The new FTC rules and how they affect you
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed a new item which appeared in the left hand column a little while ago, our Disclosure. All our blogs and websites have been modified in this way, and the reason for this is the new rules issued by the FTC.
Strictly speaking, as all our sites are operated by a non-US company, there’s nothing to say we need to comply with this ruling, so far as I’ve been told. But it doesn’t hurt to be extra-careful, and since the majority of our visitors on all our sites hail from the US, we have decided to do so.
I’m no lawyer, and if you are based in the US I advise you to consult with one, but it seems to me that the main thrust of the new rules relates to acts which might mislead someone into purchasing a product, when it doesn’t always perform as well as may be implied by the sales page. This means that many internet marketers are having to completely rethink their marketing methods – because the FTC has specifically stated that testimonials about how great a product is must be accompanied by evidence of the “typical” results.
It’s difficult to tell what the typical results of a product are. Apart from those who ask for a refund, which are a very low percentage in most cases, and the ones who write raving reviews about how the product has changed their lives, there’s really no way to tell how the remainder have fared. Say 10% get a refund and another 10% write telling you that you have unlocked the keys to a fortune for them – what about the remaining 80%? You’ll never know. And so, it’s impossible to know the typical results, and therefore it’s impossible to state what they are.
Until this ruling, the testimonial was seen as one of the most important pieces of the sales message – including glowing testimonials has been proved to increase sales by a large percentage. But, unless you are able to publish typical results alongside these, you cannot use them any longer.
We may think these rules are draconian, but obeying them is the only way to be sure that you don’t get shut down. I think most people will follow them, for this reason. In fact, some internet marketers seem to be taking the view that they will no longer continue to offer their products. There are fire sales going on as you read this. It seems that information products in the “how to make money” niche may well become much rarer in the days to come.
On top of this, Google has announced that it is going to sue all those companies that offer “make money with Google” courses on the grounds that they are using Google’s trademark without permission. We won’t be advertising any of those products any more, either.