Health Affiliate Training

December 1, 2009 marks the effective date of the FTC’s Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials that all marketers must adhere to. As a result, the Affiliate Agreement for promoting the products here at HealthAffiliateTraining.com has been updated.

Please review the new agreement here.

As an affiliate, it’s important that you understand how these guidelines effect you and your business practices. In general, the guidelines seem to address honesty when advertising and marketing products to the public. No one benefits when consumers are mislead and it seems that the FTC’s primary objective is to protect the consumer. This is a good thing for everyone.

So, what should you do as an affiliate marketer to comply with these new guidelines?

First of all, I am NOT an attorney and nothing here should be taken as legal advice. You should consult your own attorney if you are unsure about the steps you need to take in your own business. I will, however, tell you my opinions and what I am doing in my own business.

1. Familiarize yourself with the FTC’s guidelines and follow them where applicable in your business.

Here are 3 excellent resources you can use to educate yourself:

The Actual FTC Guidelines:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf

Special FTC Disclosure Report from Attorney Mike Young:
http://mikeyounglaw.com/ftc-disclosure-special-report.pdf

Interview by Jim Edwards with FTC Assistant Deputy Rich Clelend:
http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/ftc-change-interview/

2. Maintain a high level of honesty in all of your communications with website visitors, email subscribers, etc. Do not make false claims about a product just to make sales. Be upfront with people and you will be seen as a trusted source of information rather than some sleazy marketer who just wants to make a fast buck.

3. Be transparent. If you’re earning an affiliate commission from recommending a product, you need to disclose this fact. It’s up to you how you do it and you should consult the guidelines to determine the right way to go about it. Although I recommend very few affiliate products on this particular blog, there are some tools (such as Aweber) that I do promote and earn a commission on when someone signs up through my link.

I have added a “Compensation Disclosure” document to explain this type of affiliate relationship and there is a link to it with the other legal documents in the footer section of this website (NOTE: You cannot simply copy this agreement – it’s copyright protected. You’ll need to make your own disclosure or purchase the rights to a legal package that allows you to use such documents as your own).

Whatever you do, don’t just ignore the guidelines and do nothing. When you do business online you are subject to the same rules and laws as any other business. You and your business will prosper only when you play by the rules and treat your customers and visitors the right way.

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