FTC Affiliate Disclosure

If you receive a reward by advertising another company on your site, you need an affiliate information disclosure guideline that meets the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines.

FTC requires affiliate information disclosure to protect consumers from deceptive marketing, applying to those who advertise products and brands.

In the following, we will explain what FTC affiliate disclosure is, teach how to write, and check the examples online to learn what you can learn.

With our free disk ramer generator, you can create custom disk ramers using affiliate modules.

click

Summarized what you need to know about FTC affiliate disclosure:

• If you have an important relationship with a third party, you need to post an affiliate information disclosure that meets all FTC approval guidelines.
• Disclaimer must clearly explain that you are a sponsor of the product and that you are paid (or other) by explaining the product and services.
• If you do not post the disclaimer, you may be legally troubled with FTC.

1. How to disclose FTC affiliate information
2. What is FTC Affiliate Disclosure?
3. Do I need FTC affiliate disclosure on my site?
4. How to present FTC Affiliate Information Disclosure
5. FTC Affiliate Information Disclosure Guidelines
6. Example of FTC information disclosure
7. Location of FTC affiliate information disclosure
8. overview

How To Make An FTC Affiliate Disclosure

Affiliate information disclosure of FTC can be created by writing the disclaimer, a template, or by yourself.

Generate a Free Customized Disclaimer Using Termly

Here, we will explain how to use a Termly generator to create a disk ramer that complies with customized law, including affiliate sections.

Step 1: Access Termly's exemption generator.

Step 2: Answer some simple prompts and questions and follow all steps to Final Details.

Step 3: Enter all items, and if you are satisfied with the preview, click Publish.

After that, you will be prompted to create a Termly account, so you can save and edit legal disclaimers.

What Is an FTC Affiliate Disclosure?

FTC Affiliate Information Disclosure is an explanation with a company that pays you in accordance with the FTC recommended guidelines.

It is known as affiliate marketing to be a thir d-party product sponsor, as influencers, bloggers, and YouTuber on the Internet advertise brands and products that they do not own.

The FTC monitors so that affiliate marketing is not done unfair or deceptively, and creates guidelines.

FTC defines the recommendation of the product in a broad sense as follows:

... Any advertising, marketing, or promotional message about a product that a consumer may believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser is an endorsement, even if the views expressed by that party are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser. Verbal statements, tags or displays on social media posts, depictions of an individual's name, signature, likeness, or other identifiable personal characteristics, and the name or seal of an organization can be endorsements. A party whose opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences appear to be reflected in the message is called an "endorser," and may be or appear to be an individual, group, or organization.

In other words, even driving traffic to a company's website with the expectation of receiving a reward when the product is purchased is considered promotion.

The FTC's affiliate disclosures must meet the following guidelines:

1. The endorsement must reflect an honest opinion, belief, or observation.
2. Advertisements do not have to use the endorser's exact phrases unless the ad so claims.
3. Subscribers must be bona fide users of the product.
4. Advertisers are liable for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through registrations and for failure to disclose an unexpected material relationship between the advertiser and the document.
5. Promoters may be held liable for statements made in their sponsored endorsements.
6. Advertising agencies, public relations firms, review brokers, reputation management companies, and other similar intermediaries may be held liable for knowingly using endorsements that are misleading.
7. The use of an endorsement using the image or likeness of a person other than the actual endorser is considered misleading if it misrepresents a material attribute of the endorser.

Disclosure guidelines also apply to the use of testimonials.

Failure to follow FTC partner guidelines violates Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits deceptive advertising.

Do I Need An FTC Affiliate Disclosure On My Website?

FTC Affiliate Disclosures are required for anyone involved in affiliate marketing.

Examples of affiliate marketing include product reviews, paid guest posts, and recipe videos that link to cooking products used in the recipe.

You may receive various forms of compensation, such as:

• Cash payment (usually paid per click, lead, or sale)
• Exclusive access to products, services, and events
• Free merchandise
• Store credit (for free services, events, events, services, offers, etc.)
• Discounts

If you pay a reward to mention brands and products in this way, we recommend that you include the disclosure of FTC affiliates near the related links and reviews to avoid FTC fine.

How to Present an FTC Affiliate Disclosure

When presenting FTC disclosure to your website, it must be clear and noticeable.

In other words, the user who reads it needs to understand that you have an important relationship with a third party and may receive a reward when you click on the link.

Also, this disclosure is easy to find, not hiding behind the "Read more" button, or a format that blends into the background of the website.

If the disclosure of affiliates is noticeable in the content, and if you are trying to get a little attention, it is highly possible that you do not comply with the FTC guidelines, so we recommend that you change the content. 。

However, the specific presentation method of the FTC affiliate disclosure varies depending on where the offer is posted. for example

• Bloggers should include information disclosure at the top of the article, and can include information disclosure in the actual content near the sponsor link.
• Social media posting on platforms such as X and Instagram should be disclosed on the "Read Continue" button so that the user can see it naturally while scrolling.
• YouTube videos require visual information disclosure on the video description and screen, and information disclosure must be explained by audio.

