What is an FTC affiliate disclosure?

An FTC affiliate disclosure is a clear, conspicuous statement telling your audience that you may earn a commission if they buy something through your links. The US Federal Trade Commission requires affiliates to disclose any 'material connection' to a brand whenever they recommend a product — that includes affiliate commissions, paid endorsements, free products received, or any relationship a reasonable consumer would want to know about. The disclosure has to be in plain language, on the same page or content piece as the recommendation, and unavoidable (not buried in a footer or hidden behind a tooltip).

Where should I place an affiliate disclosure?

Place the disclosure ABOVE the first affiliate link on the page. The FTC says it must be 'clear and conspicuous' — meaning visible without scrolling past your recommendations. A disclosure at the bottom of a 3,000-word article is not compliant because most users will have clicked an affiliate link before they ever see it. Best practice: a one-line disclosure right after the introduction, plus a link to a full /disclosures page in your site footer for transparency.

Is #ad enough for FTC compliance on social media?

Yes, when used correctly. #ad is the FTC's preferred minimal disclosure for social media. It must appear at the TOP of the caption or visibly within the post — not buried among 20 other hashtags at the end. The FTC has explicitly said that #sp, #thanks, #collab, or #partner alone do NOT meet the standard; they're too vague for a typical viewer to understand as a paid relationship. #ad, #sponsored, and #affiliate are all clear enough. Several platforms also offer built-in disclosure tools (YouTube 'Includes paid promotion,' Instagram 'Paid partnership') — enable those in addition to a text disclosure.

Do I need to disclose affiliate links if I'm a small creator?

Yes. The FTC rules apply regardless of audience size. There's no minimum-follower exemption, no income threshold. The FTC has actually sent warning letters to micro-influencers with under 10,000 followers specifically to establish that the rules apply to everyone. Small creators are more likely to face platform-level enforcement (account suspension by affiliate networks or ad platforms) than direct FTC action, but the legal rule is the same: disclose whenever you have a material connection to the brand you're recommending.

What happens if I don't disclose affiliate links?

Three escalating consequences. (1) Platform-level: affiliate networks (ShareASale, Impact, CJ) typically terminate your account on the first complaint, and ad platforms (Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok Ads) suspend ad accounts for undisclosed affiliate promotions. (2) FTC action: small affiliates rarely face direct FTC fines, but warning letters are routine and FTC settlements with larger affiliates have included fines of $10,000 to $250,000+. (3) Audience trust: readers who discover undisclosed affiliate relationships rarely return. The cost is asymmetric — disclosure costs nothing; not disclosing can cost everything.

Do I need to disclose affiliate links on every page or just once?

Every page that contains affiliate links needs its own disclosure. A general disclosure in your site footer or on a separate /disclosures page is good practice but is not sufficient on its own — the FTC has said the disclosure must be on the same content piece as the recommendation. For a blog with 500 review posts, that means a disclosure line at the top of each of those 500 posts (most CMS platforms let you set this up as an automatic template insertion). For social posts, the disclosure is per-post.

Affiliate Link Disclosure: FTC Rules, Examples, Templates

Q: What is a sample affiliate disclosure?

A simple FTC-compliant disclosure: 'This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.' Place it at the top of the page or content piece, before any affiliate links. For YouTube descriptions: 'Some of the links below are affiliate links — I earn a commission if you purchase.' For social-media posts: #ad or #affiliate at the TOP of the caption (not buried among other hashtags). For email: 'This email contains affiliate links' near the top, plus a CAN-SPAM footer with your physical address.

1. What the FTC actually requires

The US Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides say that anyone with a "material connection" to a brand must clearly and conspicuously disclose that connection when recommending the brand's product. For affiliates, the material connection is the commission you earn.

Three rules summarize the entire requirement:

Clear. Plain language a typical reader will understand. "I may earn a commission if you buy through this link" — not "I have a material connection to this brand pursuant to commercial arrangements."
Conspicuous. Visible without effort. Not buried in a footer, not behind a tooltip, not in 8-point gray text. On the same page or content piece as the recommendation. Before any affiliate links if possible.
Unavoidable. A typical user must see it before being able to click an affiliate link. A disclosure at the bottom of a 3,000-word post that puts the first affiliate link in paragraph 2 doesn't pass this test.

That's the legal core. Everything else — platform-specific tools, hashtag rules, format conventions — is implementation detail layered on top of those three principles.

2. Sample disclosures you can copy

These work as starting templates. Customize the tone to fit your voice, but keep the substance.

For a blog post or article

Recommended (most common)

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the site.

Shorter alternative

Some links in this post are affiliate links. I earn a commission if you make a purchase.

Most-detailed (full transparency)

This post contains affiliate links to products I genuinely use and recommend. If you click through and buy, I receive a small commission that helps me keep publishing — at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I've personally tested. See my full disclosures page for details.

For YouTube video descriptions

Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the channel.

Place this near the top of the video description, ABOVE any product links. Also enable YouTube's built-in "Includes paid promotion" toggle in Video Details → Show advanced settings.

For Instagram, TikTok, X, Threads

Use a clear hashtag at the TOP of the caption, not buried among 30 other tags. Acceptable: #ad, #sponsored, #affiliate. Not acceptable per FTC: #sp, #thanks, #collab, #partner.

Caption example

#ad — testing the new XYZ this week and genuinely impressed. Full thoughts in the comments. Link in bio if you want to check it out.

Also enable platform-native tools where available: Instagram's "Paid partnership" tag, TikTok's "Branded content" toggle.

For email newsletters

Add a one-line disclosure near the top of the email, before the first affiliate link:

This email contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy through them.

Plus a CAN-SPAM-compliant footer: physical address, working unsubscribe link, accurate "from" line. Your email provider (ConvertKit, Beehiiv, Substack, etc.) handles the footer automatically.

