Affiliate links for streamers and influencers

What do you have to consider as a streamer/influencer when using affiliate links in your own channels or in the YouTube video description? This article should be a small summary.

The mere integration of affiliate links does not represent a problem with cookies or data protection, as I described in this post, because in this case cookies are only placed on the landing page, if at all, and are therefore the responsibility of the of the advertiser. Whether this will make it more difficult to track affiliate links in the future is primarily a business issue, but should be taken into account when negotiating and creating corresponding contracts in the field of advertising’s reporting obligations.

This could be the case with solutions that are directly integrated into the stream, e.g. with loot or similar solutions. Here it is necessary to check in detail which data is transmitted and when and whether the stream’s own viewers may need to be informed about data transmissions or whether they have to agree to the setting of cookies. Here, of course, the fact that many foreign suppliers have not yet made a head way about European requirements applies here, and that one cannot assume that it is permissible simply because the provider does not impose any requirements. or the problem is not mentioned anywhere.

Of course, it is necessary to inform about the payment of affiliate links, to which you can find a lot of information about the keyword “Influencer” via the search function. A small summary of the problem with streamers can be found in this article. This note is also important for this reason, so that you as a streamer/influencer do not meet any information requirements, e.g. regarding price information (if applicable with basic prices) or shipping costs. In any case, one should therefore refrain from solutions that integrate the ordering functions or similar directly into the stream or the YouTube page and where doubts could arise among users as to who is the provider of the service and thus contractual partner.

As a streamer/influencer, one should also refrain from misleading information when applying for the affiliate link, both in the video/stream itself as well as in the channel description or video description. In the past, for example, there were claims that the product had been tested beforehand and could be recommended. This is especially true when comparing different products, but in reality no independent product test has taken place.

Of course, one should always also note that at the latest the use of affiliate links usually makes one’s own activity commercial and thus various obligations, from business registration to VAT obligation to the obligation to pay a tax tax return. The amount of revenue is irrelevant. The only decisive factor is whether income is planned on a permanent scale. Some information on this topic can be found in this article.

Basically, it is always advisable to use professional help if you are planning to generate revenue as a streamer/influencer.