It’s pretty straightforward to create and share affiliate content, but did you know that you could get in trouble if not done right? That's where the FTC comes in.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose mission is to protect consumers from anticompetitive, deceptive, and unfair business practices.
In other words, the FTC wants to make sure that consumers are able to make the difference between ad content and organic content. And even if you're not from the United States, the laws may still apply to you.
Over the past few years, the FTC has expressed growing concern over the lack of transparency in affiliate content. As an affiliate marketer, you are considered an advertiser, which means you fall under the governance of the FTC.
According to the FTC's rules, affiliates must disclose the nature of their relationships with the brands within their content. Your audience needs to understand whether what they're seeing is an ad or a genuine endorsement, with no monetary gain in it for you.
Violating the FTC's rules can result in penalties, fines, and even legal fees. And unfortunately, "I didn't know" simply won't cut it.
Reading and understanding the FTC's guidelines can be cause for some headaches, which is why we've compiled a quick summary of the key requirements you must meet as a HubSpot affiliate.
Please note that these are our own interpretations based on our understanding of the FTC and should not be used as legal advice.
Familiarize yourself with these guidelines:
If you’re not sure what to put as your disclosure, here are some examples you can use:
As mentioned earlier, these are our own interpretations based on our understanding of the FTC and should not be used as legal advice.
When in doubt, visit the following links or reach out to the FTC directly: