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Disclosure – Are You Doing It Wrong? -033

February 17, 2016 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com 13 Comments

The Costly Mistake YOU Might Be Making about Disclosure

I stumbled into blogging eleven years ago, which in blog years makes me about 99. When starting out, I had no idea about ANYTHING. I definitely knew nothing about disclosure or the FTC. Because back then, the FTC had not given standards for disclosure to bloggers. We are in different times, people.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 033

My blog about life with our dog morphed into a blog about life with kids morphed into more of a lifestyle blog. When people got sick of me talking about writing and social media,  I started this site.

Now blogging is so far from online journaling (did you know blog came from “web log”?) and there are a lot more moving parts. People make real, substantial incomes from blogging. Which means there are best practices, blog etiquette, and even actual RULES. Rules like: don’t use fonts on a for-profit blog without a commercial license. Or, don’t take images you find in a Google search and put them on your blog without actual permission.

One of the BIG rules in blogging is disclosure. If you make money or could make money through a link, you have to SAY it.

The Federal Trade Commission (aka FTC) started regulating blogging a few years ago. They say that bloggers must let readers know if they received free product or will receive payment for a post. This included free product for review, sponsored posts where you receive money, or affiliate links where you get a commission for recommending a product. The overall rule of thumb is: don’t be deceptive. Where there is money being made, consumers must be made aware, even if you’re Beyonce. (Thanks to Julie from Girl on the Move Blog for that link!)

Most bloggers that make money are aware of this. Because bloggers making money are connected to other bloggers and learning the business of blogging, they know. I hear it at conferences, in blog groups, and on blog posts. It’s really hard to MISS it if you’ve been blogging for a while. But I’ve run across a slew of people not disclosing and it prompted me to write this post.

Ignorance about disclosure isn’t bliss.

Ignorance about disclosure is NOT bliss. What you need to know.
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I want to point you in the direction of a GREAT and very thorough podcast episode from Taylor over at Boss Girl Creative to walk you through the basic ins and outs of disclosure. She and Jenn from Busy Being Jennifer hash out most of the things you need to know about disclosure. Rather than going through what she did such a great job of covering, I want to cover something different that is running rampant right now.

A lot of content creators are using free things like webinars, video series, summits, and ebooks to promote paid content. This is nothing new. But I’ve seen a rash of people promoting these as affiliates without disclosure. You get an email sharing a free opportunity, but what you don’t see is the lifetime (or longtime) cookie attached to your email when you sign up for the free thing. If you do buy a paid thing, the person who referred you gets paid.

I think that this has been a gray area because the first link is to something free. Creators are simply sending you free content. Right?

Wrong. The FTC is clear on deception. That’s the POINT of disclosure. And what I see very few people disclosing in these free content emails is the fact that if you buy something after watching or downloading the free thing, they will get paid. There are also sometimes incentives on the back end for affiliates to get the most signups. The person with the most signups often gets a cash prize.

Are you violating the FTC's disclosure policy? The one big mistake a lot of bloggers are making.

Why does this matter?

Some of you probably don’t care at all about this. Some of you may be getting irked because you realize that you received a whole bunch of these emails this week. Maybe you got asked to join a Facebook group that was built around a particular launch…but not by the person launching the course or program. (You can bet the group was set up by an affiliate of the program.) Maybe you received free video training or someone emailed you a really great bonus to a course that was not theirs. All of those scream: AFFILIATE LINKS.

This matters, ultimately, not simply because of the FTC. I’m way less concerned about the FTC coming after little old me and way MORE concerned about not breaking your trust, reader.

Disclosure is about integrity.

Disclosure is about saying, “Maybe I’ll make fewer sales if I disclose, but I’m disclosing anyway.”

(PS- Pat Flynn believes that disclosing can make MORE sales.)

Disclosure is about being up front with your people.

Disclosure is about trust.

This is why it matters so much to me and why I hope it matters to you. Do you care more about keeping your readers’ trust or about (potentially) making an affiliate sale? I feel like trust is at stake and your integrity is at stake when you do not disclose to your readers.

If you are reading this and you realize that you haven’t properly disclosed in the past, it’s okay! You can start now. You can promote products well and make money as an affiliate while disclosing properly.

If there is a cookie involved and a potential commission for you if someone buys through a link, disclose. A general rule of thumb: when in doubt, DISCLOSE.

If there is a cookie involved, disclosure should be involved as well.
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If you are reading this and you realize that you are getting pitched a lot of affiliate links that are not disclosed, consider hitting reply and kindly asking if the links are affiliate links. I’d like to give marketers the benefit of the doubt on this one…though I’m also a pessimist. If it bothers you, ask. If it doesn’t, no biggie.

