Disclosing your affiliate links isn’t optional, and getting it wrong can cost you your audience’s trust, your commissions, or both. Here’s exactly what the FTC requires, what it looks like in practice, and how to do it without making your content feel like a legal disclaimer.
What does it mean to disclose an affiliate link?
An affiliate link disclosure tells your audience that you may earn a commission if they click your link and make a purchase. The Federal Trade Commission requires this disclosure because without it, readers don’t know you have a financial stake in what you’re recommending. That’s a conflict of interest, and the FTC considers hiding it deceptive advertising.
The disclosure has to be clear, conspicuous, and impossible to miss. A tiny footnote at the bottom of the page doesn’t cut it. A link that says “legal” or “disclaimer” that readers have to click to find the information doesn’t cut it either. The FTC has said explicitly that a hyperlinked disclosure is “easily avoidable” and fails their standard. You have to put the disclosure where people will actually see it, before they click the link.
The good news: a disclosure doesn’t have to be complicated. “This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of my links, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you” covers it. Simple, plain, done.
What does the FTC actually require?
The FTC’s endorsement guidelines, updated most recently in 2023, require that any material connection between you and a brand you’re promoting be disclosed clearly. A commission counts as a material connection. So does receiving a free product, getting early access, or any other compensation.
Here’s what the rules say about placement and format:
- Disclosures must appear close to the claim or link, not buried somewhere else on the page.
- Disclosures must be “above the fold” where possible. Readers shouldn’t have to scroll down to find it.
- Pop-up disclosures are prohibited.
- The disclosure must appear on the same page where the endorsement is made. Linking to a separate disclosure page is not sufficient.
- Non-US affiliates who have a US audience still have to comply with FTC rules.
The 2023 update tightened the definition of “clear and conspicuous” to mean “unavoidable.” The FTC wants the disclosure to be something readers genuinely cannot miss, not something you can technically point to if challenged. If it can be missed, it doesn’t count.
One thing people get wrong: relying entirely on the built-in disclosure tools provided by social platforms isn’t always enough. Instagram’s paid partnership label, for example, may satisfy some requirements, but the FTC says it’s still your responsibility to make sure the disclosure is evident. Platform tools can supplement your disclosure, not replace it.
The FTC updated their endorsement guidelines in 2023 with significant changes for affiliates and affiliate program owners alike. For a full breakdown of what changed and what you need to do about it, read FTC endorsement guide updates: what affiliates and affiliate programs need to know.
How to disclose affiliate links on a blog post
For a blog post, the standard approach is a disclosure at or near the top of the post, before any affiliate links appear. It doesn’t need to be a full paragraph. A single sentence works.
Some examples:
- “This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through one of my links, at no extra cost to you.”
- “Heads up: some links in this post are affiliate links. That means I get a small commission if you buy, at no cost to you.”
- “Disclosure: I earn commissions from some of the links below.”
You can also add a brief in-line note near specific links, especially if a link appears further down a long post and the original disclosure might be forgotten. Something like “(affiliate link)” next to or after a hyperlink is simple and effective.
If you’re writing a product review post specifically, place the disclosure at the very top before anything else. Review posts are exactly what the FTC is thinking about when they write these rules. If you received the product for free to review, say that explicitly. “I received this product at no charge in exchange for an honest review” is the right language.
Review posts are one of the highest-converting formats in affiliate marketing, and getting the structure right matters as much as the disclosure. Review Post Pro is an AI-powered tool trained on 300+ top-ranked review posts that helps you write SEO-optimized reviews that show up on page one and actually make sales.
How to disclose affiliate links on social media
Social media disclosures follow the same principle: the disclosure has to be visible before the reader takes action. For most social platforms, that means the disclosure needs to appear at the start of your caption, not buried after a “read more” cutoff.
Common formats that work:
- Start your caption with “#ad” or “#affiliate” before any promotional content.
- Write “affiliate link below” or “I earn a commission on this” before you post the link.
- On Instagram, use the paid partnership label AND include a text disclosure in the caption if it’s an affiliate arrangement rather than a direct sponsorship.
What doesn’t work: putting the disclosure at the end of a long caption that most people won’t read all the way through. The FTC has been clear that disclosures have to come before the promotional content, not after. On platforms that cut off captions with a “more” button, the disclosure needs to appear before that cutoff.
The top mistakes affiliates make on social media include skipping or burying disclosures, which puts you at risk both with the FTC and with the platforms themselves. Instagram and TikTok both have their own policies on top of FTC requirements.
How to disclose affiliate links on YouTube
YouTube requires both a verbal disclosure in the video and a written disclosure in the description. Using only one of the two is not enough for the FTC’s standard.
In the video itself, mention the affiliate relationship early, ideally in the first 30 seconds. Something like: “Just so you know, some of the links in the description are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I get a small commission. That doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.” Say it naturally. You don’t need to read from a script.
In the description, include a written disclosure near the top, before the links. YouTube lets you save a default description template, so you can add a standard disclosure block once and have it auto-populate on every video.
Don’t rely on YouTube’s built-in paid promotion toggle as your only disclosure. It’s designed for brand deals, not affiliate commissions, and the FTC specifically says that platform tools don’t automatically satisfy their requirements.
How to disclose affiliate links in email
Email disclosures follow the same logic. Include a disclosure near the top of your email before any affiliate links appear. A one-liner in smaller text works fine.
