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The Rules of Affiliate Marketing
By Vickie J. Scanlon
Affiliate Marketing has been seeing a metamorphous of
the business in the 21st century. Before the Internet became "noticed"
affiliates had full rein on what they said, and how they sold their
products and services. These practices has been changed by the FTC. I'll explain some of these rules, how it can affect you (affiliate marketer) if you violate the rules, and how you can make your blog or website compliant with the FTC.
FTC Rules for Affiliate Marketing
Though the FTC rules stated that this was directed to bloggers only, in truth, it applies to any individual that sells a product online, whether it is a product you own yourself, or as an affiliate. These rules should be followed, or you and the company that has the affiliate program can be fined. Before I go into the huge chunk of change that you would have to come up
with if you do not comply, let’s go through some of the most pertinent rules.
FTC RulesThe rules below, as you will soon see, will require a disclaimer on your website or blog.
1. Companies that give free products to bloggers or webmasters in exchange for a
favorable review must be disclosed by the blogger or webmaster. Please note, if
you are a blogger, and an individual comments on your site about a product or
service, and you do not have a disclaimer, you and the commentator can be in
violation of the rules.
2. Word-of-Mouth campaign- Some companies will ask a blogger or webmaster
to participate in a word-of-mouth campaign. In essence, the individual is asked
to send out emails to your friends, and in return, they will receive something
of value from the company.
3. Testimonial or Review-Any testimonial or review that describes results
that a typical consumer would not generally achieve had to be disclosed. (This
rule alone, helped to eliminate a lot of garbage from the Internet). Affiliate
program managers and affiliate marketers both, took heed.
4. Personal Reviews of a Product- Yes you can review a product, but you
also have to divulge that if the individual buys the product, you will be
compensated.
5. Expert Endorsement- the expert should have special knowledge that
qualifies him or her to make the expert endorsement.
Fines for Affiliate Marketing Violations
Even though the FTC stated that it is the advertiser that they are addressing these rules too, be aware, that bloggers, webmasters and affiliate marketers are not exempt from the fines. The FTC has set the following rules before a
fine will be levied against the offending individuals/companies.
1. If the FTC finds a violation, they will issue a warning to all offending parties. If you eliminate or place a disclaimer that meets FTC rules, no fine will be levied.
2. If the warning is ignored, a fine of $11,000 can be levied against the advertiser and the blogger for each infraction.
Affiliate Marketing and Staying In Compliance
If you are an affiliate marketer or you partake in any of the above methods of
marketing there are ways to stay in compliance.
1. If you have a website, place within your privacy policy, a disclaimer. It can
read something similar to this:
“MY Site” is a site that offers information and the affiliate sale of
products and services offered by third parties.
* If I create a link to a product or service in a review or within the body of
text, sometimes I may get paid a commission if you purchase the product or
service. “
2. On my website, you may notice that I have placed “Authorized Affiliate”
to indicate that yes, I am an affiliate for this company. I am also gradually
linking the “Authorized Affiliate” notation, to my privacy policy.
3. On my blog, I have placed a disclaimer on the main page. That states the
following:
“Please be advised: Products offered within my articles and with my byline may
constitute an affiliate association. Disclaimer: I have no affiliation or do I
endorse any products or services that may be offered by other authors or
individuals who leave comments.“
Many people made claims that affiliate marketing may be moving out of favor in the 21st century. Not true. In fact, I believe the FTC legitimized affiliate marketing,
while putting in a layer of protection for the consumer against unscrupulous
advertisers. As for the affiliate marketer, the rules have made them, or should
have made them, more cautious of the products they sell, and
how they sell them online.
If you decide to take the plunge into affiliate marketing, either as your main business or for a secondary income, remember the rules, be willing to learn the business, and do not get discouraged. With anything, it takes time to build a business, whether online or offline.
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