Off-platform disclosure

Why this matters

When a sponsor funds a campaign you're promoting, you receive compensation for the verified actions you drive. Both the FTC (United States) and Ad Standards Canada require you to tell your audience about that relationship before they take action. Act Now renders this disclosure automatically on your action page. When you share the page anywhere else — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, a podcast, a blog, an email — that disclosure has to travel with the link. That's on you, not Act Now.

When disclosure is required

You need to disclose any time you promote an action page that has an active sponsor. If a page is unfunded — no sponsor attached — there's no compensation relationship to disclose, and no obligation. The share dialog inside Act Now shows the disclosure snippet only for funded pages. If you don't see a snippet, the page isn't sponsored.

What counts as off-platform

Anywhere your audience encounters the link or button before arriving on Act Now:

• YouTube video descriptions, pinned comments, on-screen text
• Instagram captions, Stories, Reels descriptions, bios
• TikTok captions, on-screen text, bios
• X / Twitter posts and threads
• Podcast show notes and spoken disclosure in the episode
• Newsletter and email content (including paid subscriber emails)
• Blog posts, articles, and personal websites
• Discord and community posts
• LinkedIn posts and articles

The canonical disclosure

Use the snippet Act Now generates for you. Open any sponsored action page in your dashboard, click the share / embed icon, and copy the “Off-platform disclosure” block. It looks like this:

You can adapt the wording to fit your channel's voice — what you can't do is remove the mention that you earn money, remove Act Now Button, or bury the disclosure where your audience won't see it before they click. When a specific sponsor is funding the campaign, also name that sponsor in your off-platform post.

Channel-specific guidance

YouTube

Put the disclosure in the first two lines of the video description (the part visible without expanding). Saying it out loud in the video — “this video is sponsored by X and I'm compensated when you take action through the link below” — is the gold standard and is what FTC enforcement guidance specifically calls out as compliant. Also enable YouTube's built-in “contains paid promotion” toggle in the video settings; it's additive, not a substitute.

Instagram, TikTok, Reels, Stories

Disclosure goes in the caption itself, near the top, before any “link in bio” or swipe-up prompt. Hashtags like #ad or #sponsored alone are not sufficient — you need to name the sponsor and the compensation relationship in plain text. Platform-native paid partnership tags are good to use additively but don't replace the textual disclosure.

Podcasts

Disclose verbally inside the episode, before you give the call to action. Also include the disclosure in written show notes. If the sponsor mention is part of an ad read, that's your disclosure — but it still needs to name compensation, not just thank the sponsor.

Blogs, newsletters, articles

Disclosure goes at the top of the post, before any link to the action page. A standalone sentence or short paragraph is fine. If you have a general disclosure page or policy, also include specific disclosure on the post that contains the link — a sitewide policy alone isn't enough.

Common mistakes

• Putting disclosure only in the “more info” expansion, footer, or a separate webpage your audience never sees.
• Using only hashtags (#ad, #sponsored) without naming the sponsor or explaining the compensation relationship.
• Mentioning sponsorship after the call to action instead of before. Disclosure has to come early enough that it informs the decision to engage.
• Disclosing on one post but assuming it covers a series. Each piece of promotional content needs its own disclosure.
• Removing the sponsor name or shortening to vague language like “a partner.” The audience must be able to identify who is paying.

What happens if you don't disclose

Failure to disclose is a creator terms violation. Per our Terms of Service, we may void pending and future compensation tied to the undisclosed promotion. Repeat or willful failures can result in removal from the platform. Beyond Act Now's consequences, non-disclosure exposes you personally to FTC and Ad Standards Canada enforcement — both have brought public cases against individual creators, not just brands or platforms.

How Act Now helps

• The action page itself renders the canonical compliance disclosure automatically. You don't need to do anything for on-platform conversions.
• The share / embed dialog inside Act Now provides a copy-ready disclosure snippet whenever the page is sponsored. Click the copy button and paste into your channel.
• You agreed to your disclosure responsibility when you published your first sponsored page. We don't prompt you again on every share — but the obligation stays.

Related

• Funding & compensation — how creator earnings work
• Terms of Service — the binding agreement, including disclosure responsibility
• Third-Party Fundraising Agreement — the charity-facing side of the same obligations