Affiliate Disclosures: What They Are and Why You Need One
If you’re an affiliate marketer or are planning to be one, you should be very clear on one thing right from the start: affiliate disclosures.
This basically means that you need to be clear with your audience that your links are affiliate links and that if they click them, you’ll earn a commission.
Often, when signing up for an affiliate scheme, you’ll be faced with several pages of text to read as part of the terms of the agreement. And people often don’t read through it all – no surprise there!
But here’s the catch – these terms of agreement documents will usually include clear guidelines about what you can and cannot do regarding your affiliate disclosure. And if you get it wrong (whether deliberately or accidentally doesn’t matter), then you could easily see your affiliate account closed down immediately – possibly with the loss of all accrued earnings.
Source: Mzerak
Not to mention that affiliate disclosures are a requirement of the Federal Trade Commission, and you don’t want to be running into them!
So it is vital that you understand what an affiliate disclosure is, when you need one, and how to get it right.Fortunately, that’s what we will cover in this article… so let’s get started!
What Is an Affiliate Disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is simply a statement published on your affiliate website that informs readers that you’re getting paid to promote certain products.
This is usually a commission on the sale of any products or services purchased through your affiliate link.
Why You Need an Affiliate Disclosure
A clear affiliate disclosure statement on your website or channel is a must-have if you’re promoting products or services for which you’re getting paid. There are two reasons why you should include it on your site.
1. It’s Legally Required
If you do a good job promoting your affiliate site, you could potentially have quite an influence on your audience, affecting their choices and, ultimately, their purchases.
Source: HubSpot
To ensure that you’re not misleading your audience and are completely transparent, both the affiliate networks and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) require you to include an affiliate disclosure on your website.
If you don’t include it, your account will likely be suspended or canceled, or you could face other, more severe penalties.
2. Being Honest With Readers
But even without the requirements from affiliate networks and the FTC, you should still include an affiliate disclosure.
This is because your audience trusts you, and you should be upfront with them. Adding a disclosure to your site will ensure transparency and build better trust.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Requirements
So now we understand the importance of having a clear affiliate disclosure statement on your website or channel, but what exactly does it need to say?
With Amazon, it’s straightforward since all you need to do is include this phrase on your site:
- “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
If you want to be safe, you can copy-paste the phrase above and include it in any blog posts that contain Amazon affiliate links.
If you use an affiliate program other than Amazon, you should carefully check its service terms. (You could simply open their terms document and quickly search for the word ‘disclosure’.)
How to Write an Affiliate Disclosure
The Amazon Affiliate program has a pretty straightforward affiliate disclosure statement. But perhaps you want to go further and be even more transparent with your audience?
You may even feel that Amazon’s statement is less than helpful in making it clear that you’re an affiliate, so let’s look at writing an affiliate disclosure that everyone can understand.
#1: Start With a Clear Heading And a Title
Begin with a heading that clearly states that it’s an affiliate disclosure. It’s as simple as writing ‘Affiliate Disclosure’ or ‘Disclosure Statement’ as a title.
#2: Be Clear & Direct
Before you start writing your affiliate disclosure, we recommend keeping it simple.
It should not confuse or scare readers away from reading your posts and considering your product recommendations. Ensure you clearly state that you may earn a commission when a visitor buys a product with your link.
#3: Mention No Extra Cost to the Reader
Emphasize that using your affiliate links doesn’t cost the reader anything extra.
This ensures that visitors aren’t scared of buying products from your website just because they might think they’ll cost more since you’re getting a commission.
#4: State Your Intentions
Make it clear that your goal is to provide valuable content and recommendations.
Your readers should understand that you’re not motivated by the commissions and that these commissions act simply as a way to support your website.
#5: Explain How Affiliates Schemes Work
Consider adding a brief explanation of how affiliate marketing works.
This could involve mentioning that you will receive a commission when someone clicks an affiliate link on your website and then makes a purchase.
Examples of Affiliate Disclosures
So far, we’ve covered what an affiliate disclosure is, why it’s important, and how to write one. But what exactly should your affiliate disclosure say?
Your disclosure needs to be clear, concise, and transparent while also fitting your specific platform and audience.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of affiliate disclosures you can use, depending on where you’re posting (feel free to copy these!)
