Placement is the whole problem in a newsletter. Members skim an issue in seconds and act on the item that catches them. A disclosure that is technically present but out of sight protects nobody, and it costs the association more trust when members find it later than if it had said nothing.
What members need to know before they reply
Four facts, in plain words. Each answers a question a careful member would otherwise have to ask.
| Fact | Plain wording (Illustrative) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Who could be paid | "The association" or, if a staff member registered personally, that person by name | A member weighs advice differently when the adviser can earn from it |
| 2. Who pays, and from where | "SourceX pays any reward itself; none of it comes from your company's compensation" | Members worry the reward is taken from what their company receives |
| 3. What must happen first | "Only if a company we introduce completes a paid licensing deal" | A reply, a click or a meeting earns nothing, and members should know that |
| 4. What the association does not do | "We don't decide whether your company fits, and we don't speak for SourceX" | The CEO decides; SourceX reviews; the association recommends nothing |
Fact 3 follows SourceX's terms closely: a lead, a meeting or a signed agreement alone earns no payable reward, and payment waits on the dataset's acceptance, money reaching SourceX, the company being paid and finance approval. Fact 4 keeps the association out of a role it does not have. SourceX's screening page warns that a newsletter line reading "our companies qualify" implies an acceptance nobody has given, and the sample Channel Partner Agreement makes the partner an independent contractor, not SourceX's agent.
The figures are optional. If the reward rate (the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout) appears at all, attach it to the association's own possible reward and say that it describes what the association could receive. Lifted out of that sentence, a reward figure reads as a member's payout. The SaaS newsletter guide shows how a payout headline misleads, and the difference between a reward and the company's proceeds gives members the full picture.
Disclosure placement examples: nine spots in one issue
Rate each spot by one question: will a member see the sentence before deciding whether to reply?
| Spot in the issue | Example | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Subject line or preheader | "Member briefing (includes a referral item)" | Supports only | Signals early but cannot hold four facts |
| 2. Contents list or item label | A "Referral partner item" tag above the headline | Supports only | Marks the item and states nothing |
| 3. Inside the item, beside the reply instruction | The full sentence just before "reply to ask for an introduction" | Carries it | Seen at the moment a member acts |
| 4. A boxed note within the item, same type size | "How the association could be paid" | Carries it | Visible without scrolling past the item |
| 5. The issue's footer | Small print after the unsubscribe line | Fails alone | Read after the decision, if at all |
| 6. A link to a policy page | "About our partnerships" | Fails alone | A click away from the decision |
| 7. Web archive or member portal copy | The item reposted without its note | Fails if the note is dropped | The note has to travel with the item |
| 8. Social post or digest excerpt | A two-line teaser with a link | Needs a short form | A short version in the excerpt, the full sentence where it leads |
| 9. A forwarded or pasted copy | A member passes the item to its CEO | Carries it only from inside the item | A pasted item drops the footer, and the CEO never saw earlier issues |
Spots 3 and 4 do the work; spots 1 and 2 help members notice; spots 5 and 6 are backups. Spots 7 to 9 are where good disclosures get lost, because the item leaves the issue and the footer stays behind.
The Federal Trade Commission's staff guidance on digital disclosures offers a useful yardstick. In our paraphrase of its 2013 .com Disclosures document, a disclosure should sit as close as possible to the claim it qualifies; a hyperlink leading to one should be obvious and labeled with what it leads to, and some disclosures, such as those about cost, should not rely on a link at all; and if a disclosure cannot work on a device or platform, that platform should not carry the message. That guidance was written for U.S. advertising. Whether and how it applies to your association's newsletter is a question for your counsel; this page borrows it only as a test of where members' eyes go.
Method note. The nine spots come from the parts of a typical member newsletter and the places an item travels after sending. Each verdict applies one test, seen before the decision or not, drawn from the FTC staff guidance above and SourceX's published terms, read on 2026-10-27. The ratings are judgments, not measurements; no reader-attention figures for association newsletters are published here.
Wording at three lengths
Illustrative wording, to adapt rather than copy.
- Full, inside the item: "The association is registered in SourceX's referral program. If your company asks us to introduce it and later completes a paid licensing deal, SourceX may pay the association a reward. SourceX pays it separately, and none of it comes from your company's compensation. Whether your company fits, and whether it goes ahead, is for your CEO and SourceX's review to decide, not us."
