Your newsletter is already earning through sponsorships. The Paved Referral Program lets you earn on top of that, just by sharing Paved with the people you already know.
Whether you refer a fellow publisher or an advertiser you've worked with, the structure is the same: you earn a 5% commission on their transactions for the first 6 months after they sign up. No caps, no complicated tiers. Every referral adds up.
What's the earning potential?
Publishers who refer active advertisers or high-volume publishers stand to make an average of $1,380 per referral. Refer a handful and it becomes a meaningful revenue stream on its own.
How the Paved Referral Program Works
When someone clicks your referral link and creates a Paved account, you start earning. For every campaign they book in the first 6 months, you receive 5% of the transaction value.
Here's a quick example of how that adds up:
| Referral type | Their activity | Your earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Books 4 campaigns at $5,000 each | $1,000 |
| Advertiser | Books $25,000 in campaigns | $1,250 |
You can send traffic to any page on the Paved website using your referral link. By default, your link will look something like this:
paved.com/?aff=MyNewsletter
Want to link to a specific resource? Just add your referral code to the end of any Paved URL:
- •paved.com/radar/?aff=MyNewsletter
- •paved.com/marketplace/?aff=MyNewsletter
This makes it easy to send people to the most relevant page while still earning your referral credit.
Get Started in 3 Steps
Accessing your referral link takes less than a minute:
- Log in to your Paved Publisher account
- Click your profile name and select Referrals
- Copy your referral code, share it, and track your earnings from the dashboard
That's it. Once your link is out there, commissions accumulate automatically.
Tips for Referring Publishers
Think about the newsletter creators, bloggers, and content creators in your network who are still figuring out monetization. When they sign up through your link and start booking campaigns, you earn on every one of those campaigns for 6 months.
Here's where to share your referral link:
- •Your newsletter footer — The easiest, highest-leverage placement. Readers who love your content are primed to trust your recommendations.
- •Your email signature — Passive and non-intrusive. Anyone you correspond with regularly gets a nudge every time.
- •A dedicated blog post or review — Write about your experience with Paved. Explain how you monetize your newsletter and include your referral link naturally. This drives long-tail referrals over time.
- •X (Twitter) and LinkedIn — Share your experience, include your link in your bio or a pinned post, and let your audience do the rest.
- •Forums and communities — When someone in a newsletter creator community asks about monetization tools, a detailed, helpful response with your referral link is one of the most durable ways to earn referrals.
- •Link in bio — Add your referral link to a "Tools I Use" section in your Linktree or similar service.
Tips for Referring Advertisers
Advertisers are often the higher-value referral. A brand actively running newsletter campaigns can generate significant commission over 6 months, especially if they scale their spend.
The best time to refer an advertiser is right after a successful campaign. They're already sold on newsletter sponsorships. Your referral link gives them a clear path to book more.
A few ways to work it in:
- •Post-campaign email — After wrapping a sponsorship, send a thank-you note with your referral link and invite them to book again through Paved. It's genuine, timely, and earns you a cut of their next campaign.
- •X bio or pinned post — Direct advertisers to Paved where they can continue scaling their newsletter marketing.
- •A dedicated review or writeup on your site — Position it as a resource for brands looking to sponsor newsletters. It serves your readers and earns you referrals passively.
The #1 Growth Hack Worth Trying
If you've worked with advertisers outside of Paved, here's a sequence that compounds your earnings:
- Ask your previous advertisers for a sponsorship review (Paved incentivizes reviews with a $20 gift card for the reviewer)
- Feature their review on your Paved Marketplace profile to strengthen your credibility
- Send a thank-you note with your referral link and invite them to book their next campaign with you through Paved
The result: you earn your sponsorship payout plus 5% of their booking. One relationship, two revenue streams.
Start Earning Today
The referral program is one of the easiest ways to add income on top of what you're already doing. You don't need a big audience or a dedicated campaign. You just need to share a link with the right people at the right time.
Log in to your Paved Publisher account and head to your Referral Program Dashboard to grab your link and start tracking your earnings.
