HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Bake A Two-Sided Referral Into Onboarding

Bake A Two-Sided Referral Into Onboarding is a partnerships & affiliates tactic for getting your first users: A referral mechanic wired directly into the product experience that rewards both the existing customer and the friend they bring, triggered automatically once a user is happy.

It's a strong fit for B2B SaaS, Consumer / mobile apps, Marketplaces, and Newsletters / media teams, and works especially well for B2B SaaS, consumer apps, newsletters. As a partnerships & affiliates play, plan for medium effort and expect results to build gradually over time, all grounded in 3 linked primary sources.

Partnerships & affiliatesMedium effortSlow

Why does partnerships & affiliates work for this?

People buy far more readily from a personal recommendation than from an ad, and happy users are most willing to refer right after they have felt the product pay off.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
B2B SaaSConsumer / mobile appsMarketplacesNewsletters / media

Frequently asked

What kind of products does the "Bake A Two-Sided Referral Into Onboarding" tactic work for?
It is a good fit for B2B SaaS, Consumer / mobile apps, Marketplaces, and Newsletters / media — pick it when your product looks like one of those, since the play is shaped around how those users find new tools.
How is the "Bake A Two-Sided Referral Into Onboarding" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 3 primary sources — real founder write-ups and interviews, not generic advice. They are linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original accounts yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is medium effort, and results tend to be slow.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Best SaaS Marketing Strategy without Ads and Build a Referral Engine That Grows With Your Product, is in the paid library.

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