Affiliate Disclosures in Email and Newsletters
Disclose near the top or before the affiliate content, label sponsored sections, and remember CAN-SPAM is a separate duty.
Email newsletters are a high-trust channel, which makes disclosure especially important: subscribers give an email their attention precisely because they trust the sender. Affiliate links and sponsored placements in email must be disclosed like any other endorsement — and email carries a second, separate legal regime (CAN-SPAM) that many affiliates overlook.
The disclosure rules
- Place a disclosure near the top of the email, or immediately before the affiliate content in a sectioned newsletter.
- Label sponsored sections clearly (for example, “Sponsored” or “Ad”) and visually distinct from editorial content.
- Do not rely on a disclosure only in the footer or only in the “view in browser” web version.
- If the whole email is an ad, say so up front.
Why placement matters in email
Readers skim email in a preview pane and often click the first interesting link without scrolling. A disclosure at the bottom is therefore too late for the same reason a website footer disclosure fails: the reader may act before reaching it. Newsletters that mix editorial picks with paid placements need the paid ones labeled so the reader can tell which is which.
CAN-SPAM is a separate duty
Beyond FTC endorsement rules, US commercial email is governed by the CAN-SPAM Act, which requires honest “from” and subject lines, a valid physical postal address, and a working, prompt unsubscribe mechanism. Affiliate disclosure and CAN-SPAM compliance are independent; you must satisfy both.
A worked example
Compliant: a short line beneath the header reads “This newsletter contains affiliate links; we may earn a commission if you buy through them,” and each paid placement carries a “Sponsored” tag, with a physical address and unsubscribe link in the footer. Non-compliant: affiliate links sprinkled through editorial copy with the only notice being a faint “affiliate” line at the very bottom.
Email checklist
- Disclosure near the top or before the affiliate content.
- Paid placements labeled and visually distinct.
- Valid physical address and working unsubscribe (CAN-SPAM).
- Affiliate links attributed correctly on the destination pages.
Authoritative sources
Last reviewed July 2026. This page is general educational information, not legal or tax advice.