Referral Program Sankey Diagram: Editable Template
Follow referral invitations by channel through signup to paying customer, and compare which channel produces the customers. Replace the example counts with yours.
A referral Sankey follows invitations from the channel they were sent through to signups and paying customers, so you can compare channels on results, not on sends.
3,000 invitations are sent by email, link share and social post. Email sends the most and converts at 25%, link sharing converts at about 14% and social posts at under 7%.
Counting only sends would rank the channels the same way, but not by how far they differ. The ribbons show it.
How to read this diagram
- 600 of 3,000 invitations (20%) produce a signup; 240 of those become paying (40%).
- Email converts to signup at 25%, link shares at 14% and social posts at 7%.
- Email supplies 450 of the 600 signups, 75% of them.
- Overall, 8% of invitations end in a paying customer.
The data behind it
Invented figures for illustration. Not data about any real business.
| From | To | Amount (invitations) |
|---|---|---|
| Invitations sent | 1800 | |
| Invitations sent | Link share | 900 |
| Invitations sent | Social post | 300 |
| Signed up | 450 | |
| Did not sign up | 1350 | |
| Link share | Signed up | 130 |
| Link share | Did not sign up | 770 |
| Social post | Signed up | 20 |
| Social post | Did not sign up | 280 |
| Signed up | Became paying | 240 |
| Signed up | Stayed free | 360 |
The same data as CSV
source,target,value
Invitations sent,Email,1800
Invitations sent,Link share,900
Invitations sent,Social post,300
Email,Signed up,450
Email,Did not sign up,1350
Link share,Signed up,130
Link share,Did not sign up,770
Social post,Signed up,20
Social post,Did not sign up,280
Signed up,Became paying,240
Signed up,Stayed free,360How it works
Tag each invitation with its channel
A referral code or a link parameter will do.
Match signups and payments to the invitation
Use the referral code on the account.
Enter the flows
Invitations to channel, channel to signup or not, signup to paying or free.
Check the balance
Each channel should send on exactly the invitations it carried.
Frequently asked questions
What about invitations that were never seen?
They are in the Did not sign up node. If you can count delivered invitations separately, add a stage for that.
Can I include the reward cost?
Not in the same chart; the unit is invitations. Draw a second chart in money if you need it.
Edit this referral Sankey
Open the example as your own chart and enter your invitation counts.