Does Rakuten (Ebates) Have a Referral Program?

Does Rakuten Have a Referral Program?

Does Rakuten Have a Referral Program?

Yes, Rakuten (Ebates) has a referral program. Ebates will pay you a referral fee when friends, family, and/or others sign up using your link and make a purchase.  The referral fee varies throughout the year from $10 and up to $40 during the holiday season. 

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It is often easy to refer people to this program since they offer a sign-up bonus for first-time users.

Don’t have a Rakuten account? Sign up here:  

Rakuten Referral Program: How It Works…

After you sign up for Rakuten (formerly Ebates) go to your “Refer a Friend” tab. Under this tab, you will find a referral link. Copy and paste your link or email your family and friends right from the platform. You can also share your referral link through email, text, and/or social media.

Keep in mind, by law, you should disclose this is a referral link. As you can see above, I let my readers know this email contains affiliate links. I am required to put this in all of my posts that use a referral link so my readers understand that I make a commission if they sign up using my links.

When your referral signs up for the program and makes their first purchase, you will both get a credit for the bonus offered, and again, this varies throughout the year. Around Christmas time, I earned a $40 referral, but last month (April) I earned $20 per referral. As you can see, this amount varies throughout the year and can go as low as $10, but for most of the year (2021) it has been at $30.

Holiday times are usually the time we are all shopping, so your referral is more likely to make a purchase online which means you get your bonus. So make sure to share your referral link during the Holidays.

Remind your referrals that they can sign up to use the browser extension, which alerts you if the store you are shopping with is part of Rakuten. (Not all stores participate, but there are literally thousands of stores to choose from.) Yet, it is easy to forget to click through Rakuten when making a purchase, so this extension can help you earn your referral money.

Is There a Time Limit for Rakuten Referrals?

Yes, there is a time limit. Rakuten pays quarterly, so if your referral signs up, but does not make a purchase within 90 days, you lose the referral bonus.

I have had several people sign up using my link, but didn’t make money because they did not make a qualifying purchase during this time frame. This is why I recommend referring as much as you can during the Holiday season when more people are shopping. They get money, and you get money so it is clearly a win for both of you.

Other Rakuten Referral Rules:

In order to qualify for the referral, you and your referred must live in the 50 United States or Canada.

Keep in mind, your friend must make a qualifying purchase within 90 days and you will receive your bonus with 60 days of the qualifying purchase.

Is There a Limit of How Much You Can Earn with Rakuten?

As stated on the Rakuten website “The more the merrier.” At this time, there is no cap on how many friends or bonus referrals you can earn. So keep on referring!

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How to Promote Rakuten Referral Program

Email

You can send your referral link through email. This is a great way to spread awareness about the Rakuten program. Email family and friends, or if you are a blogger email your list.

Blogger:

If you are a blogger and have an email list, you can recommend Rakuten to your list. Make sure to code the words in your email instead of using a bare link (it looks better and less spammy.) Many email programs allow you to add links to your words.

This is my naked link: https://www.rakuten.com/r/SARAHP217?eeid=28187

Doesn’t it look better linked to words: Sign up for Rakuten here

If you do not have an email list yet, I highly recommend starting one because as a blogger this is your tribe. You can use Convert Kit and send weekly emails to your readers with recent blog posts and/or recommendations and sales.

Since I am a frugal living blogger, I recommend Rakuten in all of my emails. I leave a note at the bottom of each email as a recommendation. I like to refer my readers to programs I use myself and enjoy, and this definitely fits that list. In fact, Rakuten and Ibotta are at the TOP of my cashback app list!

If you need some ideas, you can sign up for my email list here:

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Non-blogger

You can send a referral email right from your Rakuten account. Simply add your email to the “send email” tab on the referral page.

Luckily, Rakuten has already written the email for you, but you can add to it if you would like to make it more personal.

You can also simply copy and paste your referral code and send it from your own personal email.

Social Media

Whether you are a blogger or not, you can share your Rakuten link on your social media. Often, if you are a blogger, you may have more followers, which will give you more leads. Yet, if you have a  big social media account as a non-blogger, you should look into other sponsorship and/or affiliate opportunities as well such as Flex Offers or Commission Junction to help you earn money.

Simply share your link on social media, either directly from your Rakuten account for Twitter or Facebook, or write up your own social media post for other platforms.

If you have a Youtube channel, consider creating a video about Rakuten and share the link in your video notes or if you are popular on Instagram, you can direct people back to your site or use Linktree to add links.

Blog Posts

For my blogger friends consider writing a blog post about Rakuten and add your referral link throughout your post. Make sure your post is helpful and shows how to use Rakuten, and you can promote and get people to sign up through your post.

If you do not have a blog but are looking for affiliate marketing opportunities, I highly suggest starting a blog. You can read my blog tutorial here and start your blog today.

Add to Existing Posts

If you already have posts that are doing well, you can simply add Rakuten, as long as it is related somehow to your posts. It will confuse your readers if you are randomly recommending items or platforms that are not related to the post whatsoever.

If you are just throwing random links in your post, you are less likely to refer people. Yet, if you are in the personal finance niche, this is a great affiliate to promote because it is legit and really helps people earn money back while shopping online.

Text Friends and Family

You can also share your link using text messaging. Just copy and paste your link into an email or use the Rakuten app on your phone so you will be able to copy and paste it into a text message. Super simple!

The downside to Rakuten Referral Program

It can take some time to actually earn a referral since your friends, family, or blog referral must make a purchase within 90 days, which you won’t know about (unless they tell you).

Then you still have to wait up to 60 days to see your referral. Also, Rakuten pays quarterly, so you won’t get your money right away. Here is the payment schedule below:

Jan. 1 – March 31 – Payment May 15

April 1 – June 30 – Payment August 15

July 1 – Sept. 30 – Payment November 15

Oct. 1 – Dec. 31 – February 15

These are the only downsides I have found with Rakuten. Although you have to wait for your money, you still get your money, which is worth it to me. I just got an email that I have a$60 check on the way, which I would not have had otherwise if I did not use or refer Rakuten.  Here is a picture of my last check:

How to get paid with Rakuten

If you do not want to wait for a check in the mail, you can opt to be paid through Paypal.

Pin me for later:

Writing: Does Rakuten Have a Referral Program, pink piggy bank with coins

 

Does Rakuten (Ebates ) have a  referral program Final Thoughts…

Rakuten has a great referral program. You can earn up to $40 per referral depending on the time of year. Make sure to use your unique code when promoting Rakuten so you will get credit. You can also nudge friends and family to use it after the sign-up so they don’t forget. Here’s hoping you earn a few bucks through a referral this year.

Don’t forget to sign up for Rakuten so you can start earning (like how I did that?:)

What is your favorite referral program? Leave a comment so we can learn from you.

 

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