What does everyone think of the FTC rule for affiliates?
OVERVIEW
I came across an article on Dianne Jacob's blog, writing about the FTC concerning affiliate programs. Basically, it states that we are to disclose that we are compensated, assuming we indicate our relationship when we post a product that we review.WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS? HAS THIS AFFECTED HOW YOU MAKE MONEY
Basically, what I want to know is if this has affected hot people have made money by saying this. I'm assuming you have a description on the about page and in your posts.WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS CONCERNING THIS?
I'm OK with having a disclaimer on my about page, however I think it's a waste of words to put it on every post that you would promote. If you ask me, some have given affiliate marketing a bad name and there are those who have been scammed. I wonder if it is these kind of visitors that influenced the change FTC made.SUMMARY
I just wanted to create a quick article. I've been swamped with school work in the past two days! Not to mention, I am working on my .org site, which will be very much complete soon. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, feel free to add them!
Recent Comments
3
Hey Steve,
In Europe, conflicting Local, National and European legislation has made it almost impossible to decide when, how and what to try and comply with.
For example, I've been reliably informed that technically it is possible that even with a disclaimer, an affiliate on this side of the pond can be held equally liable for the goods being "as labelled", of "merchantable quality" and "fit for purpose" etc.
European privacy legislation has meant that even sites such as BBC News now put up a cookie warning http://d.pr/i/9uPv
As soon as I started *earning*, I consulted a specialist law firm, who drafted specific notices for my site. However, even they said that much of this has yet to be tested in Court and it's only *best advice* not a guarantee of protection.
Although other Members have disagreed with me, I always recommend that any one with tangible *assets*, ie. savings, their own home, etc. includes notices on their sites that could be applicable and might offer some limited basic protection. These are available free from resources such as http://www.freenetlaw.com and can be put as a small custom menu in the footer so they are visible on every page and post.
Rich. x
@Rich...That's excellent advice. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years.
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Thanks for the feedback Rich. You is the man :)