[FAQ]

Hi everyone!

I have some good news—I finally landed my first big sponsorship for my channel! I’m so grateful. But now I’m super nervous about how to disclose it properly. I want to be completely honest with my audience, and I definitely don’t want to get into any trouble with YouTube.

Is it enough to just say “thank you to our sponsor” in the video? What about that “Includes paid promotion” checkbox when you upload? And should I also put “#ad” in the description? I’m seeing creators do different things and it’s a bit confusing.

I really want to make sure I do this the right way from the very start. Any advice from creators who handle sponsorships regularly would be a big help. Thank you!

[Jeff Bullas]

Handling sponsorships transparently is crucial for maintaining audience trust.

Short Answer: The best practice is to use multiple disclosure formats for maximum clarity. You must use YouTube’s “paid promotion” checkbox, and you should also provide a clear verbal disclosure within the video itself and a text disclosure in the description.

Using these various content formats together ensures your disclosure is clear, conspicuous, and compliant with advertising standards.

For complete transparency, you should implement three layers of disclosure formats. Firstly, you must use the platform’s native format by checking the “Includes paid promotion” box in your video’s details, which adds an official, unambiguous overlay for viewers. Secondly, your audio format must include a clear, spoken disclosure early in the video, such as saying, “This video is sponsored by Brand X,” so that it cannot be missed. Thirdly, your text format in the video description should include a clear marker like #ad or #sponsored at the very top, making the relationship visible without requiring a viewer to click “show more.” While specific regulations can vary by country, using all three of these formats is the universally accepted best practice.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Author]

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