Affiliate Disclaimer?

In a lot of places including the states its a legal requirement to declare an affiliate li

Yeah, it is actually required by the FTC. You have to let the people that come you to your site that you have a vested interest in the product you're promoting. The law's been around since like Dec. 2009. It's been around long enough now that I don't think it effects commissions. It's like people expect it and assume it to be true, anyway. Link cloakers just make your links look nicer, but when you come across a link, it still looks like a link.

Joey

Maybe this is for gaining trust from visitors? People get more educated on the web and they get it when someone is using affiliate links or not.

Plus, many affiliate programs request that to be shown on EVERY page that has affiliate links. If you don't do that, you might lose your commissions and never get paid for your leads.

I didn't use those "disclaimers" either, but I got contacted by an affiliate manager who basically told me to use them or lose my earnings. So I literally had to put them.

What happened? My conversions actually improved although I was scared that they will go down.

Whenever you put an affiliate disclaimer - use some out of the box thinking. Don't just copy and paste that boring stuff to every single page. Add something like "Disclaimer: Want to know how I make money with this blog? Read more.."

And then explain all the ins and outs of an affiliate marketing to a beginner and say exactly why you need to make money (hosting, domain costs, to feed family - whatever).

Not only is the FTC pushing laws about this, but being upfront with your prospects can develop more trust about them buying your product or services. I think that not only should marketers have to do it, but everybody making an endorsement even if it's athletes or actors making endorsements. Have them put on TV as well that such and such actor is getting paid to endorse whatever product they are promoting I would think it's only right for everybody.