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Date: June 22, 2004
CONTENTS
Ros' Ramblings
Hello ,
Are you worried about
starting an affiliate marketing
business online for fear of being sued
?
If so, you're not alone!
I get a few questions about
liability as an affiliate every
month, and to be honest, it never struck me
as a huge
concern.
Sure, I posted Privacy
notices on each of my sites,
to let
people know that I wouldn't abuse their email addresses. I
like to
know that others won't sell my address, so it's only
right that I make a
similar promise to my valuable visitors.
But, it never
occurred to me that I could be
held
responsible
for the products I was promoting
.
They're not MY products after all, I'm 'just' making
the
referal as an affiliate.
Part of my ostrich approach is likely due
to the fact that
I'm Canadian, and Canada isn't nearly so litigious as
the
States. Awards are capped in some cases, so the incentive
just isn't there
(here) to pursue silly lawsuits.
One would hope common sense would come into
play
. Why sue
the affiliate when common sense dictates that the
merchant
is responsible?
Well, forget common sense and definitely
forget
responsibility!!
Here's just one example of how stupidity
pays...
"A lawsuit was settled out of court between a teen and
a
company that sold the nets used for basketball hoops. The
boy lost two
teeth when they got caught in the net while he
was attempting to slam-dunk a
ball. The settlement was for
$50,000."
After doing a little more
research into frivilous lawsuits,
I decided I'd better get expert advice, so
I asked Bruce
Safran, an attorney
specialising in Internet Law , about an
affiliate marketer's potential
liability .
In response, he wrote the
following article for today's NPC
- " Can You Get in Trouble with the FTC if
You Market
Products as an Affiliate? "
Read, learn and Save Your
Bacon
!
To Your Success,
Rosalind
Rosalind Gardner is the
Best-Selling Author of the "The
Super Affiliate Handbook: How I Made
436,797 Last Year
Selling Other People's Stuff Online"
==>
SuperAffiliateHandbook.com
Don't Miss...Join
me at the events below to learn how you too can succeed
in
eBusiness.
Event: Holly Cotter's Affiliate Masters Cruise
Dates:
September 23 - 27, 2004
Place: Cruise Departs Miami,
FLA.
==>
Affiliate Masters Cruise
Listen to my
conversation with Holly at:
==>
Affiliate Masters Cruise
Article: Can You Get in Trouble with the FTC if You Market Products as an
Affiliate
As an
affiliate marketer, YOU CAN BE AS RESPONSIBLE
as the
creator of the
product for the claims made in the sales
letter or other promotional material
you use.
As we all know, marketers
often make questionable claims
about their product on web sites or in promotional e-mails.
And
you need to be aware that MANY of the Federal Trade
Commission consumer
protection laws and regulations on
misleading advertising apply to affiliates
marketing other
company's products and services.
Sellers are
responsible
for claims they make about their
products and services. Third
parties - such as affiliates -
also may be liable for making or disseminating
deceptive
representations if they participate in the preparation
or
distribution of the advertising, or know or should know
about the
deceptive claims.
However, don't get scared
away from "Affiliate Marketing."
It can be a
very profitable and safe business if you follow
a
few simple rules.
First, let me set the stage by giving you the FTC's
simple
and common sense definition of what they consider
deceptive
advertising.
Any representation, omission or action is
deceptive if it is
likely to:
• mislead consumers and
• affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the
product or service.
The FTC Act prohibits unfair or deceptive advertising
in any
medium. That is, advertising must tell the truth and not
mislead
consumers.
A claim can be misleading if relevant information is
left
out or if the claim implies something that's not true. For
example, a
lease advertisement for an automobile that
promotes "$0 Down" may be
misleading if significant and
undisclosed charges are due at lease
signing.
In addition, claims must be substantiated , especially
when
they concern health, safety, earnings or performance. The
type of
evidence may depend on the product, the claims, and
what experts believe
necessary. If an ad specifies a certain
level of support for a claim - "tests
show X" – the
advertiser must have at least that level of
support.
Most affiliate marketing involves the affiliate
driving
traffic to a web sales page of the product they
are
promoting. The procedure is generally very simple and
easy.
For example, let's say you decided to market (promote)
my
product at:
Autoweblaw
I
advertise that product as an affordable solution that
automatically spits out
customized and high quality legal
documents someone could easily slap up on
their website so
they won't get in trouble with the FTC.
One of the
first things you would do is go to my
website
Autoweblaw, check out my sales
letter
and see if I offer an affiliate program.
Which I do.
You would
want to read the terms and conditions of my
affiliate program to see if you
are comfortable with them
before deciding to sign up
as an affiliate .
Of course, when you sign up you would be bound by those
terms and
conditions… so don't sign up if you disagree with
anything or are
uncomfortable with any of the conditions.
Next, you would
want to read carefully the sales letter
to
see if the product fits with your standards,
paying close
attention to the claims I make about my
product's
performance.
This is where you need to be careful and look
at my copy
with the eye of a consumer or purchaser of my product.
If
there is anything you don't understand or any claims about
my product
that you are uncomfortable about, call or email
me and get
the answers .
Then and only then would you want to consider marketing
my
product.
Here are four simple steps you should follow before
selling
any product:
1. To protect yourself as an affiliate,
you should ask
for material to back up
claims.
2. If the
creator or manufacture doesn't come forward
with proof or
turns over proof that looks questionable, the
affiliate
marketer should see a yellow "caution light" and
proceed
appropriately, especially when it comes to
extravagant
performance claims, health or weight loss
promises, or
earnings guarantees.
3. In writing ad copy, affiliates should stick
to
claims that can be supported.
4. Most important, affiliate marketers should
trust
their instincts when a product sounds too good to be
true.
Following these simple steps will keep you
out of trouble.
© Copyright © 2004 by Bruce Safran
Bruce Safran is an internationally known
Attorney ,
with over
30 years experience. He specializes in Internet, Public
Domain
and Intellectual Property Law, and has helped
thousands of online businesses
become FTC compliant. You
can find out more about him and the services
he has to offer
by visiting his website at AutoWebLaw.com.
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