In partnership with
Most newsletters don’t have a growth problem.
They have a sharing problem.
Readers might love your content—but unless you invite them to share, they usually won’t.
That’s where a referral engine comes in.
Sponsored by: WISPR FLOW
Ship the message as fast as you think
Founders spend too much time drafting the same kinds of messages. Wispr Flow turns spoken thinking into final-draft writing so you can record investor updates, product briefs, and run-of-the-mill status notes by voice. Use saved snippets for recurring intros, insert calendar links by voice, and keep comms consistent across the team. It preserves your tone, fixes punctuation, and formats lists so you send confident messages fast. Works on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Try Wispr Flow for founders.
🔁 What a referral engine really is
A referral engine is a system that turns:
One reader into
Two readers again and again.
It’s not a one-time ask.
It’s growth built into the newsletter itself.
Generic asks fail because:
There’s no incentive
There’s no reminder
There’s no reason to act now
People need a clear trigger to share—not a polite suggestion.
🧠 The simplest referral engine that works
Your first referral engine only needs three parts:
1. A clear sharing moment
Pick one spot in every edition:
End of the email
After a key insight
Inside a highlighted box
Consistency matters more than placement.
2. A reason to refer
This doesn’t have to be fancy:
Early access
Bonus content
Public recognition
A simple “thank you” shoutout
Motivation beats complexity.
3. A frictionless action
If sharing takes effort, it won’t happen.
Make it:
One-click
Copy-paste friendly
Obvious what to do next
Ease drives action.
📈 How this becomes a growth loop
Once this runs every week:
Readers expect the ask
Referrals stack quietly
Growth becomes predictable
You stop chasing new platforms.
Your audience does the work.
🧪 A simple test
Ask yourself:
“Would a reader know how and why to refer this newsletter?”
If not, your referral engine isn’t built yet.
🏁 Final Thought
You don’t need virality.
You need participation.
Build one small referral habit into your newsletter—and let compounding do the rest.
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