Short and Simple Disclosure Examples
If you’re looking for something quick and easy, here are some examples that get straight to the point:
- For Blogs and Websites:
- “This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.”
- “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
- For Social Media Posts:
- “Affiliate links included. I may earn a commission if you buy something through my links.”
- “#Ad #Affiliate”
- For YouTube Video Descriptions:
- “Some of the links in this description are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.”
These examples are simple but effective, covering all the necessary points while staying concise. The idea is to inform your audience quickly without disrupting the flow of your content and, of course, fulfill the requirements of affiliate schemes such as Amazon Associates.
Detailed Disclosure Examples
Sometimes, you might need a more detailed affiliate disclosure to ensure full transparency, especially for in-depth product reviews or how-to guides. Here are a couple of examples suitable for this kind of content.
- For Product Review Blogs:
- “This review contains affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products I genuinely believe in.”
- For Tutorials or How-to Guides:
- “Some of the tools and services mentioned in this guide include affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, I may earn a commission, which helps me keep creating valuable content like this.”
These examples go a step further by reassuring readers that your recommendations are genuine and that the commission doesn’t influence your opinions.
Custom Disclosure Example for AAWP Plugin Users
If you’re using AAWP (and why wouldn’t you be?), there’s an easy way to integrate affiliate disclosures directly into your product displays. Here’s a custom example that works perfectly with AAWP:
- “This website uses AAWP to display affiliate links to Amazon products. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. These commissions help support our website at no extra cost to you.”
The beauty of AAWP is that it can be configured to automate the process of inserting this disclosure across your site, saving you time and ensuring you stay compliant with affiliate program requirements.
Legal and Best Practice Reminders
No matter which type of disclosure you use, it’s important to remember that it must be clear and easy for readers to find. Don’t hide your affiliate disclosure at the bottom of a page or behind a link. It needs to be placed close to the affiliate links or content it relates to, ensuring your audience knows you’re being transparent and honest about your affiliations.
By using these examples as a guide, you can craft an affiliate disclosure that fits seamlessly into your content, protects your business, and builds trust with your audience.
Where to Put an Affiliate Disclosure
Now you have a fantastic disclosure that lets you be fully transparent with readers while also protecting your account from suspension.
But we’re not done yet!
The last step is ensuring your affiliate disclosure statement is correctly embedded in your affiliate website.
The full statement we created earlier should be shorter to add to a banner at the top of your page, but it could be included in the footer. You might also make a separate page specifically for your disclosure statement.
However, including an affiliate disclosure statement in either the footer or on a separate page won’t be enough.
Amazon’s requirements state that your affiliate disclosure “…should be placed near any affiliate link or product review in a location that customers will notice easily. They shouldn’t have to hunt for it.”
This means that you will need to include a statement in every blog post with affiliate links – and it has to be near the affiliate links you promote. Just putting a disclosure in your sidebar, footer, or on an affiliate page isn’t enough by the FTC guidelines.
That’s Where We Jump In to Help!
To make this tedious process faster, AAWP can do all of this for you AUTOMATICALLY, so you never need to worry about forgetting or overlooking this step.
Our team of developers is aware of this need for adding an affiliate disclosure and that’s why you can have it automatically added under each product.
All you need to do is to head into the AAWP settings page, and select the option to show a disclaimer below each Amazon box you add with our plugin. You can even choose to write your own custom affiliate disclaimer in the text box below.
And that’s it!
You don’t need to spend hours on this process – with AAWP, it’s a set-it-and-forget-it thing. To learn more about our plugin, check some of our affiliate marketing blog posts.
Don’t Want to Add an Affiliate Disclosure Next to Every Affiliate Link?
Fortunately, there is a way around it.
If you don’t want to include a disclosure next to every link, you can also automatically insert it at the top of every blog post – this is fine by the FTC guidelines too.
To minimize the friction and make it effortless, we recommend using the Ad Inserter plugin (or one similar to it).
Installing the Ad Inserter Plugin
To install the Ad Inserter plugin, head over to your WordPress Admin -> Plugins, search for the “Ad Inserter” plugin, then install and activate it.
Setting Up An Automatic Affiliate Disclosure
Now you’ve installed the Ad Inserter plugin, it’s time to configure it to insert your affiliate disclosure into all relevant posts.
