{"id":88,"date":"2009-11-13T07:21:45","date_gmt":"2009-11-13T14:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/?p=88"},"modified":"2019-10-23T07:48:55","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T14:48:55","slug":"ftc-toolkit-can-it-help-protect-your-online-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/2009\/11\/13\/ftc-toolkit-can-it-help-protect-your-online-business\/","title":{"rendered":"FTC Toolkit – Can It Help Protect Your Online Business?"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBWMagic’s Internet Marketing News!
\n
\nWill New Federal Trade Commission Guidelines Affect Your Online Business?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n


\nI first heard of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) new
\nupdated guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials
\nwhile logging into my Commission Junction account recently.
\n
\nIn a Bold Headline:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

\"Commission<\/p>\n


\n“New FTC Guideline Update May Affect Your Affiliate Program” <\/b><\/p>\n

“The FTC has updated its guidelines regarding endorsements
\nand testimonials. While CJ cannot give legal advice regarding
\nthese guidelines, how these guidelines may affect your business,
\nor how you should proceed; we’d like you to be aware of this
\nupdate that goes into effect on 12\/1\/09.”<\/p>\n

Now if I had seen that news anywhere else, I might not have
\ntaken it so seriously. But CJ is one of my most important affiliate
\nnetworks that regularly send me hefty commission checks each month.<\/p>\n

Anything affecting that income stream has my immediate attention.<\/p>\n

What really has me concerned is the fact that I am a full time
\naffiliate marketer. Endorsements and testimonials – especially
\nthose coming from third party affiliate programs which I promote
\nhas me wondering how all these new guidelines and laws will
\napply to my affiliate marketing and to my sites.<\/p>\n

How all this plays out in the coming months is anyone’s guess
\nbut anyone marketing on the web should be paying attention
\nto these new guidelines.<\/p>\n

I am not a lawyer so these rules can be rather confusing and
\ndifficult for me to understand. Also, please note, I am
\nNOT telling you how to proceed in this matter – always seek
\nout expert legal counsel and advice on this matter from a
\nknowledgeable lawyer.<\/p>\n

You can expect to see a lot more disclaimers on web sites, in blogs
\nand in newsletters… until it becomes evident how “vigorously”
\nthe FTC will implement and enforce these new guidelines.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is much ado about nothing; panic without a cause…
\nbut what is rather really worrisome is that there are no
\n“safe harbors”<\/b> anymore… you can’t just slap a Disclaimer
\nor Disclosure such as “Results not typical” or, “These testimonials
\nare based on the experiences of a few people and you are not likely
\nto have similar results” and it further states “is insufficient to prevent
\nthis ad from being deceptive because consumers will still interpret
\nthe ad as conveying that the specified savings are representative
\nof what consumers can generally expect.<\/p>\n

All your marketing and especially your Endorsements and Testimonials
\nmust be disclosed and transparent. Anyone viewing\/reading your
\nsite or ad must know you have a material interest with the product
\nor service you’re endorsing. For online affiliate marketers this
\nmay mean all affiliate links must now be disclosed or marked as such,
\nso that there is no deception – the consumer knows exactly where
\nthis endorsement is coming from and\/or the full material relationship
\nbetween the endorser and the advertiser\/owner of the product or service.<\/p>\n

Again not a lawyer, so this is just a layman’s reading of these
\nnew FTC guidelines. Like most marketers, I needed help in getting
\nmy head around all this legal jargon and regulations.<\/p>\n

Joel Comm has partnered up with several Lawyers – among them
\nare KEVIN E. HOUCHIN (a Creative Business Lawyer who also has
\n20 years of conventional and online marketing experience) and
\nJOEL B. ROTHMAN who is a partner at Arnstein & Lehr LLP and
\nboard-certified in Intellectual Property Law by The Florida Bar.
\nPlus, JULIE YATES who has practiced law for 12 years in the areas of
\nlitigation, commercial transactions and contract law.
\n
\nThey have produced a product called:
\n
\nFTC Toolkit – Protect Your Business With ProActive FTC Compliance<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I bought this product a few days ago and I am using it to modify
\nall my sites. I am an affiliate of this program since anyone who
\nbuys it can also purchase a Trust Seal that they can place on
\ntheir sites. See the example below.<\/p>\n

