A successful affiliate marketing program relies on the trust built between brands, affiliates, and customers. Building that trust starts with a proper affiliate disclosure statement.
An affiliate disclosure statement is a tool that’s not only legally required, but also helps protect your brand reputation. When customers know exactly how an affiliate link operates, they can make informed decisions about their purchases. This guide czovers how to write an effective affiliate disclosure, with real-world examples for inspiration and tips for crafting yours.
What is an affiliate disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a transparent statement from an affiliate partner—a.k.a. the person who is promoting a product—that informs their audience of a financial relationship between themselves and a brand.
The disclosure statement specifically notes that they may earn a commission from clicks or purchases made through affiliate links. To protect consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has endorsement guidelines that govern how affiliates or influencers should disclose brand and affiliate partnerships with transparency.
Beyond legal compliance, a clear affiliate disclaimer builds trust. According to the 2025 Influencer Trust Index, transparency and honesty about brand partnerships are the top factors that impact consumer confidence. From consumers polled, 71% say transparency builds trust, while 80% say that a lack of authenticity and transparency kills it. Affiliate marketers who fail to provide this clarity may be accused of deceptive marketing practices, which can hurt their reputation and sales.
Affiliate disclosure examples
A short affiliate disclosure that links to a dedicated page informs readers of your affiliate marketing relationships. Here are examples of how industry leaders handle their affiliate disclosures.
Wirecutter
The New York Times–owned product review blog Wirecutter uses a highly visible disclosure across its content, including its website, social channels, and emails. This brief statement reads, “We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.” It’s accompanied by a “Learn more” link that directs website visitors to a dedicated affiliate disclosure page with more details about Wirecutter’s affiliate program.
Wirecutter’s affiliate disclosure focuses on the fact that while it earns a commission, its editorial integrity remains independent of its financial partnerships. Key points in its disclosure statement include:
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Editorial independence. It clearly states that its reviews are based on independent research, analysis, interviews, and testing and are not impacted by pressure from manufacturers.
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Commission transparency. It clarifies that the commission comes from subscriptions, affiliate relationships, sales of reviewed products, and affiliate programs.
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Serving the readers. If a reader returns a product because they’re unhappy, Wirecutter doesn’t get a commission, which ties its affiliate success with the reader’s satisfaction.
Gear Patrol
Gear Patrol, which reviews gear for motoring and the outdoors, places its affiliate disclosure in small text below its header image on each blog post. It states clearly, “If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission.” Clicking “Learn more” will direct you to a dedicated page where it explains its evaluation process.
Gear Patrol builds trust with its audience by going into details about its thorough review process, as well as how its commissions work:
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It doesn’t always earn commission. Not all reviews earn a commission. It prioritizes products it thinks are worth it.
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Its priority is informing. It wants to provide the best information to its readers, some of which comes from brands or retailers that are not commissionable.
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Sponsored content is clearly marked. Companies cannot pay to be featured, and any sponsored content has clear badging to show it’s an ad.
Dappered
Dappered is a website that delivers men’s fashion advice, which includes affiliate links to events like sales and products from style guides. It have a clear affiliate disclosure linked on its homepage, which dives into a full disclosure about its privacy policy and how its affiliate program works.
Some key details about its affiliate program include:
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Why it has affiliate links. In its FTC disclosure statement, Dappered says affiliate links help it generate income that keeps the site running.
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It doesn’t get paid for reviews. To maintain its editorial independence, Dappered says it does not get paid to review any company’s products.
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It lists its affiliate programs. Its statement includes a clear list of who it partners with, like Amazon Associates, Shopstyle/Shopsense, Click Junction, J. Crew, and other affiliate partnerships.
How to build trust as an affiliate
Here are some tips to help you craft a statement that meets affiliate disclosure requirements, conveys honesty, and ensures your audience you’re not engaging in deceptive advertising.
Be transparent
FTC requirements for creators include disclosing any material connection to a brand, such as financial relationships, free products, discounts, or any other perk received in exchange for a promotion. For brands using platforms like Shopify Collabs, make it clear to your affiliates that they should disclose the affiliate relationship.
On an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, TikTok creator Timm Chiusano says transparency is a foundational element of your content. In his view, being transparent and honest about his sponsored content adds credibility to his personal brand, which is all about revealing everything behind the curtain of his life. Adding transparency helps overcome the skepticism audiences may feel about product recommendations.
Make it obvious
Your affiliate link disclosure should be easy to find. The FTC requires disclosures to be placed with the endorsement itself and not only on something like an About page or buried in hashtags. It’s why you’ll see that kind of disclosure at the tops of blogs, emails, and in the profiles of social media accounts.
In a video, for example, the disclosure needs to appear in the video itself and not just the video description. In a livestream, it should be repeated periodically so viewers who catch only part of the broadcast still see it.
Use plain language
The FTC doesn’t require specific wording for disclosures, but it does require that they are clear and easy to understand for the average reader. Terms like “ad,” “sponsored,” and “paid partnership” are easy to understand, while vague shorthand like “sp,” “spon,” and “collab” are not. For example, a common and simple phrase is, “I may earn a commission for purchases made through these links.”
If you have limited space, branded hashtags such as #[BrandName]Partner or #[BrandName]Ambassador are acceptable options. The goal is to make sure your audience understands the relationship being disclosed without needing to click, scroll, interpret abbreviations, or already know what affiliate marketing is.
Double-check claims
If you’re unsure about a claim or think you might be stretching the truth, it’s best to confirm. The FTC prohibits creators from making claims about a product that the advertiser, brand, or merchant can’t substantiate. This is most relevant in categories like health, wellness, and finance, where unverified claims carry a higher legal risk.
Give an authentic review
If you haven’t actually tried a product or think it’s bad, you can’t lie that you enjoyed it, per FTC guidelines. If a brand pays for an endorsement, the content still has to reflect an honest opinion. Good brand guidelines for affiliate programs, like Shopify Affiliates, make it clear that they require honest coverage.
Affiliate disclosure FAQ
What is an affiliate disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a transparent statement that details how affiliates earn commissions. It makes the financial relationship clear between the content creator and the brands involved.
What is an example of an affiliate?
An example of an affiliate is a creator who promotes a product or brand through affiliate links. An affiliate can also be a platform or blog, such as Wirecutter, that publishes product reviews and earns commissions if readers buy the reviewed products.
Do you legally have to disclose affiliate links?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US requires disclosures to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices. In addition to US laws, regulations like GDPR in Europe mandate transparency regarding the data tracking used to attribute these sales.
How do you write an affiliate disclosure?
Use plain, clear language like “paid partnership” or “ad,” and place the disclosure in an obvious location that’s hard to miss, such as at the top of a blog post or superimposed on a video. Avoid vague shorthand language, like “spon” and “collab,” and ensure you aren’t making any claims about the product that the brand does not have substantial evidence to back up.