Once again, check out Taylor’s podcast episode to get the nitty gritty on disclosure. But I hope to leave you with this one thing: When in doubt, disclose.

Hold your integrity and the trust of your readers over everything else. Don’t be smarmy. Not disclosing affiliate links is like the essence of smarm.

When in doubt, DISCLOSE.
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I’d love to know YOUR thoughts! Have you accidentally messed up disclosure in the past? Have you gotten a slew of emails that were clearly affiliate links?

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media

Comments

  1. Yadah says

    February 17, 2016 at 11:58 am

    This is the most informative post on disclosure I’ve ever read and I actually feel like I understand it now! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • kirstenoliphant@gmail.com says

      February 17, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      Thanks so much! There are so many different rules and things to follow that it can be hard to keep up sometimes. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Alison says

    February 17, 2016 at 7:42 pm

    Thank you! Do you know if there’s an easy way (or even a plugin) to display disclosures at the top of every blog post? I tried adding a “blurb” to the top of my post, but I have to manually add it each time. Is there a simpler way?

    Reply
    • kirstenoliphant@gmail.com says

      February 17, 2016 at 7:47 pm

      You could try the What Would Seth Godin Do (WWSGD) plugin! A lot of people have used that and it’s kind of a little box that people often use to send readers to Facebook. You can just tweak that text! I’ve heard some people use templates for blog posts, but I’ve never tried that!

      Reply
    • Elaine Mingus says

      February 18, 2016 at 1:38 am

      You can add the plugin: Bottom of every post

      Reply
  3. Alison says

    February 17, 2016 at 8:05 pm

    Thank you! I use the Divi theme, which has a post template, but I hate writing in it. 😉 I’ll have to try the WWSGD plugin.

    Reply
  4. Ashley of Suite 6Ten says

    February 17, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    Since BE I’ e been careful about disclosure but have never formally read the rules. Thanks for the resources!

    Reply
  5. Cath Cox says

    February 26, 2016 at 7:38 am

    Truly valuable information!

    Reply
  6. Nancy Luckey says

    May 23, 2016 at 6:44 pm

    Thank you for your helpful information. A soon to be “newby” at blogging, I appreciate your standard of integrity and helping others be assured they are doing the same.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What Should You Put in Your Email Newsletter? | Jane Friedman says:
    June 28, 2016 at 4:09 am

    […] Even if the FTC hasn’t cracked down on this (yet), you will be breaking the trust of your readers by not disclosing. I discovered that a lot of free summits and webinars people promote are actually affiliate links. The event is free, but if you buy anything after clicking through, that person gets a commission. That really made me lose trust in the people promoting. I might have been happy to purchase something that would support my favorite people—but not if they seem to be hiding it. Follow the law. Disclose. Don’t be smarmy when you sell. (For more on disclosure, read this post on common mistakes.) […]

    Reply
  2. How to Host a Virtual Summit - Your Questions Answered says:
    July 11, 2016 at 11:17 am

    […] we need to abide by FTC guidelines, both for legal sake and for being trustworthy. (Listen to my episode on disclosure to hear more.) But many people do NOT disclose when you’re talking about something free. The […]

    Reply
  3. Monetizing Your Email List (While Still Treating Your Subscribers Like VIPs) says:
    October 24, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    […] Be sure that you ALWAYS disclose affiliate links. You should be disclosing BEFORE the first outbound link and in a way that is clear to someone who isn’t marketing savvy. (Don’t use aff or spon. Those words are not easily understood by a general audience.) Even if the gateway to a paid product is through a free product, DISCLOSE. If there is a cookie involved, you should disclose. (More on the FTC guidelines or check out my post & episode on disclosure!) […]

    Reply
  4. How to Keep Your Email List Legal and Avoid FTC Fines says:
    August 5, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    […] I get tons of emails without proper disclosures and nothing makes me unsubscribe faster. Why? I don’t mind supporting people I like by purchasing through their link. I simply want to KNOW that they are recommending a product because they like it AND because they get paid. That matters. So does the FTC. (Read more on disclosure here!) […]

    Reply

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Hey, I'm Kirsten!

(Rhymes with BEER-sten.) I am the author of Email Lists Made Easy for Writers and Bloggers and the host of the Create If Writing podcast. My goal is to help writers, bloggers, and creatives like YOU turn readers into raving fans and learn to make a living doing what you love...without being smarmy. Questions? kirsten at kirstenoliphant.com

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