Some links here are affiliate or referral links. I may earn a commission if you buy or sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This is a learner's reading of public pages, checked October 27, 2026. It is not legal advice. If a program's contract is stricter than the page I cite, the contract wins for that link.
Want the map first? Read How to start affiliate marketing in 2026.
In this article
- What the FTC pages mean by clear and conspicuous.
- Where the words go on a blog, a caption, a video, a bio, and an email.
- The Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok labels, and why they are not enough alone.
- Amazon's Site sentence, and the link limits.
- Copy-paste lines for a caption, a video, a bio, and a blog.
What the FTC actually asks for
The Endorsement Guides say a disclosure is clear and conspicuous when an ordinary person would notice it and understand it. On the internet it should be unavoidable, and it should not be contradicted by the rest of the post. A picture needs a visual disclosure. Spoken words need a spoken disclosure. A video that does both needs both. (16 CFR 255.0 on Cornell LII, the guides adopted July 26, 2023, and Disclosures 101, both checked Oct 27, 2026)
The plain-language version, from Disclosures 101 and the FTC's FAQ:
- Put it with the endorsement. An About page, a profile bio alone, the end of a post, or a tap on "more" is not enough.
- Do not bury it in a pile of hashtags or links. A disclosure only in the comments does not count.
- A platform's built-in label is extra. It is not a substitute for your own words.
- "Ad," "advertisement," "sponsored," "#ad," and "#sponsored" are understandable. "sp," "spon," "collab," and "thanks" alone are not.
- "Paid link" right next to an affiliate link is the example the FAQ gives as adequate. "Affiliate link" by itself may not be understood. A "buy now" button is not a disclosure.
- The same idea applies on a blog, a social post, and a video. In a video, put it in the video, not only in the description.
- One disclosure can be enough when the reader can see the disclosure and the link at the same time. If they are far apart, the reader may not connect them.
| Place | Words that read clearly | Words that do not |
|---|---|---|
| Next to the link | Paid link, #ad, #sponsored, advertisement | Affiliate link, alone |
| Start of a caption | #ad or Paid link, before "more" | A disclosure saved for the last hashtag |
| A video | Spoken, and on screen | Description only |
| A pile of tags | One understandable word up front | sp, spon, collab, thanks |
Where it goes, by place
Blog post. A line near the top, plus "(paid link)" beside the link. On this page the top line is the disclosure under the byline. If the review and the link are on screen together, that pairing is what the FAQ describes. A footer by itself is the placement the FAQ says people miss.
Social caption. The words have to show before "more." Start with "#ad" or "Paid link," then the recommendation. Do not save it for the last hashtag.
Video. Say it, and put the same words on screen near the start, then again if the video is long. The description still gets the words next to the link. The YouTube checkbox does not replace the spoken line.
Link in bio. The bio is a tap away from the links, so the bio text itself should say that some of those links are paid. On the link-in-bio page, label each paid link. A disclosure that exists only after the tap is the "more" problem again.
Email. The FTC still wants the relationship clear in the message, next to the link. Amazon is stricter about where its links may go. I don't put Amazon links in email.
Platform tools, on top of your own words
Instagram. Branded content uses the paid partnership label. The tool is in the Instagram mobile app. You tag the brand, the brand needs a professional account, and the brand name shows after they approve the tag. You can disclose in Feed, Stories, Broadcast Channels, Live, Reels, and video. (Instagram Help, checked Oct 27, 2026)
Facebook. Eligible Pages turn the tag on in Meta Business Suite, under Monetization, Branded Content, Settings, then Enable Tag. The help page says you have to pass Partner Monetization Policies to add the tag. People then see "Paid partnership" above the post. (Meta Business Help and the label article, checked Oct 27, 2026)
One line on that label article matters for affiliates: content with an affiliate link should have the Paid partnership label, and it does not need a business partner tagged. I am treating that as the current Meta sentence, not as a promise the button will be on every account. The FTC page still says the label is not enough by itself, so the caption still says "#ad" or "paid link."
