Should I let my readers know about the comissions that I get?

If you want to know which of these two approaches works best for you in your niche, you're going to have to test it yourself.

I think in most niches this isn't necessary at all. Many people wouldn't even know what an "Affiliate link" means, so you'd just confuse them.

In my opinion, it never really hurts to just say that you get a small commission if they purchase something through your link, but I also believe it really isn't necessary either in most cases.

Usually there isn't a noticeable difference in the page whether the user accessed it through your affiliate link or just from a regular link.

Or you could create a page called earnings disclaimer. That tells people if they click any links on the site, you may earn a commission. Thinking about it! - I must do. Makes it clear to people up-front. Thanks for the reminder!

It should be in your disclaimer page.

I read that affiliate link disclosure is going to be a legal requirement. I will go with Carl Davies. Creating a confident earnings disclaimer can be a good thing. You won't have to put (aff link) next to your affiliate links everytime. And you will also be abiding by the rules.

Yes, definitely, in my opinion.

People love openness and honesty. They respect you for it. And since affiliate income is largely determined by how much your subscribers/visitors trust and respect you, that's a huge plus.

Also - and this is the main point, perhaps - doing so enables you to provide express and detailed reassurance that nobody will ever spend a penny more by buying through your affiliate-link than they would by buying "directly" from the vendor. And if you don't tell them that, some people will misunderstand it and that will cost you some commissions. So it's pretty important.

In all my niches, over the years, I've noticed that the more information I give people about "affiliate marketing", and how it works, and why and how I'm doing it, and what I spend that money on, the more sales I make.

To me, it feels pretty much a "black and white" issue.

I explain it openly on my site (for people who look, anyway) and I give a much longer-than-normal "affiliate disclosure", very much "in my own words". I then explain it again, in even more detail, in the free report I offer subscribers in exchange for their email addresses. And yet again with the first promotion. And again, periodically, after that, too, in my email series. The more often and in more detail I do this, the better. I'm making it sound like a big and important thing to me, talking about it here, because it is a big and important thing, for me. It's really helpful to me.


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If you are endorsing a product or service as an affiliate, the FTC wants you to disclose this within the endorsement itself. A separate disclaimer page isn't good enough since nobody reads those.

So if you say "I've had a great experience using X web hosting" and then provide an affiliate link, technically you need to disclose the relationship.

You can just add a small terms in your footer stating that some links contained your blog you will receive commission etc, covers you mate

Yes you should have a separate disclaimer page on your blog, and also in any emails promotions that you do.

Being as honest with your readers as possible, is always the best bet. I think it is better when you can tell people I made $321 using this method & you can too kind of thing. There are so many scams online that most people are just looking for something that actually works & when you do this, you should make even better commissions that you can tell them about later. I recently added a Facebook page to my sidebar in order to update people on what I'm doing & will probably do the same thing as it goes

your disclaimer page is a legal requirement and that covers you however I usually though not always add a line down the bottom of the page indicating that I may get a small commission if they make a purchase

I don't seem to worry about these things. Most people online are not stupid. The great majority of people will know you are an affiliate marketer but if you have given them value, most won't care about your commissions.

Too much thought. People can see you and feel you even behind your computer no matter what your website says and what your picture looks like.

Stop worrying about getting this marketing stuff perfect because you never will. I never will & I am okay with that.

My point is...

If you are 'naturally' sincere in life, your marketing will reflect that and people will naturally trust you.

However, if you are a more shady type of character in your personal offline life, but come here and try to be more 'transparent' in order to get everyone to like, know and trust you, it will back fire.

What ever you are in the inside has to reflect on your outside. It just has too.!

Of course I'm not a lawyer,...

On all my sites I place this text in the footer so it's displayed on all the pages throughout my site:

"Legal Stuff: Material connections may not be made known at every single advertisement or affiliate link. You should assume there is a material connection and we may receive compensation from anything you purchase as a result of visiting this website and that we may be paid merely by you clicking any link."

If you don't know how to edit your themes footer, there's a free plugin that will allow you to add anything: https://wordpress.org/plugins/add-to-footer/

I also make mention of it on my terms of service page.

If you search Google for: ftc affiliate disclosure

Or search for: Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

You will find more information.

As everyone else has been pointing out, there are valid legal reasons for pointing out your affiliate connection to a product. And, I have seen this affiliation expressed in different ways. The one that turns me off most to a product is the one where the person posts a tiny 'affiliate earnings disclaimer' link on the bottom of a blog post. It's like they are trying to minimize it so much that it's not noticed. And, if they are hiding that, what else are they hiding? Is the product worth anything at all? Being upfront about affiliation is likely the best solution.