How to Write An Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer For Your Website- Don’t Sleep On This As It’s Important!
Disclosure (full version- https://nikolaroza.com/affiliate-disclosure/): Some of the links you’ll encounter are affiliate links. If you click and buy something, I may get a commission. Thank you!
So you found an excellent niche for your Amazon affiliate website, and you’re ready to CRUSH it?
You’re gonna earn a tonne of money on this and there ain’t nothing gonna stop you.
I’m sure you’re right, but don’t forget to write and publish your Amazon affiliate disclaimer.
It’s a hard rule and a requirement, but also very simple to do and this guide will show you how.
Let’s go!
What Is An Affiliate Disclosures (Definition)? And How To Write It?
Affiliate disclosures are short text blurbs found on all pages of your site that inform your readers that you earn commissions from some of the paid links on that page.
Having an affiliate disclosure is a requirement by FTC, and not having it can put your whole business at risk.
How to Write an Affiliate Disclaimer?
Your affiliate disclaimer must be:
- Frequent- This means it must be visible on every page on your site that has even a single affiliate link.
- Clear- This means that even a barely literate person who knows next to nothing can read it and still understand that you profit from some paid links in your post. Use simple English, be direct, blunt even, and avoid jargon that only marketing experts understand.
- Conspicuous- This means your disclosure must be clearly visible on the page and not hidden in any way. Use a different font if you have to, but your disclaimer needs to stand out.
Pro tip- Create a separate disclaimer page and put it in the footer. Then link from your FTC disclosure at the top of the page to your dedicated disclosure page.
Here’s how I do it on my site:
How To Write an Amazon Affiliate Disclosure?+ 3 Reasons Why You Need To Have It
The rules you need to follow for FTC disclosure also apply to Amazon disclosure.
Meaning it needs to be present and highly visible on every page where you have Amazon affiliate links.
I suggest you copy their official disclaimer which you can them modify a bit to represent your site.
Here’s the disclaimer (from section 5 https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement):
“[Insert your website name] is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to [insert the applicable site name (amazon.com or whatever)].”
Pro tip- I also suggest you create a dedicate disclosure page where you can in detail explain your affiliation with Amazon.
Here’s how Pat Flynn does it.
If you read you’ll notice how he explains in detail what affiliate marketing is and how he earns from it. He also mentions that he uses Amazon affiliate links in conjunction with paid links from other networks
Give it a read, you can learn a lot and ultimately write a better Amazon disclaimer for your website.
3 Quick Reasons Why You Need To Have Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer On Your Blog’s Pages
#1- You’re Required To Have It
Amazon demand that you as their affiliate disclose your affiliation to visitors and potential buyers.
It’s because your action reflect on their brand and they want you to be transparent so as to upkeep Amazon’s reputation.
If you choose to ignore this and you go through Amazon site audit, you will get booted of their program.
#2- You Build Trust With Your Audience
There’s this fear among affiliate marketers that by telling people you placed a few affiliate links on a page that some of them will immediately leave because they don’t want to click on paid links.
That’s the wrong way to think abut it and often it’s totally opposite to what really happens.
You audience knows you’re making a living from your website and if they like you, they will want to help you by clicking on your affiliate links.
So be honest and transparent, and reap the rewards that come with it.
#3- Don’t Be a Shady Marketer
It’s unethical not to warn people that some of the links on your page are paid links.
If you intend to do affiliate marketing full time, then you need to be a “whitehat” marketer 🙂
Where To Put Amazon Affiliate Disclosure On My Site?
Your Amazon affiliate disclosure needs to be present on all pages where you have affiliate links. And it also need to be VISIBLE.
This immediately excludes your:
- navigation;
- sidebar;
- footer.
Why?
Because these static site design elements get pushed below the content on mobile devices.
Remember, a visitor needs to see your disclaimer before they see an affiliate link they’ll potentially click.
So your best bet is content at the top of the page.
Now, it’s very tedious to manually add these disclaimers to your pages,+ you might miss or forget one.
Instead you need to use a WordPress plugin that will automatically add affiliate links to your pages.
Don’t worry, it’s free and I recommend WP Affiliate Disclosure.
I wrote a mini tutorial on how to use it here (hint: use table of content to find it easily)
3 Awesome Examples of Amazon Affiliate Disclosures in Action
#1- Turmericforhealth.com
Turmericforhealth.com is the world’s best resource on all things turmeric. And they recommend products that can be bought on Amazon.
And of course, they have an Amazon affiliate disclosure in the site’s footer.
So they are compliant and if their site were to be audited by Amazon staff, they’d find no fault there.
#2- TeritorySupply.com
TeritorySupply.com is a site that reviews and recommends best hiking gear. And most of the stuff they recommend can be bought from Amazon.
Here’s their disclosure in the footer of their site.
#2- Homegrounds.co
Homegrounds.co is a website that teaches newbies and coffee enthusiasts how to make and enjoy a perfect cup of java from the comfort of their homes, surrounded by friends and family.
Coffee brands and gear they recommend come from Amazon and they have disclosure in their site’s footer.
(BONUS) How To Disclose Amazon Affiliate Links On Social Media?
Since there’s very limited space on social media channels, FTC allow you to use an abbreviated form of disclaimer.
This means including a notice next to a link that it’s indeed a paid link.
Here are acceptable abbreviations and hashtags:
- (sponsored)
- (sponsored by)
- (ad)
- (paid ad)
- (paid link)
- (promotion)
- #Ad
- #PaidAd
- #PaidLink
- #Promotion
- #Sponsored
- #CommissionsEarned
Notice that the word “Affiliate” is missing? You can’t use it and it’s because FTC claim that the word is not universally known and some readers won’t know what it means.
And here’s what it looks like on a Twitter posting. Let’s say I wanted to promote Wealthy Affiliate.
In my tweet, and next to my affiliate link, I’d need to have a # that signifies it’s a paid link.
Concluding My Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Guide…
If you’re going to make a killing with your Amazon niche site, then make sure you get the basics right first.
One of the fundamentals is protecting yourself and your site from disasters that can happen when you don’t have a disclaimer anywhere on your site
It’s so easily preventable so make sure you do it today.
Go and write your Amazon affiliate disclosure right now!
And the comeback and leave me a comment below, tell me how it went for you 🙂
Nikola Roza
Nikola Roza is an affiliate marketer and blogger behind Nikola Roza- SEO for the Poor and Determined. He writes for bloggers who don't have huge marketing budgets and who still want to carve out a niche online and a better life for themselves. Learn about Nikola here, or read his blog posts and guides here.