Amazon Associates Guidelines: Disclose Our Way or the Highway
“You must clearly state the following on your Site or any other location where Amazon may authorize your display or other use of Content: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”
Except for this disclosure, you will not make any public communication with respect to this Agreement or your participation in the Associates Program. You will not misrepresent or embellish our relationship with you (including by expressing or implying that we support, sponsor, or endorse you), or express or imply any affiliation between us and you or any other person or entity except as expressly permitted by this Agreement.”
This means that if you’ve ever said, “Shopping through my Amazon link helps support my blog,” or included the word support or sponsor in your disclosure on a post with Amazon links – you’re out of compliance and might be out of luck.
How it’s Enforced:
In late 2017, Simcha Fisher, a blogger who had no idea she was doing anything wrong, got this email:
Because you are not in compliance with the Operating Agreement, Amazon will not pay you any outstanding advertising fees related to your account. Amazon exercises its right under the Operating Agreement to withhold fees based on violations, which include the following:
-You are incentivizing others to visit the Amazon Site by specifying that purchases made using your Special Links will help to support you or your website.
Uh oh!! Most blogger groups actually have TOLD people to use phrases like “supports my family” in their disclosures! The FTC would say that’s fine…but Amazon would not.
Fix it! The Blog Fixer will:
- Work with you to find instances of disclosures that are too “supportive” for Amazon’s liking
- Replace them with an appropriate disclosure that you write (or delete them)
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