- Short, for excerpts: "Referral item: SourceX may pay the association if a member we introduce licenses records."
- Label, above the headline: "Referral partner item."
Two clauses of the sample agreement shape the wording. Section 4.5 says "Neither Party may publicly identify the other as a partner or disclose non-public deal details without written authorization, except as legally required." An issue that only members receive is one thing; an archive page, a social post or a press note that names SourceX is public, so get SourceX's written authorization for the wording before it goes there. And section 4.6 bars the partner from telling a referred company that an estimate, interest, a signature or an upload makes a purchase or a reward certain, so the item never hints at an outcome.
How to set up the link itself belongs to the association newsletter link guide; this page covers only what the issue says about the association's interest.
Keeping the disclosure honest across a run of issues
- Every mention carries its own sentence. An event invitation, a recap of the session and a reminder are each read alone.
- The first reply repeats it. When a member writes back asking for an introduction, the association's answer restates the four facts before anything else happens. The introductory email guide covers that one-to-one moment.
- Registration changes update the wording. If the person registered changes, or the association moves from an individual to the entity, change who the sentence names.
- Declining a reward is not a published option. The terms do not set out how a partner turns down a reward. Until SourceX confirms an arrangement in writing, say only what is true today: the association is registered and could be paid.
- No success stories about deals. SourceX's how-it-works page says neither side publicizes the deal, so an issue that celebrates a member's license, or its payout, should not run.
Test the disclosure on members before the issue ships
Treat the disclosure as something members must understand, and test that, not the response rate. Ask eight to twelve members who agree to review drafts to read the item for 30 seconds, then answer two questions without looking back:
- If your company licensed records after our introduction, who could be paid, and by whom?
- Would anything come off your company's compensation?
Count the readers who answer both correctly, and note anyone who read the item as the association's recommendation. Set your threshold before the test; if it is missed, move or rewrite the sentence and test again. After the issue goes out, keep the review going for 60 days: replies asking for an introduction, members who applied directly, "not for us" replies, complaints about the reward, and unsubscribes compared with a normal issue. Members keep two routes that need no one's approval, ignoring the item or applying to SourceX themselves, and the item should name both. SourceX has not published reader or response figures for member newsletters, so these counts are the association's own. For a membership of very different sizes, the three-door routing guide shapes the item before the disclosure is placed.
One item, before and after (Illustrative)
Illustrative. An invented association and item; only the disclosure changes.
| Element | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Label | None | "Referral partner item" above the headline |
| Headline | "Our partner SourceX can pay for your data" | "Licensing company records for AI: an optional item" |
| Where the interest is stated | Footer, below the unsubscribe line | One sentence beside the reply instruction, same type size |
| What it says | "We may receive compensation from partners" | Who could be paid, that SourceX pays it, what must happen first, and that nothing comes from the member's compensation |
| Who decides | Not mentioned | "Your CEO decides; SourceX reviews; we recommend nothing" |
| Archive copy | Item reposted, footer dropped | Item reposted with the sentence intact |
The before version fails twice: the headline implies an endorsement and a payout, and the only disclosure sits where members never look.
Where a disclosure can still mislead
- Enthusiasm outweighs the sentence. A glowing item with a correct disclosure still reads as a recommendation. The vendor endorsement policy question helps keep the tone educational.
- The headline contradicts it. Any figure near the headline gets read as a member's payout, whatever the disclosure says.
- Translations and regional editions. A sentence lost in translation or cut from a regional edition leaves those members uninformed.
- Personal registrations. If a staff member or volunteer registered in their own name, a disclosure naming only "the association" is incomplete.
- Other rules apply. Your own policies, and the rules where your members are, may ask for more than this page does.
More partner guides for associations and networks are collected in the guides library.
Next step
Refer a company. No cap on rewards. Default reward on a company's first qualifying transaction: the greater of $50,000 plus 5% and 15% of Actual Supplier Payout, with no cap; further qualifying transactions first agreed within 12 months of the first Closing pay 15%. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, including the USD 100,000 Minimum Transaction, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
Before the first issue that mentions SourceX, register the association under the name the disclosure will use, check every fit statement in the item against who qualifies, and keep the program terms beside the draft so the four facts match them word for word in meaning.