New to email marketing...do I have to put a disclaimer that I may have affiliate links in the email?

Never see people do that as long as the email list is Opt in.

Hello Bigballin,

It is not necessary to put all that on a email. The most effective business emails are as personal as possible. Create a catchy title, tell a short story, a humorous statement or anything that is personal to you. You can never use the idea that another person uses on their emails, because it is your product and not anyone else's. Keep it very simple, personal and interesting according to your product. Now I have a question, do you have an Autoresponder Software? or you are just sending emails 1 by 1?

you should put the disclaimer at the bottom of your squeeze page

Personally, i think you'll actually see better conversions if you put it in.

The more transparent you are, the more trust there is. The more trust you have, the more money you make, it's as simple as that.

People are more inclined to buy from a real person they trust than an automated email series.

I think it should be on your squeeze page, covering all future emails.

I just started adding an affiliate link disclosure at the end of my emails. I do not see how such a disclosure is NOT required by the FTC.

Check out Pat Flynn's site at smartpassiveincome.com.

He is very transparent about his affiliate links and he seems to be doing well for himself judging by his income reports.

In my opinion, what matters is that if your list is opt in .. Nothing wrong with inserting a disclaimer since it will show more professional wise but keep an unsubscribe link for sure since it's a must ..

It seems that the FTC requires you to disclose affiliate links, with the disclosure near the link itself, when you are writing an endorsement. See the sources below:

The FTC Itself:
The FTC

Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading;
If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s experience represents what consumers will achieve by using the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances; and
If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer of the product that would affect how people evaluate the endorsement, it should be disclosed.



Legal Blog
FTC Guidelines Include Affiliate Links | Lovell Communications
To gain further clarification, I called Mr. Cleland and asked him about affiliate links and when disclosure is necessary. He was kind enough to spend a few minutes talking with me about the matter. He said that a disclosure must be made when a blogger is recommending something and using an affiliate link. He went on to say that “the recommendation triggers the disclosure requirement.” He added that some affiliate marketing is clearly advertising and in that case a disclosure statement is not necessary. It is, however, necessary when the post includes an implied or overt recommendation.






Are You Disclosing? What You Need to Know about FTC Rules and Social Media | Social Media Examiner

When do you have to make the disclosure?
The FTC guidelines for endorsements and testimonials in advertising say if there is a connection between the endorser and the seller of the product or service, full disclosure is required.

What is a connection?
There’s no specific definition of what is meant by connection. However, if there is a contractual obligation—whether written or verbal—to post something about a product or service, there is definitely a ‘connection’ that should be disclosed.

If, however, you bought the product and just wanted to talk about it, that might not be sufficient to establish that there is some connection with the seller of the product or service. If your readers (or viewers, if you’re doing a video; listeners, if you’re doing a podcast) believe you may have received a product or service for free or are being paid to talk about it, a simple reference that you paid for the item, while not required, would help the reader understand that a connection to the brand or company does not exist.

What is an endorser?
An endorser can be an individual, group or institution. By providing information about your experience, belief, findings or opinions, you are now taking on the role of “endorser,” and therefore you would need to somehow communicate your relationship with the product or service you’re sharing about.

When you think of an endorser, you may immediately picture celebrities or people in those paid infomercials shown late at night. Just like those compensated celebrities or actors, each of us takes on a similar role of spokesperson many times a day. In talking to our friends and family about the things we like or don’t like, we’re the same those celebrities.