Affiliate links pay a commission on sales you refer. Disclosure is required by law.
Affiliate Systems: How Affiliate Marketing Works for 2A Sites
Affiliate marketing pays a website or channel a commission when a reader clicks a tracked link and buys from the merchant. Three parties are involved. The merchant sets the commission and terms. The affiliate network handles tracking, reporting and payouts. The publisher, such as a 2A blog, review site or video channel, places the links. Each link carries the publisher’s ID, and a cookie or similar identifier records the referral so a qualifying purchase within the merchant’s window is credited.
Networks and programs. AvantLink hosts many outdoor and shooting-sports merchants. Hornady, for example, names AvantLink as its affiliate network partner and lists a 30-day cookie and a 5% commission. Large general networks such as CJ (Commission Junction) and Awin carry some outdoor and firearm-adjacent merchants. Awin completed moving ShareASale customers onto its own platform on August 15, 2025. Amazon Associates is widely used, but Amazon’s seller policies prohibit firearms, ammunition and related items, so Amazon links on a 2A site are limited to permitted gear. Some firearm-industry companies also run in-house programs.
Why many mainstream networks restrict firearms. Networks and merchants set their own category rules, and those rules usually follow the payment processors, banks and brand-safety standards each business works under. The result is that firearm, ammunition and parts merchants are accepted on some networks and excluded or limited on others. A publisher should read each network’s acceptable-use terms and each merchant’s program terms before applying, because terms differ even within one network.
Disclosure is the law. The FTC’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) were revised on June 29, 2023. They require that a material connection, including an affiliate commission or a free product, be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. For online content the FTC says the disclosure must be unavoidable: close to the link or claim, in the same format as the endorsement (spoken in a video, not only in the description) and not hidden behind a “click for more” link.
Key Facts
- June 29, 2023: The FTC finalized its revised Endorsement Guides, which say a platform’s built-in disclosure tool alone may not be enough.
- October 21, 2024: The FTC’s rule banning fake and paid-for consumer reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) took effect.
- August 15, 2025: Awin finished moving ShareASale customers onto the Awin platform.
- Cookie windows vary: Amazon Associates generally credits purchases made within 24 hours of a click, while many shooting-sports programs on AvantLink advertise 30 days or more.
- Link attributes: Since September 2019, Google has recommended marking paid and affiliate links with rel=”sponsored” (or rel=”nofollow”).
Tips
- Put a short disclosure such as “This page contains affiliate links; Minuteman University.com may earn a commission” above the first link, and say it out loud in videos.
- Tag links with sub-IDs or UTM parameters so each page, video or newsletter can be measured separately.
- Add rel=”sponsored” to affiliate links and avoid link cloaking that hides the destination from readers.
- Recommend only products that have actually been evaluated, and never post reviews or ratings that are invented or paid for.
- Keep a dated copy of each program’s terms, since commission rates, cookie windows and category rules change.
- Spread revenue across several sources. See Building an Online Store and Setting up an IndieGoGo Campaign.
Sources
- 16 CFR Part 255: Endorsement Guides (eCFR)
- FTC: Endorsement Guides, What People Are Asking
- Hornady Affiliate Program (AvantLink)
- Awin: ShareASale to Awin Upgrade
- Google Search Central: Qualify Outbound Links