with regards to the new ftc guidelines for bloggers, would having a disclaimer page on my blog be enough to satisfy these new guidelines?
Maybe, but from what I read people are getting in trouble for only including a disclaimer page on their website. You can always call or email the FCC (in the United States if that is where you live) and ask them to clarify the policy.
Because other countries (not the U.S.) have put very similar policies into place and some of them started a week or so ago.
I would just write it at the top of all posts which you have been paid for / got a free product for it. This will keep your ass save and also it shows your reader you are not trying to deceive them.
i have a blog that i talk about tutuorials and other resources i found on the internet i am not getting paid for these posts, do i have to disclose these too?
I think you just have to disclose that you are making money from the product you are promoting. You can't do a 'review' anymore without actually purchasing the product or getting for free and you must disclose that you are getting paid to promote it.
so i would have to disclose my relationship with any companies that i promote, right? also, do i have to disclose every single post? most of my posts have nothing to do with anything related to being an affiliate
To be honest, I think the FTC guidelines are a little ambiguous at this time with a lot of room for interpretation... there doesn't appear to be any specific guidelines or steps indicated... I personally have created an Affiliate Disclosure page on all of my sites for now as a precaution, which many others are doing. The FTC is really going after all those sites/companies with fraudulent testimonials... (teeth whiteners, weight loss, etc) that lead you to believe these are real people when they're not... total fiction... trick you into a free trial-shipping only to charge your credit card huge fees monthly afterwards and unable to get refunds... hidden "continuity programs" According to the research I've done and having read the guideline and FTC interviews, if there is a problem with your site etc, the FTC will contact you first and let you know so you can make the necessary changes, they will not fine you the $11,000 right off the bat... so for now, until I have more info and more specific guidelines, I will just use the Affiliate Disclosure page and have the link in a prominent place in the navigation... if you would like to see my disclosure go to http://www.lindasmoneynetwork.com... feel free to copy and adapt it for your site if you don't have one... be aware tho, I am not a lawyer so if you use it, it will be at your own risk... I won't be liable for anything... be sure to make sure it corresponds with your site and state/country etc... Laws are different everywhere. Hope this helps...
you can't say anything like "oh, these are the results I got, but results are not always like this" you have to give the general/expected results on every post you make where you advertise/review a product.
Don't just haphazardly vomit out an affiliate disclosure. Always split-test your disclosures. I saw a huge drop-off in sales disclosing one way versus another. This might not be a big deal for you if you have a low converting affiliate page, but for anyone who's using Adwords this will kill your campaign. Think about it like this. Let's just pretend that you have never ever heard of affiliate marketing before. You go to Google and you search for a review of a product. The first review you find says "I get paid when you buy this product". What would you do? You would go back to Google and read the next review. I guarantee you that the next guy won't disclose anything. Keep Your Eyes Open When they came out with the rule about typical results some 30 years ago businesses were supposed to keep there "results not typical" disclaimer the same exact size and in the same place as the a-typical result. Today no company does that. I'm pretty sure that the same thing will happen here. Else a company like Nutri-System or Weight Watchers would lose half their sales overnight.
The government can regulate your damn blogs? You can't blog about products even if you aren't affiliated with them unless you have "I am not affiliated with this in anyway?".
I think everyone is over-reacting to this new FTC policy out of fear... if you are an honest affiliate marketer I don't think this will have much effect on your marketing... some simple disclosures may be all you need... The FTC is trying to eliminate all of the fraudulent and misleading advertisers and marketers that have been giving the industry a "bad name" and "raping" consumers financially and otherwise... This new policy (actually just a revision of the old policy) affects ALL advertisers and marketers... not just internet and affiliate marketers... there are numerous misleading and fraudulent advertisers on TV and other media platforms that are being targeted... (ie. infomercials etc) Since these advertisers and marketers won't regulate themselves in an ethical manner, the FTC has had to step in and try to take control of the situation... If advertisers and marketers had been honest to begin with none of this would be happening... unfortunately, in this world there are too many unethical people and organizations who could care less... all they want is your wallet and worship the almighty dollar... It's become a "Consumer Beware" world... Here are a few links with more info that may help calm your fears... and remember... Honesty is the Best Policy... Hope this helps... http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/jennifer-vilaga/slipstream/ftc-bloggers-its-not-medium-its-message-0 http://affiliate.madhatterconsulting.com/news-just-for-affiliates/fourth-quarter-woes-ftc-releases-updated-regulations-for-bloggers/ http://ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf
Lol, someone gave me negative reputation for this post. I find it funny because both of the sentences are questions and the reputation says I was making stuff up. Lolz, questions aren't statements there just sentences you ask when your curious about something. Don't know how I could of been making something up.