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On October 5th, 2009 the FTC published and released to the public its final revisions on guides governing endorsements and testimonials.
What this happens now you ask?
From what I understand, you will now have to state that you get compensated if a customer buys off of your affiliate link. Its pretty simple, the readers that come to your site will now be informed by you that you will be compensated if they buy from your link. In other words, you may want to attach a little note saying, “This is my affiliate link, if you buy this product after clicking on this link I will be compensated” You get the idea. Please check with a lawyer and get their advice on this. I am definitly not a lawyer and have no education in legal counsel. "Um, yes this is a disclaimer.”
This new ruling goes into effect on Dec. 1st, 2009. It's not a bad deal acutally as this will help the honest bloggers and weed out the bad guys. What can be bad is if you do not pay close attention to these new rules.
David Goldman, staff writer for CNN Money notes in his article released on October 6th, that the existing rules carry a fine as high as $11,000 if product endorsers and reviewers don’t comply.
Frank Kern put together on of the best articles out there on this one. you can googe his name and find all sorts of stuff he writes about. The post is absolutely terrific and shares information given to him from a lawyer he knows and trusts.
So, do yourself a favor and go to the Federal Trade Commission site and read the entire article.
Personally, I think it is great for bloggers that are truthful and want to give great content to help consumers make informed decision on a purchase. I also think it will help weed out the dis honest folks and give the customers peace of mind when purchasing.
Talk soon!
Tags: bloggers, compliance, filings, fines, ftc