Merlin. Limited beta
Now accepting founding operators

Drive real engagement.
Reward loyal readers.

Merlin is a loyalty and rewards platform for newsletters. We help you recognize the readers who stick around, refer friends, and buy your products — with points, perks, and tiers that actually drive retention.

Apply for early access Free · 60 second application
What is it A loyalty program for your newsletter. Points for reading, referring, and buying. Tiers that turn lurkers into loyalty.
merlin.app / readers / sarah-chen
SC
Sarah Chen Gold
Subscriber · Jan 2022
2,840
points
94%
Open rate
3
Referrals
$247
LTV
28mo
Tenure
Recent activity
+ Completed Module 4: Advanced Positioning +120
+ Referred a new subscriber +200
· Redeemed: 1 month free on annual plan −500

Nearly half of new subscribers churn within their first year.

You spend real money acquiring subscribers — paid promos, co-ops, referral networks. But once they're in, there's nothing holding them. No reason to stay. No friction to leaving. And every unsubscribe costs you the acquisition spend all over again.

~44% Of new free subscribers churn within their first 12 months. Return Path subscriber engagement study

Meanwhile, your most valuable readers — the ones who subscribe, buy your course, join your community — aren't treated any differently than someone who signed up yesterday. They're just a row in your ESP.

Join the founding operator beta.
Free access. Direct input on the roadmap.
Apply

A loyalty layer for your whole ecosystem.

Merlin sits across your newsletter, community, course platform, and payment processor. It recognizes your readers as one person — and gives you the tools to reward the behavior that keeps them.

01

Unified reader profiles

One person, not five disconnected accounts. Newsletter opens, course progress, community activity, and purchases in a single view.

02

Points for behaviors that matter

Reward tenure, referrals, course completions, community participation. You decide what's worth rewarding.

03

Tiers that create stickiness

Gold members don't unsubscribe casually. Status and recognition create switching costs goodwill alone never will.

Works with
beehiiv Kit Ghost Stripe Circle Teachable Kajabi Gumroad Skool Shopify

Operators running serious newsletters.

Founding operators get Merlin free for the duration of the beta, direct input into the roadmap, and a seat at the table on decisions that define the product.

Loyalty expertise, applied to newsletters.

Andrew Miller
Founder

15 years in technology. Managed growth across three industries, leading $20M+ businesses and driving 3x ARR growth. Most recently, scaled the largest multifamily loyalty program in the US to four million apartment units.

Merlin applies what actually drives loyalty at scale — recognition, status, switching costs — to newsletters. The infrastructure exists for airlines and retailers. Newsletter operators deserve the same tools.

Join the founding operator beta.
Sixty second application.

We review every application personally and respond within 48 hours. Free, no credit card, no commitment.

Apply for early access