How to Automatically Add an Affiliate Disclaimer to Every Blog Post
Blogging about blogging is probably one of the biggest ‘blogging’ niches. There are approximately 2.2 million articles out there about how to start and run a travel blog, but a lot of them just don’t have enough REAL information. Sometimes reading these blog posts about blogging is kinda like watching a WWE wrestling match. It sorta looks real.. but is it? ( Hint: The answer is no. ) So here is something you absolutely need as a travel blogger, and something no one’s probably ever told you how to implement correctly: an affiliate disclaimer.
In This Post
What is an affiliate disclaimer?
It’s the thing that keeps you from getting kicked out of affiliate programs and losing trust with your readers. Do you know how many times as a consumer I strait up wondered if these bloggers were just trying to sell me something? (This is in part why I started my blogging journey – and a story for another time!)
Affiliate Disclaimers are the thing you probably skipped right over before reading the meat and potatoes of this post. It’s a public, upfront announcement that any of the clickable-purchasable links that you put in your blog posts to monetize your blog are going to make you money.
How it impacts your digital nomadery to not include an affiliate disclosure
Not including a disclaimer puts all of your earnings at risk. This is not an option for those who don’t have another full-time income! When you start effectively monetizing your blog, you realize that affiliate marketing sales can make up such a large portion of your revenue! The LAST thing you want is to lose a part of that for silly mistakes.
Being upfront about the links throughout your posts is a much more sound footing to start your readers off! I used to put my disclaimers at the end of my posts because I didn’t want to detract from what my readers were seeing, but it makes no difference to them in the long run. Everyone is selling something these days! Transparency is key!
What should an affiliate disclaimer include?
If you read mine at the top of this post- it includes a statement of what the affiliate links will do, the lack of impact on the customer for supporting me through my links, and what the money goes towards. I’m clear, I’m concise, and I explain why I have affiliate links.
For official legal guidelines on affiliate disclosures, please visit the Federal Trade Commissions website for US advertising disclosure guidelines. Keep in mind that I’m not a lawyer and can’t provide you and your blog with the perfect advice. I don’t know what affiliate programs you’re associated with, or what country you’re reading this from! Comment below, and I’m happy to do some research right along with you on what your affiliate disclosures should include.
This article from ‘The She Approach’ is an excellent resource for what to include in affiliate disclosures and templates on how to write yours!
How to Insert It on WordPress
To start, you need a plugin called AdInserter (if you don’t know what a plugin does for you in WordPress, see here.) To get the AdInserter Plugin, click here.
After installing and activating the plugin:
- Open one of the tabs – numbered 1-15.
- Copy and paste whatever you’ve decided to say in your disclaimer into the tab.
- Link your legal page.
- Click the wrench/tool button to open a visual CSS editor for this text.
***The best formatting practice after seeing many other blogs is to lighten the text {make it a dark grey + not black like your body text}, center the text, and then pick a font that aligns with your brand. You want to make sure it stays easy to read as well, so don’t choose any strange fonts, too small of text, or too light in color. For reference – scroll to the top to see my affiliate disclosure above the sharing links.
If you need to remember these steps for later – hit the little Pinterest button to the left and save this post!
Blogging is Hard
There are so many little things and challenges to take on every single day. Being successful at blogging requires some serious adaptation on our parts. An affiliate disclaimer is just one more thing you need to implement to be moving with the times. The best part about technology moving fast is that we can find ways to work smarter and not harder. I used to have this checklist of things to add to every post – and always adding an affiliate disclosure was one of them. Doing this one simple 10-minute step has knocked time off of everything I post. Anything that saves you time, in the long run, is WORTH your time as a blogger!
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