If the hashtag is simple (eg, #AD), it may be recognized as a legal information disclosure, which makes it easier to incorporate FTC affiliate information disclosure into the post.

FTC Affiliate Disclosure Guidelines

The FTC affiliate information disclosure guidelines were finalized in 2023 and are very clear, so be aware of these points when posting FTC affiliate information disclosure.

Links in Site Navigation Are Not Adequate Disclosures

Headers, footer, sidebars, or other websites just linking to information disclosure is not enough to meet the FTC information disclosure guidelines.

The Disclosure Must Appear Before Affiliate Links

FTC information disclosure must be displayed in front of the link that leads to the brand website or product list. The FTC advises that information disclosure is displayed as close to the beginning of the content or a position where the viewer is likely to first confirm the content.

The disclosure at the bottom of the pages and articles is likely to be considered to be compliant.

Disclosures Must Be Clear and Conspicuous

An FTC disclosure will not comply if there is an attempt to hide the true nature of your relationship with the trademark. Using small fonts, colors that blend into the page background, or other tricks to hide that you are being compensated will not meet the FTC guidelines.

Notations Like (Affiliate) or #Affiliate Do Not Meet FTC Guidelines

Users who know nothing about affiliate marketing will not know what is being disclosed. However, hashtags like #AD meet the requirements because advertising is a widely known concept.

Disclosures Must Clearly Convey the Relationship Without an Additional Click

Users should be able to clearly understand what is being disclosed and why it is being disclosed without having to look it up on their own. If they have to follow a link like "Click here to read the affiliate disclosure," that does not meet the FTC guidance.

But if you have to follow a link like "This article contains affiliate links and we may receive compensation. Click here to read the FTC affiliate disclosure policy."

FTC Disclosure Examples

Below is an example of a proper FTC disclosure that meets the guidelines:

You can use our free disclaimer generator to create a customized disclaimer that includes an affiliate section.

FTC Affiliate Disclosure for Bloggers

To start, let's take a look at the screenshot below, which shows an example of an FTC blog disclosure found on a tuna salad recipe from Downshiftology.

It uses a very common affiliate disclosure format found at the top of many similar articles, clearly stating that the page contains affiliate links along with a link to a full disclosure policy.

Per the FTC guidelines, this disclosure appears just below the author's underline, before the post content, and is one of the first things readers see.

FTC Affiliate Disclosure for Reviews

Next, let's look at a sample review disclosure from PCMAG.

As shown below, their disclosure indicates that their editors independently review products, but the site may receive a commission if a reader purchases through an affiliate link.

There's a line that says: "The review contains affiliate links.

By stating that editors independently select and review products, PCMAG lets readers know that, although they may be compensated, their reviews are valid and not biased by financial commissions.

FTC Affiliate YouTube Disclosure

Under FTC guidelines, a YouTube affiliate disclosure is considered clear and conspicuous if it is disclosed verbally, in the video description, or physically displayed on-screen.

The following is a screenshot released on YouTuber's NOELLE GALLAGHER book review video.

This creator publishes the introduction link verbally in the video and describes the appropriate link on the "... see more" button in the video description.

Affiliate disclosure should be embedded in the content of the content, whether it is an article, a post to a social media, or a video

• In the case of video advertising, the disclosure should be displayed on the screen in a long enough time to look, read, and understand.
• Voice disclosure needs to be read in a pace that consumers can easily follow, with words that consumers can understand.

Where To Put Your FTC Affiliate Disclosure

In the FTC partner disclosure guideline, the disclosure is required in a prominent place so that the user can easily see, read, and understand.

In the case of posting to social media or video content

• Read more ... "In the description of the post on the button, post the information disclosure.
• In the case of a video, the disclosure contents are clearly specified.
• Visually express information and branding on the screen.

For blogs and websites

• Information disclosure is posted at the top of the page.
• Add links and other information disclosure near the introduction links and sponsor links in the content.
• Add a link to the full text of information disclosure to the footer on the site.

Summary

If you have good intentions and a little attention, you will rarely be fined from FTC for affiliate contracts and sponsorship.

FTC aims to prevent consumers transparent by preventing unfair and deceptive acts.

In order to comply with the FTC guidelines, disclose affiliate relationships in the related content and explain in detail on the disclaimer page.

To quickly create a dismissal clause compliant with the FTC guidelines, use a free disclaimer formation app or customize the exemption clause template.

More about the author

Written by Masha Komnenic CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, FIP

Masha is a specialist in information security and data protection and a certified data protection office. For the past six years, it has been supporting the laws and regulations of SMEs as a data protection officer. He is also a privacy compliance leader of several international business accelerators. He specializes in privacy regulations (HIPAA, Pipeda, e Privacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA, Popia, LGPD), monitoring, and auditing business compliance. He studied law at Beo Grado University and passed the bar exam in 2016. About the author