A lot of affiliates add a standard disclosure to their email footer, which is better than nothing but technically doesn’t meet the “close to the claim” standard on its own. The safest approach is a brief disclosure at the top of any email that contains affiliate links, plus a note in the footer.
Something like: “Heads up: this email contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through one of them, at no extra cost to you.” That’s all it takes. It takes up two lines and most readers won’t think twice about it.
If you’re using email as a primary affiliate channel, the structure of your emails matters as much as the disclosure. The 5 email marketing secrets for closing more affiliate sales breaks down exactly how to write affiliate emails that convert, with or without a promotion window.
Does disclosing hurt conversions?
This is the question people worry about most, and the honest answer is no. It doesn’t. In fact, research consistently shows that disclosures either have no effect on conversion rates or a slight positive effect with audiences who trust the creator. The idea that telling people you earn a commission will make them stop buying is mostly a fear, not a real pattern.
Think about it from your audience’s perspective. If they’re watching your review or reading your recommendation, they probably already suspect there’s some kind of relationship. Telling them directly, in plain language, actually builds credibility. It signals that you’re not hiding anything. The affiliates I’ve watched struggle with trust aren’t the ones who disclosed. They’re the ones who clearly had something to hide and their audience noticed anyway.
The disclosure doesn’t undermine your recommendation. What undermines your recommendation is recommending bad products. If you only promote things you genuinely believe in, a disclosure is just you being honest about how you make money. That’s fine. Your audience can handle it.
What happens if you don’t disclose?
The FTC can issue civil penalties for deceptive advertising, and affiliate disclosure violations fall under that category. Individual fines can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars for repeat violations. In 2022 and 2023, the FTC issued multiple warning letters to influencers and affiliates for inadequate disclosures, and those letters often come with the expectation that you’ll fix the issue immediately or face formal action.
Beyond the FTC, affiliate networks and programs have their own compliance requirements. Many programs will pull your commissions or terminate your account if you’re found to be non-compliant. The affiliate program terms and conditions you agreed to almost certainly require FTC-compliant disclosures. If you’re in violation, you’re also potentially in breach of your affiliate agreement.
And then there’s the audience trust side of it. If your readers discover you’ve been recommending products without disclosing your financial relationship, that’s a reputation hit that’s much harder to recover from than any compliance fine. People don’t mind being told you earn commissions. They mind being misled.
Affiliate link disclosure: quick-start checklist
Use this as your go-to reference. Before you publish anything with affiliate links:
- Blog posts: Disclosure at the top of the post, above the first affiliate link. One sentence minimum. For reviews, also state if you received the product for free.
- Social media: Disclosure at the start of the caption, before the “read more” cutoff. “#ad” or “#affiliate” at the very beginning works.
- YouTube: Verbal mention in the first 30 seconds, written disclosure at the top of the video description before any links.
- Email: Disclosure near the top of the email body, before any affiliate links. Footer disclosure is optional but a good addition.
- Podcasts: Verbal disclosure when mentioning any affiliate product or link. “This is an affiliate link, meaning I may earn a commission” is enough.
One more thing: your disclosure should be in plain English. Legal-sounding language that most people gloss over defeats the purpose. The FTC wants your audience to actually understand what you’re telling them. Keep it simple, keep it honest, and keep it at the top.
Once you’ve got disclosures handled, the next step is making sure your actual promotions are organized and nothing falls through the cracks. The free Promotion Checklist Template lets you plan your entire affiliate promotion, email and social media, in one place. And if you’re earlier in the process and still figuring out the basics, the Affiliate Marketing QuickStart Guide walks you through how to build real income without your own product.
If you want a reusable template you can take into every single promotion, the free Promotion Checklist Template covers every step across email and social so nothing gets missed, including your disclosure.
Frequently asked questions about affiliate link disclosure
Do I have to disclose if the product was free?
Yes. Receiving a product at no cost in exchange for a review is a material connection. You need to disclose it explicitly. “I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review” covers it. This applies even if you weren’t paid cash.
Is a disclosure in the footer enough?
No. Footer disclosures alone don’t meet the FTC’s “close to the claim” requirement. The disclosure needs to be near the affiliate link or endorsement, ideally at the top of the post, video description, or email.
Can I use one disclosure for my whole website?
A site-wide disclosure page is a good thing to have, but it doesn’t replace per-post disclosures. The FTC requires the disclosure to be on the same page where the endorsement or affiliate link appears. You can’t link to a separate page and call it done.
Do I need to disclose on every single post?
Any post, video, email, or social post that contains an affiliate link or paid recommendation requires a disclosure. If there are no affiliate links in a particular piece of content, no disclosure is needed. But if there are links, yes, every time.
What if I’m not in the US?
If your content reaches a US audience, US FTC rules apply. This is explicit in the guidelines. Many other countries have similar laws, so check your local regulations as well, but FTC compliance is required regardless of where you’re based if you have US readers or viewers.
Does disclosing really hurt clicks?
It doesn’t in any meaningful way. Most studies on this have found little to no negative impact on click-through rates. If anything, transparent disclosures can improve trust over time, which increases the value of your long-term recommendations. The short-term fear of losing clicks keeps a lot of affiliates in a bad compliance position for no real benefit.