Begin by heading over to the Ad Inserter -> Settings -> Block 1 and paste your chosen affiliate disclosure into the box provided.
Also, set the Insertion to ‘Before Content’.
Choosing to Insert a Disclosure to Only Affiliate Posts
To ensure that the affiliate disclosure is only inserted into posts containing affiliate links, you’ll need to click on the Lists tab. We’ll be whitelisting all of our affiliate posts by using an ‘affiliate’ tag.
To make the disclosure only appear with posts including affiliate links, you should type in ‘affiliate’ tothe Tags and whitelist it by clicking the cross icon, and changing it into a tick or check icon.
Now, to include a disclosure in your posts with affiliate links, you just have to add the ‘affiliate’ tag into the Tags section when adding a post to WordPress.
If you already have posts in your WordPress site that need this tag included, you can quickly and easily do this by opening your ‘Posts’ page in the Admin dashboard, clicking the ‘Quick Edit’ option under each relevant post, and adding the ‘affiliate’ tag there.
Optimizing Affiliate Disclosures for Conversions
Affiliate disclosures are not just about complying with affiliate policies – they can also be written to strengthen your relationship with your audience and even boost your conversions. The key is to find the right balance between being open and transparent and including a little subtle persuasion – all while ensuring that you follow FTC guidelines.
Let’s take a look at some strategies for writing affiliate disclosures that don’t just meet legal requirements but also help drive sales.
1. Highlight the Value for Readers
One of the most effective ways to optimize your affiliate disclosure is to emphasize how your links benefit your readers. Whether pointing out that there’s no extra cost to them or mentioning potential perks they’ll receive, showing that the purchase is a win-win can make a big difference.
For example, you could say:
- “By using my affiliate links, you’re helping support the free content on this site – at no additional cost to you.”
- “If you make a purchase through my referral links, it helps me keep bringing you honest, helpful reviews.”
This clarifies that although you may receive a commission, the reader gets the same deal without additional costs. This can help build trust and actively encourage them to support you.
2. Use the Power of Transparency
Transparency boosts trust, and trust leads to conversions (not to be confused with Yoda’s philosophy!). Your audience is more likely to buy from someone they trust, and a well-written affiliate disclosure can quickly increase that trust by being upfront about your affiliate connection with specific organizations or brands.
For example:
- “I only recommend products I truly believe in. If you choose to make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive a commission, which helps support the site and keeps it running.”
Being honest and open about your affiliate relationships lets your audience know they can still trust your recommendations, even if you’re earning from them.
3. Subtly Include Potential Benefits
It’s also a good idea to include a note about potential benefits to your readers to help make your disclosure even more persuasive. You might include special offers, discounts, or bonuses they can take advantage of through your links.
For example:
- “Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase. You’ll get the same great price – plus, occasionally, special offers only available through my link!”
This can make your disclosure feel like an added benefit, rather than just a legal requirement.
4. Keep It Friendly and Reader-Supported
The tone of your disclosure should match the overall voice of your brand. If your content has a friendly, approachable tone, ensure your disclosure matches that. A more relaxed, conversational disclosure can help it feel less like a legal statement and more like a reminder of how readers are supporting your work.
For instance:
- “This site is reader-supported, which means when you buy through links on this site, I may earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting what I do!”
This affiliate disclosure statement makes your audience feel part of the process, encouraging them to click through your referral links.
Keep Your Business Safe With Affiliate Disclosure
Having and displaying a clear affiliate disclosure is not just a ‘nice-to-have’ addon for your readers – it’s an essential requirement of both the FTC and affiliate networks.
To learn more tricks about affiliate marketing, we recommend checking these resources:
- From Hobby to Hustle: How to Turn a Blog Into a Thriving Business
- How To Write A Good Product Review That Sells
- How To Create Affiliate Links From Amazon — Ultimate Guide
Looking for a way to generate more revenue and maximize profits?
That’s precisely what AAWP can help you with!
AAWP is our WP plugin designed specifically to help Amazon affiliates make the most of their affiliate journey – and maximize commissions. We offer a ton of handy tools and features that will help you customize your affiliate ads for the best results.
These features will allow you to not only get the attention of potential customers, but also separate you from other affiliate marketers.
Get started with AAWP today and create a winning affiliate website right now!
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