Do you understand the new FTC rules as they apply to your blog(s) or other Web sites? If you have any advertising, use affiliate links or have ever recommended anything in your blog in a review or testimonial you may want to take the time to check out some excellent resources I found:
- Bloggers can use the question and answer process provided by DisclosurePolicy.org’s Blogger Disclosure generator to automatically create a disclosure document for their blog.
- You could write your own like the genuinely sincere, honest example written by Lori Falcon at A Cowboy’s Wife.
- Jim Edwards has posted an FTC interview – Long video (3 hrs 46 min) – also available in audio and transcript) that contains far more detail including a Q&A on how the new rules apply to specific blogger examples which I found through Beginner Marketers.
- SherryD did her research and shares her conclusions in Ironic Results of the FTC Disclosure Regulations including the specific disclosure wording and positioning she is now using on her Online Business Resources site.
You may also want to read FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials: Changes Affecting Testimonial Advertisements, Bloggers, Celebrity Endorsements on the FTC.gov site.
Dennis from Direct Sales Marketing Web shared these excellent posts from Lynn Terry at ClickNewz that go into much more detail about all the questions that may be raised:
- The FTC Update in Plain English – What the FTC Guidelines Actually Say – And What It Means (To YOU)
In Plain English… - New FTC Guides Go Into Effect Dec 1 – Answers questions raised in the Plain English post includes many FTC videos
- FTC to Regulate Social Media Marketing – Although written on May 18, 2009 this is still highly relevant and has tons of links and much discussion going on in the comments.
When you have a chunk of time, reading through all of these posts and watching the videos would be worth doing – just to make sure you clearly understand and comply so you don’t get visited from the FTC men in black
BLOGGERS on the FTC GUIDELINES:
- Kikolani – (Kikolani) – Do the New FTC Guidelines Affect You?
- ProBlogger – (Twitter) – A Screamingly Effective Blog Disclosure Policy; How (and Why) to Get One
EXAMPLE BLOG DISCLOSURES:
- Genuinely sincere, honest example written by Lori Falcon at A Cowboy’s Wife.
BLOGGERS RIGHTS:
We can not recommend enough that all bloggers support the EFF efforts to stand up for our rights to free speech, anonymity and right to keep recommending the products and services of those who deserve recommending.
- Highly Recommended: Electronic Frontier Foundation – (Twitter) – Bloggers Right information and their Bloggers Legal Guide – Legal Guide for Bloggers
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- FTC Guides on Endorsements and Testimonials: What it means in practice (thecustomercollective.com)
- What The New FTC Guides Mean For Product Review Bloggers (momreviews.net)
- FTC to bloggers: Fess up or pay up (news.cnet.com)
- NEW: FTC Imposes Guidelines on Bloggers Who Accept Promotional Gifts (blog.superiorpromos.com)
Gail Gardner
I had no idea it was that serious. I’ve never even considered disclosing my affiliate links, though I don’t do a lot of reviewing. I guess it’s not hard to blanket cover the disclosure, though. Thanks for the info.
james would love you to read ..Weight Loss 4 Idiots
Great information !
FTC Disclosure Rules i think there are the tips that we need to do about this site..
Thanks for sharing :
.-= Alvin Manzano´s featured blog ..Additional Voluntary Contributions =-.
I host my website ouside USA. Does anyone know if FTC rules apply only to websites host in USA servers?
Thanks for this information, proving really useful 🙂
.-= Robin@SEO Plymouth´s featured blog ..First Interactive Google Doodle Logo to Celebrate Pacman’s 30th Anniversary =-.
Great information. There were quite a few changes made as a result of the acai berry & resveratrol product scams.
.-= William Moss@Vitamin Manufacturer´s last blog ..Start a Vitamin Business Checklist =-.
I didn’t consider the affiliate banners I have on my sidebar. I think I’ll update my Disclosure policy to reflect those. I love Lori’s Disclosure policy. She is creative and honest in all she does online.
.-= ConnieFoggles´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Prayers For Bryan Ross December 14, 2009 =-.
Who is Lori and where can I see this policy?
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Send me your best articles, I’ll send you my best traffic! 😉 =-.
Wow! Didn’t know all that. I have friends in the mortgage and real estate industry. They always preach disclose, disclose, disclose. Granted the fines in that industry are quite high, however, if in doubt disclose. Not sure how it would hurt and I would think that will lead more people to trust you and your opinion in the long run.
I think Material connection means that the blogger or endorser receives any form of payments for endorsing/reviewing any products. I’m just not sure whether this covers tech bloggers who receive demo units of products that they review and then returns the products afterwards. Are their reviews bias or unbias based on FTC’s rulings?
FTC’s new regulation covering blogger disclosure takes into effect. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s either you’re playing hardball or you’re not a celebrity blogger or endorser popular enough for the FTC notice your practice and actually goes after you.
The problem with these guidelines is that they are up for interpretation, and even though you feel you are doing all the right things, someone may see it differently and you’re going to get your arse kicked.
The best solution is to not recommend anything. Post your personal experiences but do not infer that it will be the same for the reader.
BTW, your captchya sucks. This is my third effort, and if 9+1 does not equal 10 I’m just going to give up.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow =-.
I blog for a number of websites, so I’m excited to see all of this updated information. I looked at the blog updating this information in plain English, and I think that it is great that all testimonials need to be disclosed that they are not average results. I also write for skin care product reviews, and you would be amazed at all of the bogus results people claim for anti aging products!
Oh actually I do have some affiliate links in my sidebar that I totally forgot about (in the affiliate resources section). I was mainly thinking about any content I write in the blog posts. That’s how little I do affiliate marketing myself, totally forgot those aff links were there. Maybe I’ll just pull those. Or maybe I just need to put Advertising at the top of that whole sidebar. Hmmm.
affiliate links don’t even need to be disclosed if they are straight affiliate links. Only if they are in reviews or endorsements. If it were me though to be on the safe side I’d have affiliate disclosures on every page just in case.
I am sure that some haven’t heard and many more don’t understand. That is why I shared the links I did in this post. Lynn Terry did an excellent job of explaining the potential issues and the FTC videos clarify many points.
As with all legal hoops, there are very gray areas and plenty of room for selective enforcement. Those who compete directly with major corporations or promote anything the FDA would consider in their domain should be the most concerned.
.-= Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..MEME: Share What Makes You Feel Thankful =-.
Thanks for the links, I hope all get good use from them.
In my email to Lynn, I’ll also point her here; she may drop by and say hi. 🙂
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Whoopsy Commentluv Is Busted! You Have Permission To Leave ONE Link. =-.
Thank YOU for sharing what Lynn Terry had written on this subject. It made this post far better and faster to write.
.-= Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..Gift Affiliate Programs Make Dollars and Sense =-.
Aww shucks *blush*, always willing to help. 😉
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Whoopsy Commentluv Is Busted! You Have Permission To Leave ONE Link. =-.
i think i am late one day, i was not aware about this, let’s see if i can do anything now, but i think this is nice judgement, fake spams will be really stopped here after if this rule is gonna applied.
Hello Jenny,
This won’t do anything about spam; it is specifically about disclosing conflicts of interest and making sure we are not misleading the public. Unfortunately, though, there are some potentially VERY serious issues with the way these guidelines are written and how they will be enforced.
I strongly recommend that bloggers and even those who only use a Social Networking site like Twitter or Facebook be familiar with these rules. It would be very easy to accidentally break them. Most won’t be pursued but those who are might have serious problems.
.-= Internet Strategist @GrowMap´s last blog ..How Personal Branding Can Be Made Scalable =-.