The Art of Disclosure

The turkey has officially begun to defrost in the frig, most of
the fixings are in various states of preparation, and we're just
waiting for friends to arrive with the sweet potatoes, rolls,
pies and cookies! I love Thanksgiving.

There's a lot being sold and published online over the past few
weeks about recent changes in FTC regulations regarding truth in
advertising. The center of the argument is on how transparent you
are with your efforts to make money through affiliate links and
testimonials. The FTC wants all of us to play nicely and clearly
inform our web site visitors when we are being compensated as an
affiliate, have reviewed a product we received for free, or
solicited or paid for a testimonial.

Obviously, this is a good thing. It's just a shame that it's
come down to this. I have split feelings on this one. If I run a
product review site, it should be implicit that I receive a lot
of free products and services. Heck, that was my goal when I
started CoolToolAwards.com 10 years ago. The fact that I am also
an affiliate of some of the products and services I review should
also be somewhat obvious by the nature of the URL. Of course,
ever now and then a lemon of a product comes out, and people
return to my review site seeking technical support. Those are the
awkward situations where I must try to help them and make sure the
commission is reversed and the buyer gets a refund. I do that
because it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, there are many
who don't do the right thing, and that's what has driven the FTC
to take arms against us.

So you need to protect yourself. I am revisiting my sites and
adding simple language to indicate some of the products or
services I recommend may be paid reviews or I received free
products or services. I also make it clear that some of my
reviews use affiliate links and that I will receive a nominal
commission if they buy that product or service through my link.
You should do the same.

According to an interview I listened to this morning between Jim
Edwards and a high-ranking representative at the FTC, we should
be providing language on our sites that clearly discloses the
nature of our relationship with the companies whose products we
promote or recommend. Such language must be "clear and
conspicuous" near the affiliate link. The language is easy --
it's how to do this near the links that becomes intrusive.

Some online marketers are fearful of repercussions of following
this recommended procedure. They fear it will hurt sales. Hmmm.
Truth in advertising affect sales negatively? Interesting concept
but possible.

The FTC also wants to make sure there is adequate disclosure
between site content and advertising. If what you say and how you
present it could impact a product sale or a service's
credibility and influence a visitor to make a purchase, than you
need to err on the safe side and disclose as much as you can.

If you review and recommend products and services on your sites
as I do, the FTC wants to know if a visitor's purchase results in
your financial gain. If so, you need to disclose this.

Is there even a possibility of a potential bias of your
recommendation as an affiliate? If so, you need to disclose this.

Above all, transparency is critical.

Now there's two other areas not covered by this FTC call that is
important for you to consider:

1. Fat claims. If you can not substantiate something, it is a fat
claim. Example: Buy this ebook and make millions just like
thousands of others. Big old fat claim. The type of fat claim
that could bite you in the butt and cost six figures and maybe
worse.

2. Fake Testimonials. Are you asking friends to write kind words
about your products or services without them actually paying for
it or using it? If so, then this one could also land you in front
of the FTC or in court or in jail.

Now I know my subscribers operate above the line and are
law-abiding but these latter two infractions happen all the time.
Just last week I was reviewing a subscriber site and had to call
their attention to a very blatant fat claim that could get them
in trouble. Bottom line: if you can't prove something, then don't
say it. It's really that simple.

But what about the standard disclaimers such as "Your actual
mileage may vary"? Well, unless you are a car dealer I'd be
careful in how you verbally tap dance around your fat claims. It
is far easier to be truthful and downplay the possible benefits
someone may receive from using a product or service.

You can learn about the FTC's expectations and recommended ways
to stay out of trouble by visiting Jim Edwards free blog
(disclosure: this is not an affiliate link):

http://jimedwards.s3.amazonaws.com/ftc-advertising-interview/index.html

Now if you are interested in purchasing a kit from a law
firm that promises to clear all this FTC stuff up and provide you with
tools you need to protect yourself, then you might visit
these guys (disclosure: affiliate link):

https://innoventum.infusionsoft.com/go/bizshield/spidy/

See how this disclosure thing could work? Isn't it fun?
Oh boy ...

Until next time,


Steven

P.S.: Have a great Turkey Day! Forward this to a friend:


http://getresponse.com/forward.html?x=a62b&m=JE54&s=BMayh&y=E&