Here at FSElite, our integrity is paramount to our code of conduct. We value our editorial independence and ability to report the latest in the flight simulation community without fear of repercussions. Being part of the free-press movement means that we should always feel able to talk about the industry in a constructive and fair manner, without concern. This is important as it helps to maintain the trust we have built up with the community over the years and also ensures that developers, publishers, and ourselves, can be held to account.
Advertising, sponsorship and affiliation can sometimes come across as a grey area. To mitigate any concerns by developers, publishers, consumers and potential advertisers, our Advertising Standards and Policy is transparent for all to see.
Our standards are clear, concise and easy to understand. Should you have concerns or questions, please get in touch.
FSElite values quality reporting and integrity above all else. We are clear that as a business, we operate on a for-profit basis, but our mission to deliver quality content for the flight simulation is key. Without that, we would not be passionate about delivering news, reviews, opinions, tutorials and other types of content – and without that passion, we would not be here today.
Our community expects us to be impartial in our news reporting, whilst also providing clear and honest opinions in our editorial and review content. To ensure we continue delivering on this, here is our current stance on advertising.
Acceptable
Unacceptable
Any developer, publisher or brand found to be breaching our standards will be removed from advertising or sponsoring with FSElite.
In order to pay for servers, services, trips to events and, in the future, our staff, we need a way to generate revenue. Advertising is an effective form of generating the revenue and is common across the industry. In a niche industry such as flight simulation, there are opportunities to use advertising to benefit developer communication and also let the flight simulation community of new products.
That’s commercially sensitive information. We’re here to be transparent with our standards, rules and guidelines, but there are some things that are simply confidential.
You wouldn’t expect to tell the world your salary now, would you?
That said, FSElite is an industry leader and innovator. We’re fair and offer more than the average media outlet, whilst always finding ways to give back to the community.
We try, where possible, to give back to the community. When an advertiser agrees to work with us, part of their terms is to give back to the community. This could be through a giveaway, exclusive content or anything else they feel is beneficial for the community.
Likewise, we also give back through buying products for the community, donating to charitable causes and producing products such as the FSElite Magazine (which are then given away for free).
Banner Advertisements
The most common form of advertising on FSElite. These banner ads are created either by the developer or publisher and are designed to promote a specific product or brand. They can be found in various locations on the website and in various sizes. Clicking them will more likely than not take you to a specific product page, giving you the chance to buy the product from the developer.
Those who use these forms of advertisements will most likely pay monthly for the placement.
FSElite may receive a small commission from these sales.
Affiliate Link
From time to time, FSElite may post content that includes an affiliate link. These links allow the community to purchase the product we’re linking to. However, the link will include a code or some parameter in the URL to signify that the sale is associated with FSElite. When you buy something from that link, FSElite may receive a small commission from the sale.
If there are multiple places to buy a product, FSElite will prioritise the affiliate link destination over another store.
Sponsored Content
To be clear, sponsored content is in no way created or edited by the advertiser. This type of content means that FSElite has been paid to promote the content. FSElite retains full editorial and creative control over the content and we do not seek permission from the advertiser ahead of time.
Sponsored content will never apply to reviews or opinion-based editorials.
An example of sponsored content could be:
You likely will not have been this type of content in the flight simulation space, but it is highly common across other industries.
We clearly label sponsored content.
Sponsored Podcast/Video/Stream
As with the ‘Sponsored Content’ from above, there has been no involvement from the advertiser in the creation of the audio or video content. They may have provided the sound bite or video clip, but the content itself is 100 organic for FSElite. We will, where possible, only use sponsored content that is organic to the production. FSElite retains full editorial and creative control over the content and we do not seek permission from the advertiser ahead of time.
Sponsored content will never apply to reviews.
An example of sponsored content could be:
We clearly label sponsored content.
Promoted Products
With the introduction of our new product section, developers are now able to promote individual products. These promotions do not reflect any preference from FSElite, but are promoted randomly on various pages once paid for by the developer.
Promoted products will appear in various locations across FSElite in a variety of formats. Those promoted will be indicated by the ‘Promoted’ label. Promoted products will also feature a direct link for people to buy the product.
FSElite may receive a small commission from these sales.
Sponsored Giveaways
From time to time, FSElite may do sponsored giveaways. This means that the developer has promoted a specific giveaway in order to giveback to the community. The giveaway may be conducted either in video, written or any other format. As a result, we may include links to other products from that developer or brand which relates to the giveaway prize.
This benefits both the community and the advertiser.
We may also do regular giveaways. For example, a weekly screenshot contest may be sponsored by an advertiser.
We clearly label sponsored giveaways.
We’re open to feedback on this matter. We know this is a sensitive subject and some will doubt the content of this page. If you have any comments, queries or questions, please reach out to us on our contact form.
