Affiliate Disclosure
The Longer Game is an independent content platform that generates revenue through affiliate marketing. This page explains exactly what that means, how it works, and what it means for you as a reader.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing means that some of the links on our website are ‘affiliate links’. When you click one of these links and make a purchase, we earn a small commission from the retailer or brand. This commission comes at no extra cost to you, you pay exactly the same price whether you click through from our site or go directly to the retailer.
Affiliate links are one of the primary ways that independent content websites like ours generate the revenue needed to keep producing free content.
Which Affiliate Programmes We Use
We currently work with the following affiliate programmes:
- Amazon Associates UK – for physical products including padel equipment, books, fitness gear and similar items
- Awin Network – which includes retailers such as Decathlon and a range of other UK brands
- Booking.com and Expedia – for travel bookings
- Individual direct partnerships with brands – where we have agreed separate affiliate arrangements
We may add to this list as the platform grows. This disclosure will be updated accordingly.
Our Editorial Independence Policy
This is the part that matters most.
The existence of affiliate relationships does not influence which products or services we recommend, or what we write about them. Our editorial process is as follows:
- We only recommend products we have personally used, thoroughly researched, or have strong reason to believe are genuinely good for our specific audience
- We do not accept payment to write positive reviews, all product coverage is based on honest assessment
- We do not allow affiliate relationships to affect our editorial content, if a product doesn’t meet our standards, we don’t recommend it regardless of the commission rate
- Where we have genuine concerns about a product, we say so, even if we include an affiliate link to it for context
- Commission rates do not influence our recommendations – a product paying a 1% commission will always beat a product paying 50% if it is the better choice for our readers
“Our readers’ trust is the only asset that matters. One bad recommendation costs more than any commission we’d ever earn from it.”
How to Identify Affiliate Links
We do not use a specific visual indicator (such as an asterisk) on every affiliate link, as this can affect the reading flow. We make a global disclosure at the foot of any page or article that contains affiliate links, and we include this disclosure page in the footer of every page on the site.
If you are ever unsure whether a link is an affiliate link, you are welcome to contact us and we will tell you.
FCA and ASA Compliance
We comply with the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) guidelines on affiliate marketing disclosure. Where content is paid for or sponsored in addition to containing affiliate links, this will be clearly labelled as ‘Sponsored Content’ or ‘Paid Partnership’ at the top of the relevant page or article.
We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and we do not provide financial advice. Any content relating to financial decisions (including career changes, investments, or pension planning) is provided for general information only and should not be treated as financial advice.
Questions?
If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships, how we make recommendations, or anything else covered in this disclosure, please contact us at: hello@thelongergame.co.uk
We will always be transparent about how we work.