FTC Disclosure Policy
There has been much discussion about the apparent rules changes that the FTC commission are making with regard to Bloggers and Affiliates.
Let’s cut through all the waffle.
First, this is a good thing!
The FTC want to clamp down on the scammers, those making dubious claims, etc and we 100% support that. Thad and I have NEVER made any claims about earnings, etc or claimed some tool or product or service was some kind of magic trick. The rewards are there in this business for those who work hard, right.
Well, we now want to work through what you should be doing to make your websites compliant with the ‘new rules’. I’ve put ‘new rules’ in italics because there is actually nothing new about them. The FTC have simply clarified their interpretation of existing rules and how they apply to Bloggers and Affiliates.
Over the next few days we’ll be adding a few more posts on what we think you should be doing, so look out for those. But please note, we are not lawyers and anything we suggest is no substitute for legal advice. We are simply going to state our interpretation and what actions we are taking.
Here’s a couple of things you can look at now:-
I have now added a Review Disclosure Policy to this site. This is our first draft and it applies to ANC. Other sites may require different wording, etc.
On each of our recommended product review pages I have added the the following line ‘Click here to see our Review Disclosure Policy.’
I have added a link in the footer ‘FTC Disclosure‘ and there is also a Review Disclosure Policy link in the side-bar menu.
IMO, this site is now fully compliant.
Tomorrow, I’ll look at some more aspects of the FTC guidelines. In the meantime please watch the videos on Jim Edwards’ blog where Jim interviews an FTC Director. Don’t listen to anything else you hear in forums, etc.
Get the interpretation of the new rules from the FTC themselves here:-
Tagged with: commission disclosure policy • federal trades commission disclosure policy • ftc disclosure policy • review disclosure policy
Hi Dave&Thad
It has been a huge mystic about this and I guess mainly because some wanna sell you another $100.- full of crap.
I think who did his job well and act honest and truthful will not face any problems. Just add a disclaimer, policy and now something like your FTC disclosure and you will do fine.
If you ain’t use any testimonials, your fine, if you use some make sure you state what the FTC wants to see, that those are not typical results bla bla…..
80% of all affiliate marketers are not affected by that.
G.
Actually G. I disagree.
I think that 100% of marketers are affected. Will 100% be prosecuted? No, of course not. The FTC don’t have the resources but that’s not the point, we will continue to advise best practice. (I’m not suggesting you don’t advocate the same BTW.)
We’re not just talking about the ANC site, after all everyone in the IM world knows we get a commission from our recommended products, right?
But what about non-IM sites?
That will be the main thrust of our guidance.
Dave B