If you write “affiliate links may be included” on one policy page, can you then recommend products everywhere else without another disclosure?
A reader may never see the policy page. A useful practical principle is to make the commercial relationship clear where someone encounters the recommendation.
This is general educational information. Requirements depend on the audience, jurisdiction, platform and affiliate program. The FTC’s guidance provides specific disclosure advice for endorsements affecting consumers in the United States; Australian Consumer Law also applies to misleading social-media advertising. Those examples should not be assumed to cover every country’s rules.
When should you disclose?
Explain a relationship that could affect how readers understand the recommendation. This can include a commission, sponsorship payment, free or discounted product, store credit, employment or a relevant personal relationship.
The FTC says a material connection should be disclosed even when you believe your evaluation is unbiased. Its guidance also explains that tags, likes and Pins can be endorsements. If you bought an item yourself and have no brand relationship, it says you need not announce the absence of one.
Use plain language
Choose wording that describes the actual arrangement:
- “Advertisement”
- “Paid partnership with [brand]”
- “I received this product free from [brand].”
- “I may earn a commission if you buy through these links.”
Add “at no additional cost to you” only when that is accurate. Avoid vague terms, unexplained shorthand and a disclosure buried in a long hashtag list.
Blog articles
Put a clear disclosure before or close to the first affiliate recommendation. A longer policy can explain the relationship in more detail, but should not replace a visible article-level statement.
A long article may need a reminder near a later recommendation, especially if it includes different relationships. A reader should understand your incentive before acting.
For help choosing a program, see my beginner affiliate-program guide. Verify current eligibility, commission rules, country support and disclosure terms with each program.
Social posts and Stories
Place the disclosure where people can see it with the promotional message. Do not assume they will open your profile or expand a long caption.
For Stories, use readable on-screen text with enough display time. Keep it away from interface buttons or stickers that may cover it. Assess whether a platform’s partnership label describes the relationship clearly and follow the platform’s rules.
Videos and live streams
The FTC advises making the disclosure in the video, not only the written description. Spoken and visual disclosure can help people watching with or without sound.
Repeat the disclosure periodically during live streams because people may join after the beginning. A link in the stream description alone may be missed.
Pinterest Pins
For an affiliate endorsement, explain the commercial relationship with the Pin or its accompanying promotional content. Do not rely on a distant policy page. The linked article should also disclose before the recommendation.
My guide to getting started with affiliate marketing provides a broader planning framework. Check the current rules of Pinterest and your affiliate program before promoting a link.
Keep the recommendation truthful
A disclosure does not make an exaggerated claim acceptable. Avoid inventing product results, promising a specific income, calling a paid tool free, claiming untested compatibility or presenting a false deadline.
If using an AI avatar, do not imply that a real person tested the product when that did not happen. Label conceptual demonstrations where needed.
The ACCC’s social-media guidance says commercial claims must be truthful, accurate and supportable. Check current prices, features, availability and delivery details before publication.
Content reaching different countries
Clear language is a useful starting point, but you still need to check relevant rules. The FTC says its requirements may apply to creators abroad when it is reasonably foreseeable that their posts affect consumers in the United States.
When promoting your own product, describe it as yours. When promoting somebody else’s product for commission, explain that relationship. They are different arrangements.
Your disclosure checklist
- Have you identified the actual benefit you receive?
- Is the relationship explained in plain language?
- Will people see it before or with the recommendation?
- Is it readable on a phone and present in the video or Story?
- Are claims accurate and supported?
- Does the destination page disclose too?
- Have you checked platform, program and relevant local rules?
Frequently asked questions
Is “affiliate link” always enough?
A sentence explaining that you may receive a commission is often clearer for beginners.
Can the disclosure go at the bottom?
A reader could act before reaching it. Put it where it will be noticed with the recommendation.
Do free products need disclosure?
The FTC specifically identifies free or discounted products as material connections.
Your next action
Review one affiliate article and one social post. Check whether a first-time visitor can identify the relationship before clicking. Move or rewrite the disclosure if necessary.
Sources checked 2 October 2026: FTC Disclosures 101; ACCC social-media guidance.