Give affiliates a versioned resource pack with verified product facts, the evidence behind claims, known limitations, usable assets, current offer terms, and disclosure guidance. Leave the creator's verdict, examples, and delivery to the creator. The pack should answer what they can establish about the product and what they still need to try themselves.
A folder of approved captions cannot answer those questions. A claim-source register can: each product claim points to evidence, states its limits, and names someone who can resolve a question before publication.
Build the pack around questions creators ask
Keep one shared index with a last-updated date and a named contact. Link to current files rather than attaching a new bundle to every email. Make the following sections available before asking someone to recommend a product.
| Resource | What to include | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Product fact sheet | Exact model, materials, dimensions, included items, compatibility, care instructions | What am I showing? |
| Claim-source register | Supported wording, evidence, test conditions, exclusions, owner, review trigger | What can I say and why? |
| Limitations and fit | Unsupported uses, known trade-offs, who may prefer another option | Who is this suitable for? |
| Try-it guide | Setup instructions and optional demonstrations within documented use limits | What should I examine myself? |
| Asset library | Current product photos, detail shots, demonstration clips, permitted uses and expiry | What may I reuse? |
| Offer and affiliate details | Assigned link/code, destination, eligible products, discount terms, commission terms | What happens when someone buys? |
| Disclosure and help | Relationship-specific examples, placement guidance, correction contact | How do I explain the partnership? |
Modash's affiliate onboarding article recommends sharing assets, product information, disclosure requirements, and program details upfront. The register below adds a separate check for whether the evidence supports each claim. These pack sections are editorial recommendations, not a platform-mandated format.
Keep shipment and account setup in your affiliate onboarding checklist. This pack concerns the material a creator uses while making content.
Keep a claim-source register
A sales headline is a claim, not evidence. Before adding it to the fact sheet, identify the record that supports it. That might be a current technical specification, care instruction, or a test report with a method and result.
For each entry, record:
- The exact product version and claim under review.
- A link to the evidence, including its date and relevant page or section.
- What the evidence establishes, including conditions and exclusions.
- Wording that stays within those limits.
- A status of usable, needs review, or withdrawn.
- The responsible owner and what would trigger another review.
The following is a hypothetical travel-mug example. The documents and product properties are invented to show how to build the register. They are not test results for a real product.
| Proposed claim | Assumed evidence | Decision for the pack |
|---|---|---|
| The body is stainless steel | Current material specification identifies the body material | Usable for the body; do not extend it to the lid |
| Dishwasher safe | Care instructions permit machine washing of the lid and require hand washing of the body | Replace with component-specific care instructions |
| Leakproof in any bag | No test report covers this assertion | Hold the claim; request relevant evidence |
| Comfortable to drink from | Creator has yet to use the mug | Leave the opinion unwritten until the creator tries it |
Attach the evidence to the row even when the shorter fact sheet contains only a sentence. A creator should be able to find the relevant limitation without reading an entire technical report.
For a measured performance claim, keep the method beside the result. A test performed under controlled conditions does not establish the same result for every buyer. If you cannot explain the conditions in the intended format without misleading viewers, narrow or remove the claim.
Preserve the creator's judgment
For U.S.-directed advertising, the FTC's endorsement guidance says endorsements must reflect truthful opinions and experiences. They cannot carry claims the advertiser could not lawfully make. The FTC does not categorically prohibit pre-written posts, but those posts still have to be truthful for the person publishing them.
Put that boundary into the creative instructions:
- Keep specifications and care instructions accurate when paraphrasing them.
- Describe only experiences you had. Receiving a sample does not establish long-term durability.
- Choose the audience problem, demonstration, format, and verdict yourself.
- Include relevant drawbacks. Ask about missing evidence before making a broader claim.
- Tell the program contact if you cannot recommend the product.
Optional prompts can help someone explore the product. Ask which feature they use, what surprised them, or who might find the product unsuitable. Avoid supplying first-person experiences for them to repeat.
In the hypothetical mug example, a creator could assess the lid's feel after use. They could not turn that impression into a universal leakproof claim. A narrower personal observation also needs accurate context; it does not establish product performance for everyone.
For the campaign's deliverables and creative boundaries, use a creator brief that leaves room for judgment.
Separate buyer offers from creator earnings
Give the creator a dated offer card with the buyer's discount and exclusions in one section. Put the creator's commission and payout terms in another. A customer discount and an affiliate commission answer different questions.
Use the settings in your actual commerce system. For example, Shopify Collabs invite programs configure the link destination, URL parameters, customer discount, and commission. Shopify also says a creator moving between programs keeps their affiliate link and discount code while the new program's commission and customer discount apply.
That means an unchanged code alone cannot confirm that an old offer card remains accurate. Recheck the card after a program change. Include the offer's dates and time zone, eligible products, exclusions, and any purchase conditions you have verified. Avoid putting volatile prices into evergreen creative assets.
Before sharing the card, test the affiliate link and checkout conditions. Do not promise attribution or payment based only on a successful page load.
Give disclosure guidance for the actual format
For advertising subject to U.S. FTC requirements, tell creators to communicate their financial relationship clearly, near the recommendation. The FTC's affiliate guidance explains that the words "affiliate link" alone may not tell consumers that the creator earns money.
A suggested sentence for a commission relationship is: "When you buy through my link, I earn a commission." If the creator also received the product free, the explanation should reflect that relationship too. Treat examples as starting points whose wording and placement need review in context.
Include instructions for the format being used. The FTC says a disclosure should match whether the endorsement is visual, audible, or both. A video description alone can miss viewers who watch without opening it. A platform's built-in disclosure feature does not guarantee an adequate disclosure.
This is a U.S.-focused operational checklist, not legal advice. Check the rules for other markets and for regulated products before distributing their guidance.
Assign someone to maintain the pack
Name one person who publishes updates and routes evidence questions to the product owner. When a claim, product, or promotion changes, update the source record, retire obsolete assets, and notify affected creators. State what changed and which published content needs attention.
Sending instructions is only part of the work. The FTC's guidance also calls for reasonable training and monitoring, with action when questionable practices appear. It gives no universal monitoring frequency. Review claims and disclosures without rewriting a creator's truthful opinion to make it more favorable.
Start with the product your affiliates mention most. Check every claim on its current fact sheet, attach the supporting record, and hold any claim whose evidence you cannot find.
