What should an Amazon affiliate disclosure include? When do you need an Amazon associate notice? In this post, we’ll look at how to write an effective Amazon affiliate program disclosure to comply with the platform’s requirements and the law.
Amazon Associates is an affiliate program that allows members to earn money from sponsored ads. It addresses content creators, publishers, and bloggers who are willing to monetize their traffic.
Since it’s an affiliation program, the membership must be well disclosed.
It is a requirement of many data protection laws – the so-called principle of transparency – but Amazon itself also requires it.
You must clearly state the following, or any substantially similar statement previously allowed under this Agreement, on your Site or any other location where Amazon may authorize your display or other use of Program Content: “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
Amazon’s Associate’s Program Operating Agreement, Section 5: Identifying Yourself as an Associate
This article is a part of our series on compliance for websites and apps. Read also:
Amazon’s affiliate disclosure can be a simple statement, like the one we quoted above:
“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”
A short disclosure, written in simple language, will clarify to your audience that you are earning money from the sponsorship.
This particular disclosure needs to be included in an easily accessible location of your Site. Best practice would be to include the disclosure clearly and conspicuously on the same page as the particular affiliate link you’re using. The closer this disclosure is to your recommendation, the better.
If you’re making a sponsored ad on social media, you’ll need to add the disclosure to your post.
Here’s an example of an Amazon affiliate disclosure, taken from a YouTube video:
While Amazon does not explicitly state that you need any other legal document to take part in the affiliation program, it does say that you’re expected to comply with applicable law:
You represent, warrant, and covenant that (a) you will participate in the Associate’s Program and create, maintain, and operate your Site in accordance with this Agreement, (b) neither your participation in the Associate’s Program nor your creation, maintenance, or operation of your Site will violate any applicable laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, orders, licenses, permits, guidelines, codes of practice, industry standards, self-regulatory rules, judgments, decisions, or other requirements of any governmental authority that has jurisdiction over you (including all such rules governing communications, data protection, advertising, and marketing)…
Amazon’s Associate’s Program Operating Agreement, Section 4: Warranties
This means that not complying with the laws that apply to you may be in violation of Amazon’s terms (and the law, of course).
Here’s what you may need to do to avoid that:
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