Affiliate Disclosure

Last updated: May 2026

Indie Media Club is owned by BWZ, a media-tech company that operates in Canada and publishes content for a global audience. We structure our disclosures to align with applicable advertising and affiliate marketing requirements in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, including FTC, ASA, and Competition Bureau guidance.

This page explains how we make money, how affiliate relationships work, and how we separate commercial activity from editorial judgment.

How We Make Money

Some of the links in our articles are affiliate links. This means we may earn a commission when you click a link to a software or service vendor.

Commissions are typically a fee per action, and vary by vendor, page, and location in the content.

We participate in affiliate programs including:

• Amazon Associates (including regional programs such as Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk where applicable)
• PartnerStack
• Direct affiliate programs operated by software vendors

Not all links on our site are affiliate links. We also link to products and services, research, documentation, and editorial resources that do not generate revenue.

Where Affiliate Links Appear

Affiliate links may appear in:

• Software and service reviews
• “Best tools” and "Best services" articles
• Articles comparing one product or service to another
• Vendor recommendation sections within editorial content

There is always a disclosure visible above the monetized links where they appear.

Why?

The revenue generated from affiliate links helps fund:

• Independent testing and research
• Writing and maintaining in-depth reviews
• Supporting our contributor network
• Publishing educational content for indie media operators and digital publishers

This allows us to keep producing detailed, practical content for people making high-impact software decisions.

Sponsored Content

We sometimes publish sponsored or partner content in collaboration with software and service providers.

Sponsored content, which is paid for by software and service providers may include:

• Dedicated articles written by a partner
• Co-created editorial features, videos, and events

All sponsored content is clearly labeled at the top of the page as “Sponsored,” “Partner Content,” or equivalent disclosure language.

Sponsored relationships do not determine:

• Whether a tool is included in editorial reviews
• How tools are evaluated
• The conclusions in independent editorial content

Sponsored content is separate from our editorial review process and is always distinguishable from it.

How Recommendations and Rankings Work

Affiliate commissions, partner relationships, and commercial agreements do not influence:

• The scores we give to products and services
• Editorial conclusions about a product’s strengths or weaknesses

Our rankings are based on independent editorial judgment, informed by structured testing, user feedback analysis, and category-specific evaluation criteria.

We may include software and service providers with no affiliate relationship if they perform well in testing or are highly relevant to the category. Conversely, those with affiliate programs are not guaranteed inclusion or favorable placement.

Software and service providers do not need an affiliate relationship to be included or ranked highly; we include both affiliate and non-affiliate products and services

We regularly include and recommend products and services with no commercial relationship or benefit to us. We may exclude or deprioritize tools if they:

• Perform poorly in testing
• Do not meet category requirements
• Are not relevant to the intended use case

This applies regardless of whether a tool has a commercial relationship with us.

Editorial Independence

We maintain a clear separation between editorial work and commercial operations:

• Reviewers are compensated for evaluation and content creation—not for driving clicks, signups, or conversions
• Reviewer compensation is not tied to affiliate performance or vendor relationships
• Editorial decisions are made independently of sponsorships and affiliate partnerships
• Sponsored content is handled separately from editorial reviews and does not influence rankings or recommendations

This separation ensures that editorial judgment is not shaped by commercial incentives.

Read more about our approach on our review methodology page.

Questions or Feedback

We aim to be transparent and accountable in how we operate.

If you have questions about this disclosure, our affiliate relationships, or how we evaluate software, you can contact us directly and we’ll respond.