How Referral Tracking Works
When someone subscribes through your form tool, SparkLoop checks whether the email address is new and eligible.
If that address has ever subscribed before (even if later unsubscribed), it cannot be counted again as a new referral.
Engagement and fraud checks are applied during the processing period. Referrals that fail these checks will not be counted.
How to Test Correctly:
1. Use a brand-new email address
Do not use one that has ever been on your list.
Do not reuse past test emails.
Avoid aliases like
+testversions, as these often get filtered by our anti-fraud.
2. Open in a clean browser session
Use an incognito/private window.
This ensures cookies from previous referral links do not interfere.
3. Complete the full subscription process
If the newsletter uses double opt-in, confirm the subscription.
Wait at least a few minutes for SparkLoop and your ESP to sync the new subscriber.
4. Document your test
Share with our support agent:
The exact email address used.
The recommendations you selected.
The date/time of the test.
Without this info, the support team cannot check whether the system behaved correctly.
Common Misunderstandings
“My test referral didn’t show up immediately.”
Processing is not real-time. Give it a little time.
“I reused an email and it didn’t count.”
That’s expected. Once an email has been used - even if unsubscribed - it cannot generate a new referral.
“Budgets or statuses look out of sync.”
Budget and status updates are not instantaneous; they run in cycles. If something looks off, wait a few hours before assuming it’s broken.
Best Practices
Limit testing. Too many test signups can create noise in your data and increase confusion.
When you do test, make it intentional: one brand-new email, one clean session, and take full notes of what you did.
If you suspect an issue, always include those notes in your support ticket.
Still Having Trouble?
Make sure the SparkLoop script is correctly installed on your page.
Open your website in a browser
Go to the page where your signup form is embedded.Open Developer Tools
On Windows: press
Ctrl + Shift + I(orF12).On Mac: press
Cmd + Option + I.
Then click on the Console tab.
Look for SparkLoop's script.
If the script is installed correctly, you’ll see a message like this in your console:
Keep in mind that if you’re testing from a country that partners don’t accept referrals from, the five Upscribe slots may be reduced. This depends on how many partners allow referrals from your country.
If possible, test using a VPN connection to the USA or the target country of your partner audience.
If you still believe something is wrong, please reach out to our support team with all the test details so we can investigate and help you.