In order to better serve our sellers and affiliates, ClickBank has developed these Promotional Guidelines to help clarify what kinds of advertising (messaging, claims, imagery, testimonials, etc.) are and are not allowed to be used on ClickBank seller pitch pages, all product-related copy and collateral, and all other promotional materials. These are general guidelines only and are intended to supplement the information provided in our ClickBank Client Contract.

We at ClickBank value our customers, so we take Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations on advertising very seriously, and require that our products, sellers, and affiliates do too.

Please note that promotional advertising, sales copy, product messaging and materials, express or implied, are always subject to ClickBank approval. Please note that ClickBank reserves the exclusive right to update and amend these guidelines at any time, without prior notice, and reserves the right to approve or reject products, marketing, copy, labels, and any other sales related collateral, at its sole discretion.

If you do not meet the requirements documented here, you may be asked to update new or existing products or marketing, your products may be denied, or your accounts may be suspended or terminated.

The following subjects are covered in this article:

The FTC Act declares unfair or deceptive acts or practices unlawful. When consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, FTC truth-in-advertising laws, says the ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence. In addition to these guiding principles and specific regulations, ClickBank will take into account the overall “net impression” of the advertising message, which includes, marketing, copy, labels, and any other sales-related collateral.

Deceptive advertising, advertising that is likely to mislead consumers in any way, likely to affect consumers’ conduct or decision with respect to a product at issue, or could cause consumer injury, are all potential FTC violations, and we may require immediate changes to new or existing products or marketing, deny new or existing products or marketing, or even suspend or terminate accounts.

Find out more by consulting our What is the FTC? article.

Some promotional channels have additional restrictions to keep in mind. If you do not follow the guidelines listed here for each promotional channel, you may be asked to update new or existing products or marketing, your products may be denied, or your accounts may be suspended or terminated.

The following subjects are covered in this section:

We do not allow “call to activate” products, or products that require a customer to call in and purchase another product in order to make their initial purchase through ClickBank work. Do not call customers who are on “do not call” lists, and please respect if they opt out being contacted. Do not attempt to coerce customers on the phone.

It’s your obligation to understand how you can, and cannot, use email to contact customers. The CAN-SPAM Act establishes requirements for those who send unsolicited commercial email. The Act bans false or misleading header information and prohibits deceptive subject lines. It also requires that unsolicited commercial email provide recipients with a method for opting out of receiving such email and must be identified as an advertisement.

Sellers must submit a full video script prior to shooting the video. Videos will not be accepted without a script pre-review.

Any claims contained in the video must be capable of substantiation. Sellers must understand that if the FTC, private litigant or other agency asks for substantiation, the seller must have proof to back up any claim made in the seller's video.

Some promotional techniques can only be used with certain restrictions, or cannot be used at all, when promoting ClickBank products.

If you do not follow the guidelines listed here in your promotional techniques, you may be asked to update new or existing products or marketing, your products may be denied, or your accounts may be suspended or terminated.

The following subjects are covered in this section:

All use of testimonials and endorsements must comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines. This means that sellers cannot use false or deceptive statements in their written copy or video promotions. All specific advertising claims about a product’s performance or quality must be capable of substantiation— they must be real examples based on actual experiences. A statement that not all consumers will get the same results is not enough to qualify a claim. Testimonials and endorsements can't be used to make a claim that the advertiser itself cannot substantiate.

Connections between an endorser and the seller that are unclear or unexpected to a customer also must be disclosed, whether they have to do with a financial arrangement for a favorable endorsement, a position with the seller, or stock ownership. Expert endorsements must be based on appropriate tests or evaluations performed by people that have mastered the subject matter.

Also, affiliates cannot pose as neutral third parties evaluating two products so they make a commission on selling one of them.

Any and all product disclosures and disclaimers must be clear and conspicuous, and not likely to cause consumer confusion. This relates to any kind of disclosure, disclaimer, terms of sale, etc., related to any product or advertising activity on or otherwise related to ClickBank.

​Related: What does “clear and conspicuous" mean according to the FTC?

