Affiliate Disclosure
An affiliate disclosure is a clear notice telling readers that a link may earn the publisher a commission if they buy, required by the FTC and comparable regulators to keep affiliate recommendations transparent.
A compliant affiliate disclosure is placed where the audience will see it before acting on the links — near the top of a post or beside the links themselves — in plain language such as 'This post contains affiliate links; I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.'
Disclosure protects both the publisher and the brand from regulatory penalties and preserves audience trust. It is the affiliate-specific application of broader endorsement rules like the FTC's guidelines and India's ASCI guidelines.
See also
- FTC Disclosure
An FTC disclosure is the clear, conspicuous statement a US creator or affiliate must make when they have a material connection to a brand — such as being paid or earning a commission — so audiences know the content is an ad or endorsement.
- ASCI Guidelines (India)
ASCI guidelines are the Advertising Standards Council of India's rules requiring influencers and advertisers to clearly label promotional content with disclosures like #ad or #sponsored, India's counterpart to FTC endorsement rules.
- Affiliate
An affiliate is an individual or company that promotes another business's products in exchange for a commission on the sales or actions they generate.
- Content Affiliate
A content affiliate earns commissions by creating articles, reviews, tutorials, or videos that naturally recommend products with tracked links, driving conversions through helpful, search- or audience-driven content.
- Link Cloaking
Link cloaking is the practice of masking a long, parameter-heavy affiliate URL behind a shorter, branded, or tidy link that redirects to the destination, making links cleaner, more trustworthy-looking, and easier to manage.
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