HTML & MJML

Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template

Turn one entry into viral growth with this refer-a-friend sweepstakes email template engineered around shareable incentives. A fresh green layout explains the entry math in a clear three-tier grid (join, refer, hit five for a bonus), shows the reader their current entry count, and drives them to grab a referral link. Use this email template for referral sweepstakes, share-to-win campaigns, tiered-entry giveaways, and word-of-mouth acquisition pushes. Brands get a design that makes every subscriber a recruiter — rewarding them with more chances to win while your list compounds with each share.

Edit In EmailBuilder.ai

About the Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template

Marketers running referral sweepstakes need more than a prize announcement — they need a mechanism that turns every winner-hopeful into a recruiter. This refer-a-friend sweepstakes template pairs a clean green layout with a three-tier entry grid that makes the math irresistible: join, share, hit five referrals for a bonus entry multiplier. It's built for brands that want their giveaway list to grow itself, rewarding participants while compounding reach with every share.

When to use this template

Launch this email the moment your sweepstakes goes live, then re-trigger it for subscribers who opened but never clicked their referral link within 48 hours. It also performs strongly at the midpoint of a campaign window, when urgency is real but enough time remains for referrals to convert.

A DTC skincare brand launching a seasonal giveaway to accelerate new-subscriber acquisition
A SaaS company running a refer-to-win campaign tied to a product anniversary milestone
An e-commerce retailer rewarding existing customers with bonus entries for pre-launch buzz
A media brand growing newsletter subscribers through a share-to-win sweepstakes incentive
A fitness app driving word-of-mouth signups during a New Year challenge campaign
A consumer packaged goods brand using tiered entries to amplify a limited-edition product drop

Subject line ideas

Your referral link = more chances to win
5 friends away from a bonus entry — go
You're already entered. Now multiply it.
Share once. Win more. Here's how.

Best practices for giveaway emails

Make the three entry tiers scannable with numbers front and center — readers decide to share in seconds, not paragraphs
Display the subscriber's current entry count dynamically so the email feels personal and progress-driven, not generic
Write the referral link CTA as a verb-forward action like 'Grab your link' rather than passive labels like 'Click here'
Use the green palette to signal reward and momentum — reserve high-contrast buttons exclusively for the referral link action
State the bonus-entry threshold explicitly in the headline or subhead so skimmers grasp the five-referral incentive without reading body copy

Template anatomy

How the Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template template is laid out, top to bottom:

section (1 column) containing text block.
section (1 column) containing text block.
section (1 column) containing image.
section (3 columns) containing text block.
section (1 column) containing button, text block.
section (1 column) containing text block.
section (3 columns) containing text block.
section (1 column) containing text block.
section (1 column) containing social row, social link, text block.

Components used

Built from the following MJML elements:

23 text blocks3 social links1 image1 button1 social row

Color palette

Colors used across the Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template template:

#ecfdf5

#ffffff

#064e3b

#047857

#a7f3d0

#d1fae5

#059669

#111111

#4b5563

#6b7280

#f0fdf4

#065f46

Typography

Font stacks declared in the template:

Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif

MJML source code

A preview of the MJML markup for the Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template template. Open it free in EmailBuilder.ai to get the complete source and start customizing.

<mjml>
  <mj-head>
    <mj-title>Refer a Friend Sweepstakes Email Template</mj-title>
    <mj-attributes>
      <mj-all font-family="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"></mj-all>
      <mj-text font-size="14px" line-height="24px"></mj-text>
    </mj-attributes>
    <mj-preview>The more friends you refer, the more entries you get. Enter our sweepstakes today.</mj-preview>
  </mj-head>
  <mj-body background-color="#ECFDF5" width="600px">
    <mj-section background-color="#FFFFFF" padding="30px 36px 22px 36px">
      <mj-column>
        <mj-text color="#064E3B" font-size="18px" letter-spacing="3px" align="center" padding="0px"><strong>EVERGREEN BOX</strong></mj-text>
      </mj-column>
    </mj-section>
    <mj-section background-color="#047857" padding="46px 36px 40px 36px">
      <mj-column>
        <mj-text color="#A7F3D0" font-size="15px" letter-spacing="4px" align="center" padding="0px 0px 12px 0px">REFER &amp; WIN SWEEPSTAKES</mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#FFFFFF" font-size="42px" line-height="48px" align="center" padding="0px"><strong>Every friend is another entry</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#D1FAE5" font-size="16px" align="center" padding="16px 12px 0px 12px">Share your link, and each friend who joins earns you another shot at the grand prize — a full year of Evergreen, on us.</mj-text>
      </mj-column>
    </mj-section>
    <mj-section background-color="#FFFFFF" padding="0">
      <mj-column padding="0">
        <mj-image src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1491438590914-bc09fcaaf77a?ixid=M3w4NzY5MzJ8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwyfHxmcmllbmRzJTIwbGF1Z2hpbmclMjB0b2dldGhlciUyMGhhcHB5fGVufDB8MHx8fDE3ODMzNDk3NTl8MA&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&w=1200&h=500&fit=crop&auto=format&q=80" alt="Friends together" padding="0" fluid-on-mobile="true"></mj-image>
      </mj-column>
    </mj-section>
    <mj-section background-color="#FFFFFF" padding="34px 24px 8px 24px">
      <mj-column width="33%" padding="0px 8px">
        <mj-text color="#059669" font-size="34px" align="center" line-height="40px" padding="4px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>1</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#111111" font-size="15px" align="center" padding="0px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>entry</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#4B5563" font-size="13px" align="center" padding="0px">just for joining</mj-text>
      </mj-column>
      <mj-column width="33%" padding="0px 8px">
        <mj-text color="#059669" font-size="34px" align="center" line-height="40px" padding="4px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>+3</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#111111" font-size="15px" align="center" padding="0px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>entries</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#4B5563" font-size="13px" align="center" padding="0px">per friend referred</mj-text>
      </mj-column>
      <mj-column width="33%" padding="0px 8px">
        <mj-text color="#059669" font-size="34px" align="center" line-height="40px" padding="4px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>+10</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#111111" font-size="15px" align="center" padding="0px 0px 2px 0px"><strong>bonus</strong></mj-text>
        <mj-text color="#4B5563" font-size="13px" align="center" padding="0px">at five referrals</mj-text>
      </mj-column>
    </mj-section>

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