Content agency Referral Incentive Economics
Retained contribution = revenue × contribution margin − reward − program cost
Gather project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes. Include research, writing, and editing. The starting figures are examples. Replace them with your own records.
Formula and worked example
Retained contribution = revenue × contribution margin − reward − program cost
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| First-sale revenue | 800 |
| Contribution margin | 40 % |
| Referral reward | 75 |
| Program cost per sale | 25 |
| Calculated result | 220 per referred sale |
Choose reliable inputs
Include software licences, delivery time, revisions and ongoing support when costing a project. For this content agency calculation, use project time logs, licence invoices and retainer scopes and a consistent definition of one content package.
- Research: include the portion belonging to this content package or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Writing: include the portion belonging to this content package or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Editing: include the portion belonging to this content package or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.
Should rewards be compared with revenue or contribution?
Compare with the contribution remaining after delivering the sale. Revenue alone overstates the amount available for rewards.
Excludes lifetime repeat purchases and any tax treatment of rewards.
What if this input changes?
If first-sale revenue rises by 10%, this example changes by 32 per referred sale. This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.
Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.