Affiliate Marketing Prohibited
Why This Rejection Happens
The vetting agent determined that your campaign promotes products or services that you do not own, using a performance-based marketing model (Affiliate Marketing). While "Affiliate Marketing" is a checkable attribute, certain carriers and CSPs have a blanket ban on all affiliate traffic due to high spam rates.
Common Triggers: Using affiliate tracking links (`hop.clickbank.net`), promoting "partner offers," or being a known affiliate network sending traffic for multiple brands.
Root Cause Analysis
Primary Triggers
- No Direct Relationship: The consumer opted in to hear from "Brand A," but you are sending offers for "Brand B" to earn a commission. This violates the direct consent principle.
- Shared Shorteners: Affiliate networks often use shared link domains. If one affiliate spams, the entire domain is blacklisted, causing your rejection.
- "Work from Home" Offers: Many affiliate programs are structured as "Biz Opps" or "MLM," which are high-risk categories often blocked outright (SHAFT-adjacent).
Required Elements
| Model | Status on 10DLC | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Brand | Allowed | Sell your own products. |
| Affiliate (Low Risk) | Restricted | Must check "Affiliate Marketing" attribute (Code 2200). |
| Affiliate (Aggregator) | Prohibited | Lead gen networks are banned. |
Step-by-Step Remediation
Confirm Ownership
Do you own the product you are selling? If yes, this is a false positive. You need to prove you are the direct merchant.
Remove Third-Party Links
If you are an influencer or publisher, stop sending direct affiliate links in SMS. Instead, send a link to your own content (e.g., a blog review), and put the affiliate link on your webpage.
✓ Compliant Flow
SMS -> Your Blog Article -> Affiliate Offer
✗ Non-Compliant Flow
SMS -> Affiliate Offer (Direct Redirect)
Re-register as "Marketing"
If you pivot to promoting your own content (e.g., "New post on my blog"), update your campaign description to reflect this. Remove all mentions of "partner offers."
Carrier-Specific Requirements
T-Mobile
- Aggressively filters affiliate traffic. If your message looks like a CPA (Cost Per Action) offer, it will likely be blocked even if registered.
AT&T
- Requires a "direct" relationship. If the brand name in the text doesn't match the brand name the user opted in to, it's a violation.
MyTCRPlus Tools That Can Help
Content Policy Scanner
Check your messages for known affiliate link domains that trigger filters.
Use This Tool →Sample Message Generator
Rewrite your templates to focus on "Content Notifications" rather than direct sales pitches.
Use This Tool →Pre-Resubmission Checklist
- I have removed all affiliate tracking links (ClickBank, ShareASale, etc.).
- My campaign description focuses on my brand value, not third-party products.
- I own the domain I am linking to.
- I am not "selling leads" to other companies.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ "Just one link"
Even a single affiliate link in a sample message can get the whole campaign banned. Remove them all.
❌ Link Cloaking
Using a URL shortener to hide an affiliate link is considered evasion and can lead to immediate termination of your entire account.
Expected Timeline
This guidance provides general information about 10DLC compliance requirements. Affiliate marketing is a complex area in A2P messaging with high rejection rates. Organizations should pivot to direct brand engagement strategies to ensure deliverability. MyTCRPlus does not provide legal advisory services or regulatory representation.