The main federal agency overseeing commercial activity on the Internet is the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC (www.ftc.gov). The more familiar you are with their rules and regulations, the better off you will be (whether you are an affiliate or a merchant). As a general rule of thumb, major affiliate platforms generally comply with FTC guidelines.
The following sections are written from the affiliate’s perspective, but since the product, offer, and compensation comes from the merchant, both the merchant and the affiliate must be diligent about marketing properly. (Go to Chapter 17 for details on the merchant side of affiliate marketing.)
Know the important guiding principles
As a general, overriding guideline, you don’t need to be a lawyer to understand: Do not engage in deceptive, fraudulent, exaggerated, or unethical marketing.
Aside from being affiliates and/or merchants, it’s safe to say that we have one thing in common in that we’re all consumers. As consumers we have had bad experiences, and we should remember our own bad consumer experiences because they are valuable in helping us become good, ethical marketers. We don’t advocate being “good and moral” just because it sounds good or moral or because we read it on a positive thinking site. We do this because being good and ethical is central to your profitability. The other benefit is that … uh … it keeps you out of jail.
Seriously, if you do affiliate marketing right, you’ll have happy customers and a healthy bank account in the long run. Consider the following points that the FTC emphasizes are good for you as well as your customers. Keep in mind that virtually every point they make actually leads back to the previous main point.
Avoiding false claims
Whenever you make a solid claim on your landing page about a product you’re selling (or referring people to), that claim must be substantiated. Is there any evidence or reliable documentation that confirms the claims made by the product?
The FTC becomes active when they see claims that are too good to believe. Some phrases that you need to be very careful about using in your public advertising text are:
“100% Guaranteed to Work”
“Guaranteed Profits for You”
“Lose XX Pounds – No Matter How Much You Eat or Exercise”
“Fun for the whole family!” (just kidding)
We think you get the point. Outlandish claims need to be verified or the FTC will crack down.
Warning Websites do not guarantee that users will achieve any level of earnings or other tangible results. If your website makes a claim about your product or service that includes specific numbers (for example, dollars earned, leads generated, weight lost, etc.), those claims are subject to additional requirements. . These claims must be substantiated with specific data to demonstrate that they are representative of what an “average consumer” would typically obtain under the circumstances described. If the claim is not common to the average user, the website should include a disclaimer with performance normally expected under the circumstances described.
A general disclaimer such as “results may vary” is insufficient. An acceptable alternative would be “Results are not typical and may vary due to various factors such as member’s applied effort, commitment, etc. Members following our program, on average, lose 1-2 pounds per week.” are.”
Maintaining records about testimonials
Testimonials are positive, possibly reassuring statements from customers and other consumers about you, your company, or the product/service you offer. The FTC may not be concerned about those glowing testimonials about you as a person, but they are concerned about testimonials about your product or service.The FTC wants to know how good or effective the product was, especially if the claim was honest about treating a medical condition or ailment. So, make sure you keep a record of those customers and testimonials in case the moment comes when you need to verify product claims. Inquiries to the FTC often occur when dissatisfied customers file complaints with them.
If the praise is due to the endorsement of an actor or notable person, it must be disclosed whether the person was compensated for the endorsement. If a testimonial makes a specific, measurable claim, make sure you have verification. Most importantly, you should work to ensure that the quality of the product or content is so that it is easy to get praise and endorsements and easy to back up.
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