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Ironic Results Of The FTC Disclosure Regulations
By SherryD | November 13, 2009
Topics: ftc disclosure regulations | 1 Comment »
As the December 1st deadline of the newest FTC Disclosure Regulations draws closer, affiliates, bloggers and Internet marketers as a whole have been struggling to determine just what those requirements entail and how to comply as easily as is possible. After reading a substantial amount of material, in addition to the regulations themselves, I came to the conclusion that the information I received at a webinar discussion on this topic, had the most bearing on how to proceed.
At present, the FTC Disclosure Rule in regards to testimonials does not come into play for this blog, as I have not made a practice of using testimonials at this point in time. Even so, the common opinion amongst marketers is that those that do achieve spectacular success as a result of a single program fall into two categories. The first category is that of the 80/20 rule, which is much better explained by Perry Marshall in his take on the FTC Disclosure Regulations. Before you ask, I am an affiliate of Perry Marshall, but this is not an affiliate link.
The second category that I personally believe many achieving spectacular successes fall into is what I call the “penny drop” category. These are the folks that have put in substantial time and effort learning the field of Internet marketing and with this particular product, the penny dropped and it all came together for them.
Almost every successful marketer I know has a story of spending a great deal of time, if not money, building their knowledge on just how Internet marketing works. While the product may have allowed them to follow step-by-step instructions and achieve monetary success in a relatively short period of time, it was their previous struggles and time in the learning curve that made it possible. This is why I now recommend and will continue to recommend products that focus on the nuts and bolts of assembling a knowledge base in Internet marketing.
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Because of these two primary categories for success in Internet marketing, I believe that the FTC Disclosure Rule on testimonials will enhance the information people receive as a result of those testimonials. A case study showing the experience and efforts used will give greater credibility to the success achieved.
The FTC Disclosure Rule in regards to disclosure on material connections is the rule that effects this blog the most, as it is an affiliate blog.
This is not legal advice, and as always, please check with your own legal counsel before implementing. However, what I took away from the discussion at the webinar is this:
1) If you can foresee the possibility of gaining income as a result of material provided by you, be it in a blog post, email, free report or eBook, a material connection disclosure is required. As a result, I’ve spent a few hours going over free material given to my list and added disclosures to emails and to my web and blog pages.
2) The material disclosure needs to be front and center, not hidden in the fine print or on a link. As you will see at the bottom of this post, I have attempted to meet that requirement in the FTC Disclosure Regulations head on.
Now for the ironic part. Rather than hurting my affiliate efforts, it has served to enhance them. Several people, including a successful Internet marketer that I admire, have mentioned that they like the way the material connection disclosure is handled and feel it adds to, rather than detracts from, the authority of this blog. In addition, I received an email from one of my subscribers, which said in a nutshell, that he felt the addition of the material connections disclosure had increased his trust in the content he received.
The FTC Disclosure Regulations are amongst the online marketing realities that Internet marketers have to face and will come into effect on December 1, 2009. If you have not read the requirements of these regulations, don’t wait around hoping they will go away. Seek legal advise and do not leave your compliance to chance.
To Your Success,
SherryD
http://www.wbobr.com
One Response to “Ironic Results Of The FTC Disclosure Regulations”
MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE:
You should assume that the authors of information provided on this site have an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned in this information and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.
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December 1st, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Even though today is now December 1st, 2009 – the FTC deadline day for disclosures this is the most relevant post that explains what bloggers need to do that I found.
Thank you for sharing this wording and advice. Perhaps we will all need to add similar wording in that position if we have EVER shared even ONE affiliate link in our blogs.
GrowMap @Internet Strategist´s last blog ..Gift Affiliate Programs Make Dollars and Sense