To make a disclosure “clear and conspicuous,” advertisers should use clear and unambiguous language and make the disclosure stand out. Consumers should be able to notice the disclosure easily. They should not have to look for it. In general, disclosures should be:

A disclosure that is made in both audio and video is more likely to be noticed by consumers. Disclosures should not be hidden or buried in footnotes, in blocks of text people are not likely to read, or in hyperlinks. If disclosures are hard to find, tough to understand, fleeting, or buried in unrelated details, or if other elements in the ad or message obscure or distract from the disclosures, they don’t meet the “clear and conspicuous” standard.

Please also reference FTC Guidance: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising.

ClickBank, in accordance with the FTC, expressly prohibits promoting false scarcity or urgency ploys. False scarcity messaging is when there is no actual scarcity of the product. For example, “Only 300 copies” when there are actually unlimited copies, time tickers running down to incentivize a purchase, or listing products as a “one-time” or “today only” opportunity, when they are, in fact, not.

Prices must be presented clearly and conspicuously. ClickBank, in accordance with the FTC, expressly prohibits deceptive pricing in any fashion, and reserves the right to require sellers to prove the validity of MSRP/ or “pre-sale” prices.

Pricing for a standard, one-time fee product must be displayed near the first payment link on the Pitch Page in a clear and conspicuous manner.

Pricing for a recurring billing product must contain the initial price, frequency of rebill as well as the duration of the subscription near EACH payment link that is presented on the Pitch Page.

Please also reference FTC Guidance: Bringing Dark Patterns to Light.

You can see an acceptable rebilling pricing presentation below. The initial product is $9.95, and then $37 for four (4) subsequent months. Note the minimum 12 point font size and contrasting color or pricing to background color(s). For example:

If ClickBank learns that a product violates these or any related regulations, or causes significant customer issues, based on our discretion, then we’ll require immediate changes to new or existing products or marketing, deny new or existing products or marketing, or even suspend or terminate account(s).

Your initial product sold must be a standalone product of value to your customer. Loss leaders are acceptable, but “bait” products are unacceptable and considered deceptive. Upsells and down-sells products must be either an enhancement to the initial product, or a complementary product to the initial product. Requiring an upsell and/or down-sell product purchase to make an initial product work is unacceptable and will result in suspension or termination of your account.

Upsell or down-sell decline links and buttons (“No Thank You” links) must be displayed clearly and conspicuously on the page according to these standards:

Related: Upsell Flows

If your marketing, pitch page, or other materials make certain claims about the nature of the product itself, those claims must be verified as described in this section.

The following subjects are covered in this section:

Companies are offering consumers an ever-growing assortment of “green" options. But whether your environmental claims are about the product or the packaging, you'll need competent and reliable scientific evidence to support what you say. Find out more by consulting our Environmental, Green, and Homemade Energy Product guidelines.

In addition to the FTC’s regulations regarding health claims, foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, ingestible products, etc., ClickBank takes the regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seriously. As the product owner, it is your responsibility to understand every regulation that may affect the production, manufacturing, and marketing of your products.

Among the types of claims that are defined by statute and/or FDA regulations: disease claims, health claims, nutrient content claims, structure/function claims, and cosmetic claims. You must have competent and reliable scientific evidence in support of any claims.

The type of evidence necessary to substantiate claims depends upon the nature of the claims. The relevant standard for truthful and not misleading health-related claims for dietary supplements is “competent and reliable scientific evidence.”

The FTC defines Competent and Reliable Scientific Evidence as “tests, analyses, research, studies, or other evidence based upon the expertise of professionals in the relevant area, that has been conducted and evaluated in an objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable results”

See the Selling Physical Products article for more information about selling physical products.

The following subjects are covered in this section:

Any claim, whether direct or implied, that states your product is going to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent a disease or symptoms of a disease would fall into this category. The only products that are typically allowed to make these types of claims are prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs).

The FDA defines disease as “damage to an organ, part, structure, or system of the body such that it does not function properly (e.g., cardiovascular disease), or a state of health leading to such dysfunctioning (e.g., hypertension); except that diseases resulting from essential nutrient deficiencies (e.g., scurvy, pellagra) are not included in this definition.” (21 CFR 101.93(g)).

The FDA provides 10 criteria that are useful in determining if a statement is a Disease Claim:

You can find more information on the above criteria can be found in the FDA's Guidance for Industry: Structure/Function Claims, Small Entity Compliance Guide document.

