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On October 5^th, 2009 the FTC published and released to the public its final revisions on guides governing endorsements and testimonials.

So what does this mean for Bloggers that promote product?

What if boils down to, is if you are endorsing or promoting a product with an affiliate link attached to it, you need to let the reader know you will be compensated by the product owner. In a nutshell the general public must be informed by you that you will be compensated either by a gift or by money from the product owner should the consumer purchase from your link based on your endorsement. 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. If you don’t already have a lawyer that can help in this category, you may be able to find some free articles online in legal forums. I am in no way, shape or form giving out legal advice. I am not an attourney and have no legal background. “Yes, this is a mini disclaimer.”

This new ruling goes into effect on Dec. 1^st, 2009. This actually going to help out the honest blogger. What may be bad for you is if you do not follow the new guidelines.

David Goldman, staff writer for CNN Money notes in his article released on October 6^th, that the existing rules carry a fine as high as $11,000 if product endorsers and reviewers don’t comply.

Frank Kern really rocked out an awesome article on this subject. you can do a search for him if you have not read his stuff already. The post has some incredible information that he received from an attourney he knows well.

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 truely am sold on the fact that this will help the good guy out there and weed out the deceptive marketers and give our customers a warm fuzzy felling again about buying online.

Till next time!

The Bloggomaniac

 

Tags: bloggers, compliance, filings, fines, ftc

Tags: bloggers, compliance, filings, fines, ftc

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 6:36 pm and is filed under Blogging Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.