52wknds · Referral Postcard
Referral Postcard
Members invite friends to 52wknds by sending a postcard: a place worth going to on an upcoming long weekend, shared on whichever app they already chat on.
- Role
- Solo designer, with the founders and engineers
- Status
- In early beta
The Problem
52wknds is a paid membership, so an invite only counts when a friend becomes a paying member. That kind of invite travels on trust between friends.
So the invite had to feel personal and about travel, and give the member a reason to care about what they send.
Looking For The Right Object
I looked for an object the invite could be, something a member would want to hand to a friend. These explorations are from an earlier design file and never shipped.
Exploration 1 · not shipped
A Box of Chocolates
- What worked
- Sharing felt like handing out a gift
- What didn't
- Didn't connect with travel
Exploration 2 · not shipped
A Postbox That Slips Out A Postcard
- What worked
- Brought in the postcard
- What didn't
- Looked too overwhelming
Exploration 3 · not shipped
A Sealed Envelope
- What worked
- One object and one clear action
- What didn't
- Didn't connect with travel the way a postcard does
Why A Postcard
The postcard connected with travel best, since people send postcards when they travel. It is also a familiar ritual: you write a postcard, drop it in a postbox, and someone opens it later.
A place worth going toEach postcard is a destination from the travel calendar for an upcoming long weekend, with one line on why to go then.Swipe For Another Place
There are a few postcards, one place on each. Swiping brings up the next, so a member can pick the place that suits the friend they are sending it to. A postcard leaves the stack once it is sent.
One for each friendIf you like beaches, Phuket is quite fun in January.How It Arrives
Send Postcard opens the phone's own share sheet, so a postcard can go out on any app a member already uses. It arrives in the chat as a picture, with a short note and the invite link underneath.
Your next trip on 52wkndsThe preview leads with the trip, and the offer follows.The Friend's Side
The invite link opens a webpage first, with the same postcard and the cashback waiting for them. Accepting the invite generates their referral code. The link keeps the referral through the App Store install, so the code is already filled in when they open the app, and they finish on what they have earned.
Cashback For Both
You both earn ₹500 cashback when your friend becomes a paid member. With the ₹1,000 joining cashback, a friend who joins the ₹999 membership through a postcard gets ₹1,500 back.
There are no tiers, streaks or leaderboards, in keeping with the rest of 52wknds.
The referral is in early beta, so there are no numbers to share yet.