YouTube. In YouTube Studio, open the video, Show more, and check "My video contains paid promotion like a product placement, sponsorship, or endorsement," then Save. On mobile the path is Show more, Products, Paid promotion and brands, then Yes under Paid promotion. YouTube shows a label at the start. The same help page says you are still responsible for a clear, prominent disclosure. (YouTube Help, checked Oct 27, 2026) Say the words in the video too.
TikTok. When the post promotes a brand, product, or service, turn on the content disclosure setting. Your own business is labeled Promotional content. A third-party brand, including a product you earn a commission on, is labeled Paid partnership. The Branded Content Policy lists an affiliate commission as branded content. After the post is up, the label cannot be switched. You would take the post down and make a new one. (TikTok, promoting a brand and Branded Content Policy, checked Oct 27, 2026)
The AI label is a different switch. Realistic images, audio, or video that were fully generated or significantly edited by AI have to be labeled. In the app, before you post, turn on AI-generated content. TikTok may also apply an automatic label. Turning on the AI switch does not disclose a paid relationship, and the commercial switch does not label AI. (TikTok, AI-generated content, checked Oct 27, 2026)
Want the YouTube earnings setup, not just the checkbox? Read YouTube monetization setup.
Want the TikTok Shop steps? Read TikTok and TikTok Shop for beginners.
Amazon's statement, and Amazon's link limits
Section 5 of the Operating Agreement (updated Oct 15, 2025, checked Oct 27, 2026) requires one specific sentence on your Site, clearly and prominently. This article prints that sentence once, in the disclosure under the byline. Copy that line onto your own site. I am not pasting it a second time in the body.
Amazon's help topic on identifying yourself says the link-level disclosure has to be clear and conspicuous, and it gives "(paid link)", "#ad", or "#CommissionsEarned" as examples, placed near the link. For social accounts, that same topic says the full Site sentence has to be associated with the account. (Associates help, checked Oct 27, 2026)
The Program Policies page, checked the same day, is where the "don't" list lives:
- Do not type a price or an availability line unless Amazon is serving that data in the link, or you pulled it through Creators API or PA-API under the license. I don't have that feed in a draft, so I type neither a price nor a star rating.
- Do not cloak the link, and do not use a shortener in a way that hides the fact that the link goes to Amazon. Those are items (v) and (w) in the policies.
- Offline use is prohibited: print, an ebook, a mailing, or an oral pitch. Email, SMS, and social direct messages are allowed on that page only when the person opted in, and you are the sender for those marketing laws. My own rule is simpler. I don't put Amazon links in email, texts, PDFs, ebooks, or print.
- Do not say Amazon supports, sponsors, or endorses you. Section 5 says that too.
- Special Links have to keep the tracking tag Amazon gave you. A sub-tag is allowed only if Amazon issued it, and you may not tie a sub-tag to a specific reader.
Want the join rules and the Audible notes? Read Amazon Associates basics and rules.
Ask this before you post
- Can someone see that I may earn money without tapping "more," opening a comment, or visiting an About page?
- If the post is a video, did I say it out loud and put it on screen?
- Is "(paid link)" or "#ad" next to the link, in words, and not only inside a hashtag pile?
- Did I turn on the platform label and still write my own disclosure?
- If the link is Amazon, is the required Site sentence on the site once, and is the link a product page with my tag?
- Did I type a price, a star rating, or "in stock"?
- Did I shorten, cloak, or edit the tracking parameters?
- Is this link going somewhere that program forbids, including an email or a PDF for Amazon?
- Would I still post this if the brand and a regulator both read it today?
Copy-paste examples
Use these as the words. Swap the brackets. They are not a substitute for the platform label.
Caption
#ad Paid link. I may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.
[product name] (paid link): [full link]
Video, spoken and on screen
This video includes a paid link. I may earn a commission if you buy through it.
Bio or link-in-bio page
Some links here are paid links. I may earn a commission if you buy or sign up through them.
Blog, beside the product
[product name] (paid link)
On a blog, also keep Amazon's required Site sentence in the disclosure under the byline, the way this page does. Do not add a second copy of that sentence under every product.
Want the click-by-click for the link itself? Read How to build affiliate links.