Many online publishers have been able to turn their hobby/passion into a small business. Once you have a following and good search engine rankings, many companies will start coming to you with press releases and offers to be featured on your site. They want to reach your readers. Some will even pay to advertise on your site.
We get hundreds of press releases each month. Businesses wanting to be featured on our sites. It's just like a magazine or any other publication. Free things are given all the time, with the hopes the writer or publication will write about the product. But now the FTC wants disclaimers ran.
The FTC has always looked very hard at product advertising and the claims that are made.
"I lost 50 pounds using Fat - BeGone!"
Now comes a big can of confusing worms! Now it is being stated that bloggers who get freebies and perks and cash incentives for reviews, are being looked at with the same scrutiny and the reviews are
legally classified as advertising.
The paid reviews are supposed to adhere to the same laws as other types of advertising, including the existing legislation against "
false and misleading claims." - But when I read the documents from the FTC, I believe this means, if the reviewer is giving the product a
personal positive endoresment and
making certain claims, it must be disclosed if money and/or free goods were exchanged.
But it is very confusing. So I called Betsy Lordon in Public Affairs, who asked me to submit my questions by email, which I did, twice, and no one has answered them. It's been 45 days!Bloggers and writers who do reviews should look closely at the FTC document and there are a couple phone numbers listed below as well. I think the
biggest caution is for the writer to
be careful not to make claims that can not be verified.
Does this apply to personal opinions? The FTC document does not really say. If a restaurant gives me a free dinner to review them, and I say they have the best Tiramisu in Chicago! And I think they do! Does that require disclosure of the free meal I was given? Do movie critics who get to see movies at free press screeenings, disclose they got in for free? I don't see the NY TImes book reviewers disclosing that they got free books to review. And what if it's a bad review? Do we still have to disclose anything at all??
To stay compliant with the new FTC paid blogging regulations, bloggers are now supposed to disclose when they get paid to write and review about a specific item as well as keeping their paid post in compliance with product advertising laws. So that means we need to, allegedly, include a small disclaimer somewhere within the blog post about our relationship with the product/advertiser.
Read moreabout FTC RULES
Contacts - Betsy Lordon @ Public Affirs 202-326-3707
Richard Cleland @ Consumer Protection 202-326-3088
Derrick Sorles
Web 2.0 and Social Media Consultant / Strategist
Some are really earning good online. As long as you are focus and happy of what you are doing, you will eventually earn.
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