Unless you have been offline for the past couple of weeks, you probably heard about the changes in the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) regarding the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.
Even if you have read about it in blogs and newspapers, I suggest that you download the original document, if not to read it at least to keep it as a reference. You can download it from the FTC site (on the right sidebar there is a link titled “Text of the Federal Register Notice”).
The main change that affects bloggers is the fact that any “material connection” with a company or advertiser must be disclosed now. This includes affiliate marketing deals, sponsored reviews and also situations where you received a freebie in exchange for a review.
Here is a quote from the FTC website:
The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.
There is another important change for the Internet marketing industry in general, and that is the fact that companies won’t be able to use “atypical results” on their sales pitches while adding a disclaimer in the footer to get away with it. Companies that want to talk about results will need to make completely clear what the average results for people who bought the product are. In other words, this should be the end of “who else wants to make $1,000 per day while working only 20 minutes?”.
It is all inside the document though, so check it out.
About Mark
Mark is an digital entrepreneur from New York City who recently acquired DBT. He started his ventures buying growing then selling several businesses and content blogs on Flippa. A perfect night for him constitutes pizza, wine, slow jazz and WordPress! He's an SEO expert and a growth strategist. When he's not working on his businesses he enjoys sharing his learned lessons with the DBT community.
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