If you were at the recent Affiliate Summit West, you may have been lucky enough to attend the presentation by former FTC attorney, William Rothbard. He gave a presentation titled, “Tips from an FTC Pro: How to be Smart and Avoid FTC Hell.” The presentation went over a number of different topics related to affiliate marketing and how the FTC is dealing with issues related to this industry.
As you have likely read on this site, the FTC has been cracking down on many performance marketers over the past year or so. Either punishing them or outright shutting them down due to anything from deceptive advertising to fraud. While the vast majority of performance marketers are operating legit businesses, they too could suffer from the increased scrutiny that the FTC is putting on this industry.
The following are a few of the most important points that were made during the presentation:
- Deceptive or Unfair Advertising – Rothbard talked about deceptive and unfair advertising, which is something the FTC is looking closely at when it comes to marketers. If your business is believed to be engaged in this type of thing, the FTC could issue you a cease and desist order or even issue you an ex parte order that freezes your assets (both business and personal).
- Substantiation of Claims – He also talked about the importance of being able to substantiate any claims you make in your marketing efforts. Specifically he brought up areas of health, safety, efficacy and performance. If you say that your product can impact these areas, you had better have a valid scientific study that can back that up or you could be facing unwanted attention from the FTC.
- Clear and Conspicuous Disclosures – We’ve talked about this on PMI before, but it is important to state again. Any disclosures that need to be made with your advertising or marketing must be clear and conspicuous. The FTC has strict requirements that any disclosures must be featured prominently on a page, and near the claim that they are about. He mentioned that the FTC is even starting to regulate the color, font and size of any disclosures.
This presentation was an excellent reminder of just how important it is to conduct all your advertising and marketing in a way that is completely above board. The FTC is looking closely at all types of businesses no matter what they are selling or promoting. This includes big and small performance marketing agencies (even individuals) so take the time to make sure everything you do is in line with the FTC requirements.