Now, to say this Toolkit and the Information provided within,
\nwas an exciting read would be totally misleading – but it is
\na necessary read. Naturally, a lot of the material is presented
\nin a “legalese” style but I did appreciate having all this
\ncomprehensive material at my disposal. I especially liked
\nthe “takeaway comments” after each new rule, explaining
\nin simple terms what this may mean to anyone marketing on
\nthe web.<\/p>\n

Also extremely helpful are all the forms and examples
\nof such things as Privacy Policy, Disclaimers, Affiliate
\nAgreements… actual material you can use in your business
\nor on your site.<\/p>\n

I found it a bit ironic that the first thing you saw in
\nthis Toolkit was a Disclaimer!
\n
\n“This product provides information and general advice about the
\nlaw. But laws and procedures change frequently, and they can be
\ninterpreted differently by different people. For specific advice
\ngeared to your specific situation, consult an attorney. No book,
\nsoftware, or other published material is a substitute for
\npersonalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer licensed to
\npractice law in your state.”<\/b>
\n
\nWhich I guess is only human nature, it’s all about protecting
\nyour own “derriere”. In this case, it’s about protecting
\nyour online business or web sites from any actions against
\nyou from the FTC – even if you’re making honest marketing
\nmistakes that you didn’t know you were making!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This Toolkit also has a Compliance Seal or a Trust Seal that
\nyou can place on your sites. This is a service that you will
\nhave to pay extra for with a recurring fee each month. You will
\nalso be updated on any developments regarding these new
\nFTC guidelines.<\/p>\n

Actually, the Compliance Seal was one of the main reasons
\nI bought this product and I now have the seal on several
\nof my sites. Keep in mind, there are no safe harbors or
\nquick fixes for these new guidelines and just having the
\nFTC Compliance Seal doesn’t guarantee you won’t be investigated
\nor that you’re even in compliance – just that you’re pro-active
\nand doing everything in your power to uphold these new rules.<\/p>\n

Here’s a further explanation of this Site Compliant\u2122 trust seal:<\/p>\n


\n“The Site Compliant\u2122 trust seal is the badge of marketers who
\naffirmatively endorse and embrace a rigorous set of standard of integrity in
\nmarketing. These standards include a proactive intention to be fully
\ncompliant with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) standards, especially
\nthose relating to the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.
\nThe seal is not a guarantee of compliance, but rather a promise to
\ncustomers and a statement to investigators of a positive intent to be and
\nremain compliant with FTC guidelines. Implementing the Site Compliant
\nstandards and using the seal will not shield you from liability or the
\naccusation from the FTC of deceptive advertising, but it is our sincere hope
\nthat ongoing implementation of the suggestions and policies provided as part
\nof the Site Compliant\u2122 program, as well as the display of the Site Compliant\u2122
\nshield graphic will go a long way toward avoiding complaints, investigation,
\nand fines from the FTC due to confusion or inadvertent failure by a member
\nto achieve the required, and evolving, standards of practice required by the
\nFTC.”<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Again, if you’re marketing on the net or you just have a website where you
\nplace a few banners or a few affiliate links – you may be affected by
\nthese new FTA guidelines. If you’re heavily into affiliate marketing
\nlike me, then you will definitely want to do everything you can to protect
\nyour sources of income. It is better to be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n

Here’s that link again for the FTC Toolkit and yes I am an affiliate
\nand user of this Toolkit and Trust Seal:
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

FTC Toolkit<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Titus Hoskins
\nwww.bizwaremagic.com<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Will the new FTC (Federal Trade Commission) new guidelines on Endorsements and Testimonials
\naffect your online business or website? What does it mean for affiliate marketers? How can you protect your online business from any fall-out?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[135,133,134,132,10,136],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-affiliate-marketing","tag-endorsements-and-testimonials","tag-federal-trade-commission","tag-ftc-new-guidelines","tag-ftc-toolkit","tag-joel-comm","tag-kevin-e-houchin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2750,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/2750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bizwaremagic.com\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}