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Sharing your referral link

Sharing your referral link

Your referral link is how Costello knows a new customer came from you. Share it anywhere — the link does the rest.

Your link

Your link looks like this:

https://platform.costellohq.com/r/a/yourcode

You'll find it at the top of your dashboard, with one-tap buttons to Copy, Email, generate a QR code, or Share.

How a referral gets tied to you

When someone clicks your link, here's what happens behind the scenes:

1
The click is logged

We record the click on your dashboard and drop a small cookie in the visitor's browser that remembers your code.

2
They land on Costello

The visitor is sent to the Costello sign-up page. They can browse, leave, and come back — the cookie remembers you for 30 days.

3
They sign up — and they're yours

If they create an account within that window, that business is permanently attributed to you. This is first-touch: the first affiliate to refer a business keeps them.

4
They become yours for life

Attribution sticks to the business account itself, not the cookie. So even if they start on the Free plan and upgrade months later, you still earn the moment they pay. There's nothing extra they need to do.

Free, trial, then paid — all covered

A lot of businesses start Costello on the Free plan to try it. That's fine. The link ties them to you straight away, and your 30% commission kicks in automatically on their first paid invoice — whenever that lands.

Ways to share

Copy & paste
The simplest option — copy your link and drop it into a message, DM, or chat.
Email
The Email button opens a ready-to-send message with your link already in it.
QR code
Generate a QR code to print on flyers, business cards, or a slide at an event.
Share sheet
On a phone, the Share button hands your link to WhatsApp, Messages, or any app.

Ideas for getting clicks

You know your audience best, but here are approaches that work well:

  • Recommend it to businesses you already help. If you do websites, marketing, or admin for small businesses, clinics, salons, or trades, Costello is an easy add-on they'll thank you for.
  • Write about it. A short blog post or newsletter piece — "how I stopped missing customer enquiries" — with your link at the end.
  • Add it to your link-in-bio on Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn.
  • Drop it in relevant communities where small-business owners hang out (only where self-promotion is welcome — read the room).
  • Put a QR code on print — flyers, packaging inserts, a card you hand out at networking events.
Lead with the problem, not the product

The pitch that converts: "It answers customer messages and books appointments in under a minute, so you stop losing enquiries while you're busy." Then your link. People click when they recognise the problem.

What counts as a real referral

Commission is only paid on genuine new businesses that pay. A few things to know:

  • Each business can only be referred once — they can't be re-referred for a second bonus.
  • Referring your own account, business, family, or company doesn't earn commission and may get you removed. (More in the FAQ.)
  • Spammy or misleading promotion that breaks a platform's rules can get your link blocked there and your account reviewed.

Next: watch it work

Once your link is out there, head to your dashboard to see clicks, sign-ups, and commission roll in — see Tracking your referrals and earnings.

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