> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.bloop.plus/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.bloop.plus/best-practices/launch-checklist.md).

# Launch Checklist

A referral program rarely fails at launch because of one big mistake — it fails because a few small things were never finished. The short answer: settle the reward and offer first, brand every customer-facing surface, test the full flow as a real customer, then promote only once everything works. This article is the order to do those steps in, with a checklist and links to the Bloop docs for each.

Treat launch as a sequence, not a single switch. Each step depends on the one before it, and skipping the test step is the most common reason a live program quietly loses shares.

### The launch sequence

1. **Decide the reward and offer.** Choose the type, value, offer shape, minimums, and expiry. Start here because every other surface is built around it.
2. **Set who can refer.** Open the audience wide at launch so you gather data on who actually refers.
3. **Brand the customer-facing surfaces.** Style the widget, post-purchase prompt, and landing page so the program reads as part of your store.
4. **Switch on the emails.** Make sure reward, reminder, and invitation emails are enabled and worded in your voice.
5. **Test the full flow.** Run a real referral end to end before anyone sees it.
6. **Promote.** Only now point traffic at the program.

### Pre-launch checklist

| Area          | Confirm before launch                                            | Where                                                              |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Reward        | Type and value chosen; combined value below your referral profit | [Rewards](/referral-program/rewards.md)                            |
| Offer         | Single vs double-sided, minimums, and expiry set deliberately    | [Rewards](/referral-program/rewards.md)                            |
| Audience      | Eligibility rule chosen — wide at launch                         | [Target audience](/referral-program/target-audience.md)            |
| Widget        | Launcher and panel branded to your store                         | [Widget branding](/referral-program/branding/popup.md)             |
| Post-purchase | Prompt enabled and worded around the friend's reward             | [Post-purchase popup](/referral-program/branding/post-purchase.md) |
| Landing page  | Created, given a clean handle, added to navigation               | [Referral page](/referral-program/branding/page.md)                |
| Emails        | Program emails enabled and on-brand                              | [Referral emails](/referral-program/emails.md)                     |
| Test          | A full referral completed in test mode                           | [Test your referral program](/help/test-referral.md)               |

### Test as a real customer before you promote

The fastest way to catch a broken reward, a missing email, or an unbranded popup is to run the whole flow yourself: become a referrer, send a referral, complete a qualifying order as the referee, and confirm both rewards land. Bloop provides a test path so you can do this without affecting real data — see [test your referral program](/help/test-referral.md). Do not skip this step; a program that looks fine in settings can still fail at checkout.

### Promote once, properly

With everything verified, point traffic at the program through the surfaces you branded plus off-store channels. Resist launching promotion before the test passes — a broken first impression is hard to win back.

### Set it up in Bloop

* Follow the full setup in [Getting started with referrals](/referral-program/getting-started.md).
* Verify the flow in [test your referral program](/help/test-referral.md).
* For promotion ideas, see [how to promote your referral program](https://bloop.plus/blog/how-to-promote-referral-programs/).

### Related

* [Best practices: making your referral program visible](/best-practices/program-visibility.md)
* [Best practices: measuring and optimizing your program](/best-practices/measuring-and-optimizing.md)
* [Getting started with referrals](/referral-program/getting-started.md)


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.bloop.plus/best-practices/launch-checklist.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.