Work At Home Information

If you’re a blogger, particularly one who runs a blog as a means to market products and services as an affiliate, you’ve no doubt heard about the new FTC guidelines that went into effect on December 1, 2009.  From the posts I’ve seen on the Warrior Forum and elsewhere, everyone is going nuts about this. Everyone is running around like a chicken with its head cut off wondering what this means, how to comply, and whether compliance will end up hurting the bottom line.

Well, I’ve looked at the FTC rules and I’ve read several reports on the subject, and I can tell all you bloggers out there to RELAX.  There are two main components of the updated guidelines: testimonials and disclosure pertaining to financial compensation  where endorsements are made, especially when the relationship between the endorser and the product owner aren’t clear.

Let’s begin with testimonials.  What the new guidelines say is that if you use testimonials that cite specific results, such as “I lost x number of pounds in 2 weeks on y product” or “I’ve made a kabillion dollars on z system.” that the disclaimer “results not typical” is no longer enough.  In addition to the disclaimer “results not typical”, you also need to disclose  what the  typical results are.  For instance, if the typical person only loses 2 pounds, or none at all, when using the product, you must disclose this information.  For this reason, you are better off staying away from results based testimonials unless you can prove that the typical results are close to what the testimonials state. If you use testimonials that simply praise a product or service,  you can continue using them as you always have, without any changes.

Now, for the big one and the one that affects the most people:  Endorsements and disclosure of compensatory interest, whether monetary or otherwise.  The guidelines state that you must disclose the fact that you will earn a commission or some other compensatory interest if someone were to buy the product or service you are recommending by clicking on the link in your blog or website.  Complying with this can be as simple as stating “If you buy this product or service by clicking on my link, I get paid a commission” directly in your blog post. Alternatively, you can include an “affiliate disclaimer” in your terms of service or in some other visible and accessible area on your website or blog.  All the FTC is asking for is that it be made clear to consumers when someone who is endorsing a product has a vested interest in doing so; i.e. they’re getting paid to promote it.  It is no different from the little fine print that reads “Advertisement” you see in magazines above advertisements that would otherwise be mistaken for articles.

At the end of the day, these guidelines aren’t all that onerous and complying with them won’t really affect anything, especially if you’re an honest marketer who is selling a decent product or service.  If the product or service is decent,  no one is going to care if it is clear  that you’re making money if they buy it.  It’s not a big deal and the sky isn’t falling.