For Pinterest, Reddit, podcasts

Pinterest: include "#affiliate" or "affiliate link" in the pin description. Reddit: state the disclosure in the body of your post — bury it in a comment and it's invisible. Podcasts: verbally disclose at the start of the segment that mentions the product ("This episode is brought to you by X, and the link in our show notes is an affiliate link"). Repeat in the show notes too.

3. Where to place the disclosure

Placement matters as much as the disclosure text itself. The FTC's "clear and conspicuous" test means a typical user must encounter the disclosure before they can be influenced by the recommendation.

For articles and reviews: right after the introduction, before the first recommendation. Not at the end. Not collapsed inside a "More info" tooltip.
For listicles ("best X for Y"): at the top of the page, before the list begins. Some publishers add a small inline disclosure next to each affiliate link as well.
For videos: verbal disclosure in the first 30 seconds AND in the description. YouTube's "Includes paid promotion" toggle adds a visible label at the start of the video.
For social posts: at the top of the caption, not after a "More" cut. Use a built-in disclosure tool where available.
For your site overall: a dedicated /disclosures page linked from the footer of every page. This is "good hygiene" — it doesn't substitute for per-page disclosures but adds a layer of transparency.

A useful test: if a reader saw only your page's first screen (no scrolling), would they know there are affiliate links? If not, the disclosure isn't conspicuous enough.

4. Disclosures by platform

Each platform has its own affiliate-content rules layered on top of the FTC requirements. Quick reference:

Personal website / blog: per-page text disclosure at the top of the article, plus a footer link to a full /disclosures page.
YouTube: text disclosure in the description, enabled "Includes paid promotion" toggle, verbal disclosure in the video. Direct affiliate links in descriptions are allowed but bridge pages perform better and avoid policy ambiguity.
Instagram: #ad at the top of the caption, enabled "Paid partnership" tag where available. Story links require disclosure too (a "Paid partnership" sticker is built-in).
TikTok: #ad in the caption, "Branded content" toggle enabled. TikTok Shop has specific affiliate creator rules — follow those if you participate.
X (Twitter): #ad in the tweet itself, not in a reply. Threads same as the parent tweet on each affiliate link.
Pinterest: "affiliate" or "#affiliate" in the pin description. Pinterest's "Idea Pins" allow direct affiliate linking.
Reddit: disclosure in the post body. Most subreddits have additional rules about self-promotion — check each subreddit's rules before posting.
Email: top-of-email disclosure plus CAN-SPAM footer (physical address, unsubscribe).
Paid ads (Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok Ads): direct affiliate links are prohibited by all four. You must run paid traffic to a bridge page on your own domain. Disclosure on the bridge page is part of the platform's approval criteria.

5. Good vs bad disclosures — examples

✓ Good disclosures

"This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you." (Plain language, top of page, before links.)
"#ad — Here's my honest review of the new XYZ headphones." (Clear hashtag at the start of an Instagram caption.)
"Includes paid promotion" YouTube label visible at video start, plus "Affiliate links in description" in the description's opening paragraph.
A disclosure box at the top of a blog post written in the same voice as the rest of the content, so it doesn't feel like a legal disclaimer.

✗ Bad disclosures

Buried in the footer. "Disclaimer: this site may contain affiliate links." in 8pt gray text 4,000 pixels below the recommendations. Not conspicuous.
Vague hashtags only. #thanks, #sp, #partner, #collab — the FTC has explicitly said these don't mean "ad" to a typical reader.
Hashtag stuffing. #ad as the 17th hashtag in a string of 30, with the first 16 being descriptive tags. Hidden.
"More info" tooltips. Disclosure hidden behind a "?" icon the user has to click. Not unavoidable.
Wrong tense. "This MIGHT contain affiliate links" — implies uncertainty when the publisher knows for sure.
After the link. Disclosure at the bottom of an article whose first affiliate link appears in paragraph 2. By the time the reader sees the disclosure, the influence already happened.

6. Platform-native disclosure tools

Most major platforms now provide built-in disclosure tools. Use them in addition to text disclosure, not instead of. The platform tools satisfy platform policies; the text disclosure satisfies FTC requirements. You need both.

YouTube: Video Details → Show more → Paid promotion → check "Includes paid promotion."
Instagram: Tag a product or business as "Paid partnership" before posting. Available for Story, Reel, and Feed.
TikTok: Post settings → "Disclose post content" → toggle "Branded content."
Facebook: "Branded content" tagging is available via Meta Business Suite for verified pages.
X (Twitter): No built-in tool yet; rely on text disclosure within the tweet.
Pinterest: No mandatory toggle; the platform recommends "#affiliate" in pin descriptions.

7. What happens if you don't disclose

Three escalating consequences:

Platform-level enforcement (most common). Affiliate networks (ShareASale, Impact, CJ, Awin) typically terminate your account on the first verified complaint. Ad platforms (Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok Ads) suspend ad accounts. Account suspension is the most likely outcome and the most painful for working affiliates.
FTC action. The FTC sends warning letters routinely — they're public and tend to scare advertisers and platforms more than affiliates. Direct fines for individual affiliates are rare unless the violation is egregious or repeated. Larger affiliates and networks have settled with the FTC for $10,000 to $250,000+ in past actions.
Audience trust collapse. Readers who discover undisclosed affiliate relationships often unsubscribe, unfollow, or call it out publicly. For a content business built on trust, this is the most costly outcome.

The cost-benefit is asymmetric: disclosing costs you nothing (a 12-word sentence at the top of the page). Not disclosing can cost you your accounts, your reputation, and potentially money. There's no reasonable case for skipping disclosure.

Affiliate link disclosure: FTC rules, examples, templates.