There is no secret that Full Figure Plus being a division of Full Figure Network, Inc. is a business blog.  Meaning for profit.  From the beginning the goal of this blog has been to share shopping links with readers with some of the links posted being affiliate which means I use Full Figure Plus to promote the products of another merchant in exchange for a commission if a sale is made.  For example since my audience is mainly plus-size women then the affiliate links I use will be from plus size merchants like Torrid.com(affiliate link)

Additionally, some of the products reviewed on Full Figure Plus are obtained samples from companies.  Recently I have received products  from JMS, Simply Yours, and Target.  The understanding is that I as a blogger will receive a product or service for review in exchange for a blog post about the product or service.

Finally, some of the merchants mentioned on Full Figure Plus are paid advertisers.  These payments offset webhosting, web design, advertising, etc.

Why all this focus on transparency?  There are new Federal Trade Commission (read full document here) guidelines stating in the spirit of fairness we must disclose the relationship between bloggers, affiliates, advertisers, and is some cases sponsored blog posts.

Because of the amount of content Full Figure Plus has the likelihood of clicking on an affiliate link or paid advertising banner is pretty high.  Each merchant has been vetted in such a way that if they appear on Full Figure Plus they are a trusted merchant with a proven track record of quality customer service.

Another example is most of the links on the Ultimate Shopping List Page are affiliate links.  Its not like I was hiding it from readers, but relying on the savvy of Full Figure Plus readers to know this without being told.

The point is not to flood you with rules so there is a reluctance to click on any link in a blog post but to give you the tools needed to make an informed decision about your online shopping habits.  While I do not agree fully with the FTC guidelines, credibility in the minds of the readers of Full Figure Plus is more important to me.  Besides disclosing the fact of getting merchandise which is many cases I pass on to readers has never been a problem for me.