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A line in the footer saying "some links may be affiliate links" feels compliant and is not. The FTC standard is clear and conspicuous: stated before the link, visible without a click, understandable on its own. Pick where your disclosure is going and get wording that actually meets it.
Writing as
Your disclosure
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I have actually used.
Put it before the first affiliate link, near the top of the post. A footer-only disclosure does not meet the FTC standard.
The FTC standard is "clear and conspicuous": visible before the link, understandable on its own, no click required. This generator is a starting point, not legal advice; the full placement rules are in our guide to FTC affiliate disclosure rules.
Disclose before the link, not after it, in words an ordinary reader understands, visible without clicking anything. Every placement rule is a consequence of that sentence: it is why footers fail, why hashtag piles fail, why a disclosure below a YouTube fold fails, and why the generator puts the disclosure first and keeps the language blunt.
The FTC has pointed out that phrases like "affiliate link" on their own may mean nothing to an ordinary consumer, so the safe move is to say the actual thing: you earn a commission when someone buys through the link. The templates here also add the two lines that build rather than burn trust, that it costs the buyer nothing extra, and that you only recommend what you have used. Disclosure done plainly reads as honesty, not as small print, and honest recommenders convert better over time anyway.
In the US, yes. The FTC’s Endorsement Guides require disclosing any material connection between you and what you promote, and a commission is the textbook material connection. Similar rules apply in other markets, including the UK. The obligation sits with you as the publisher, not with the affiliate program.
Before the reader can act on the recommendation: near the top of a blog post and before the first affiliate link, in the first visible lines of a YouTube description, at the very top of a social caption before any truncation, and in the body of an email near the recommendation. A disclosure only in a footer, a bio, or behind a "see more" does not meet the standard, even if the wording is perfect.
It can satisfy the requirement when it is genuinely unmissable, but a plain sentence saying you earn a commission is safer and clearer, and the FTC has noted that vaguer labels like "affiliate link" alone may not be understood by ordinary readers. Platform disclosure tools, like paid-partnership tags, are worth switching on as well, but they supplement your own words rather than replace them.
No. "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases" is a separate requirement from Amazon’s Operating Agreement, on top of the FTC’s general standard. Use both: your plain-language line does the FTC work, and the Amazon statement keeps you inside the program terms.
No. It is carefully worded boilerplate that follows the FTC’s published guidance, and it is a sensible starting point, not a substitute for a lawyer who can look at your specific content and jurisdiction. The linked guide walks through the actual guidance in plain language.
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