Affiliate marketing means earning a commission when someone buys through your special link. Done honestly, it’s a win-win: readers get trusted recommendations and you get paid for your expertise. Done carelessly, it erodes trust fast. Let’s do it right.
How affiliate programs work
- You join a program run by a company or an affiliate network.
- You get unique tracking links for products.
- When a reader clicks and buys (or signs up) within the program’s tracking window, you earn a commission.
Commission rates, cookie durations and payout rules vary widely by program and can change, so read each program’s terms carefully. Many WordPress products, from hosting to themes and plugins, run affiliate programs. Browse our affiliate programs guide for ideas.
Recommend what you’d recommend anyway
- Promote products you’ve actually used or thoroughly researched.
- Share honest pros and cons. Readers trust balanced reviews.
- Match products to your audience’s real problems.
- Create genuinely helpful content first: tutorials, comparisons and “how I use it” posts.
Disclose clearly
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expects clear and conspicuous disclosure of material connections, including affiliate commissions. Other countries have similar rules. Good practice:
- Place a short disclosure near the top of the post, before the first affiliate link, not buried in the footer.
- Use plain language: “This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.”
- Keep a full disclosure page and link to it.
- Follow each program’s own rules too, since some have specific wording requirements.
Professor’s tip: Save your disclosure as a synced pattern in the block editor. Insert it at the top of every affiliate post in one click, and update the wording everywhere at once if you ever need to.
Link hygiene
Search engines ask that paid or affiliate links be marked. In the block editor’s link settings or your SEO plugin, add rel="sponsored" (or nofollow) to affiliate links. This isn’t legal advice, so check the rules for your location if you’re unsure.
Your assignment
- List three products you genuinely use and recommend, and check whether they have affiliate programs.
- Write your disclosure statement and save it as a synced pattern.
- Create a disclosure page and link it in your footer.
