub tabs