How to Send Referral Links Post Purchase Through Braze

Connor Johanning Updated by Connor Johanning

Overview

This guide walks through how to automatically send post-purchase referral emails through Braze. The workflow ensures that each customer receives:

  • Email #1: A personalized post-purchase email containing their Friendbuy PURL if a referral link is already available
  • Email #2: A fallback version linking to your Refer-a-Friend landing page when a PURL is not yet available

Using Braze Canvas allows you to add delays, conditional logic, and dynamic content based on Friendbuy custom attributes.

Step 1: Set Up Your Post-Purchase Canvas

1. Navigate to Canvas

In Braze:

  1. Go to Messaging → Canvas
  2. Click Create Canvas
2. Choose Your Canvas Type

Select Build from Scratch.

3. Name Your Canvas

Example:

Advocate Post-Purchase Referral Email (PURL Included)

Step 2: Choose the Canvas Entry Trigger

In Braze:
  1. Under Entry Audience, choose Action-Based
  2. Select your purchase completion event (most commonly):
    • order_completed
    • purchase
    • order_fulfilled
      (Exact naming depends on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.)

You must be integrated with an e-commerce platform to see these events.

Step 3: Add a Time Delay

A delay lets customers receive their referral link after they have the product in hand.

To add a delay in Canvas:
  1. Click + below the trigger
  2. Select Delay
  3. Set your preferred wait time

Best practice: A 7–10 day delay captures customers when excitement is highest.

Step 4: Add a Conditional Split

To add a conditional split:
  1. Click + under the Delay
  2. Select Conditional Split
Configure the condition:

Under If / Else Logic:

  • Choose Custom Attribute
  • Search for: friendbuy_referral_link
  • Set condition to: Exists

Your logic should read:

IF custom_attribute.friendbuy_referral_link exists

Step 5: Add Two Email Steps to the Canvas

Under the YES branch of your Conditional Split:

  1. Click +
  2. Select Email

Under the NO branch:

  1. Click +
  2. Select Email

Step 6: Design Email #1 (With PURL Dynamically Inserted)

  1. Open Email #1
  2. Choose Drag & Drop Editor or HTML Editor
  3. Build your email content
Insert the customer's PURL using Braze Liquid syntax:
{{custom_attribute.${friendbuy_referral_link}}}

This will dynamically populate each customer’s personal referral link if it exists.

Optional: Save this content block

Braze supports reusable blocks:

  1. Hover over the block
  2. Click Save Block
  3. Name it something like Friendbuy PURL Block

Step 7: Design Email #2 (Fallback Version With Referral Landing Page)

If no referral link is available, you can still promote referrals by linking to your RAF landing page.

  1. Open Email #2
  2. Use the same editor process
  3. Insert your landing page URL manually:

Example:

yourstorename.com/refer

This ensures all customers still receive referral messaging even if their PURL is not yet generated.

Step 8: Activate Your Canvas Messages

Braze requires you to activate each message and the overall Canvas.

To activate individual emails:
  1. Open the message
  2. Switch the Status to Active
To activate the whole Canvas:
  1. Click Launch Canvas
  2. Review your settings
  3. Confirm launch

Braze will now automatically send personalized or fallback post-purchase referral emails based on the availability of the customer’s PURL.

How did we do?

How to Send One Time Emails with Referral Links through Braze

How to Email Coupon Codes Through Braze to Advocates and Friends After They Are Distributed by Friendbuy

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