The following are examples of disease claims:

Health Claims are claims that associate a food or nutrient with an effect on a disease. All health claims:

The following is an example of a health claim:

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA) permits the use of label claims that characterize the level of a nutrient in a food (i.e., nutrient content claims) if they have been authorized by FDA and are made in accordance with FDA's authorizing regulations. Nutrient claims are reserved for recognized nutrients.

The following are examples of nutrient claims:

Structure/Function claims describe the association between a food or nutrient and a normal structure or function in humans. Dietary supplements and food products may carry claims in their labeling that describe the effect of a substance in maintaining the body's normal structure or function, as long as the claims don't imply the product diagnoses, treats, cures or prevents a disease. The following requirements must be met to qualify a structure/function claim:

The following are examples of structure/function claims:

Cosmetics are defined as articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance.

Cosmetics may not be ingested. Cosmetic claims can only apply to the look, feel, appearance, and surface of the skin. Products that market to change the structure or function of skin are considered drug claims.

Per the FDA, if a product is marketed with claims for purposes such as treating or preventing disease or affecting the structure or function of the body—including the skin—it’s a drug according to the law, and it must meet the requirements for drugs, even if it affects the appearance.

The following are examples of claims that make a cosmetic a drug:

NOTE: By law, cosmetics cannot claim to alter the structure or function of the skin.

The Federal Trade Commission requires advertisers to possess a reasonable basis for advertising and marketing product claims. The process of demonstrating that reasonable basis is called claim substantiation. Substantiation of express and implied claims is a key enforcement priority that affects advertisers and marketers.

Expressed claims are the most direct form and are explicitly stated through copy. While implied claims are more indirect and include claims that are not specifically stated through copy, but rather through inference.

When it comes to marketing material, the basic principles of advertising law apply:

1. Advertising must be truthful and not misleading.

2. Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims.

3. Advertisements cannot be unfair.

NOTE: If a claim cannot be substantiated, advertisers should revise the claim or conduct additional research.

“Under FTC law, companies must back up claims about what their product can do with reliable evidence. If a company makes a claim about the health or safety benefits of a product, that claim must be based on scientific evidence.

While the FTC has long history of providing guidance on advertising substantiation, through both litigated cases and policy statements, many sellers continue to make unsubstantiated claims about their products and false claims about the proof they have. Consequently, the FTC is now using its penalty offense authority to remind advertisers of the legal requirement to have a reasonable basis to support objective product claims and to deter them from making deceptive claims in the future.”

Please reference FTC Warns Companies That They Could Face Civil Penalties if They Can’t Back Up Their Product Claims

Story based selling may be used in your marketing as long as it starts from a place of health and the overall net impression isn't one of disease treatment or prevention. Additionally, if all claims within the story can be substantiated; meaning the story itself is based on a true story, can be substantiated as such, although it may include some “puffery”.

Puffery claims -- like "this is the best coffee in the world," are usually extravagant or immeasurable by nature. Meaning that the claim is so unrealistic that a reasonable consumer would be able to depict this separation therefore not requiring substantiation.

The seller must confirm that they have substantiation that can be provided if audited or required for any reason by ClickBank’s compliance team.

Examples of story lines that are prohibited by ClickBank:

Per the FTC, words like scientific breakthrough, miraculous cure, exclusive product, secret ingredient, or ancient remedy could imply a cure and therefore should not be used in the Pitch.

NOTE: ClickBank will take into account the overall “net impression” of the advertising message. Meaning, any storyline in the copy must be that of an already healthy person to help assist in supplementing their diet.

A product has to be "all or virtually all made in the United States" for it to be advertised or labeled as "Made in the U.S.A." See the FTC guidelines for more detail.

The FDA does not approve or certify manufacturers for dietary supplements. If the company is registered, you can state FDA Registered Facility.

Under Federal law, dietary supplements can't be promoted as "safe" or "free from side-effects". Dietary supplements aren't always safe or harmless. Even "natural" supplements can be risky for people on certain medicines or with certain medical conditions because they aren't proven to be safe and effective.

It is also recommended that consumers check with a medical professional before including any dietary supplement into their diet routine, especially when taking other medications. However, most consumers don't do this. There is a possibility that a consumer will ingest your supplement and have an adverse event, this is a risk the consumer takes. Stating that the product is "safe" or "free from side-effects" is misleading to the consumer.