FTC To Affiliates: Disclose or Else

In case you have missed the latest uproar that the FTC has caused among affiliates and bloggers, the FTC is planning on putting hefty fines on marketers who fail to disclose their relationship with advertisers. The FTC has targeted the blogging community by encouraging the independent bloggers to disclose what they have gotten for free or face hefty fines. So it’s all about transparency.

I have to say I was a bit surprised by the FTC going after the blogging community, but if you think about it, it is really going after affiliate marketers and those who get under table benefits from advertisers. For years, affiliate marketers have promoted things they have not tested only to increase their bottom line. In addition, affiliate marketers often use the trust they have built with their leads to promote all kinds of offers to them without disclosing what they are getting for the money. Think about it. How many times have you sent or received an e-mail that talks about how a product is going to change somebody’s life, and how people should get that product? Now can you remember disclosing what you are getting paid for promoting that product? Has anyone ever told you they are getting paid for recommending a product?

I am a believer in the free market. And I do believe that the consumer market is capable of fixing itself as well. In essence, if you are a top affiliate, and you recommend a product that is sub par, you are going to lose your trust capital in the process. But the FTC is not having any of that. If your customers/leads know all the fact, it’d be harder for them to claim that they didn’t know you were getting paid for promoting a product. That’s why the FTC is going after bloggers and social media affiliates. So should you disclose your relationships with affiliate programs? It’s always better if you are as clear as possible about what you are trying to do on your website, and why you need to rely on affiliate programs to keep your site going. If you have a splog and are hoping to make money from slapping some affiliate content on your website, then you probably deserve to be struck down by the FTC and the authorities. The web is full of spam these days, and something needs to be done about that. Affiliate marketing has been too tolerant towards spammers, and that needs to stop. If spammers are forced to disclose what’s happening on their websites, there is a less chance consumers will fall for it.

Do I believe being super transparent helps your bottom-line? Probably not. There are a lot of people who will not buy from your affiliate link no matter how much value you provide them with. Some people have this feeling that if they buy from your affiliate link, they are giving up something in the process. I don’t know what it is, but that’s the reality of it. There is some stigma associated with affiliate links. But I certainly do hope that the latest FTC rules will change all that. If you are being transparent with your affiliate links, your leads may have an easier time using your links, knowing that they have all the facts in hand. You can even provide both a direct link and an affiliate link to your customers to help them decide whether they want to reward you. It may not sound smart business-wise, but transparency pays in the long run. Unless you are a spammer or in it for short-term profits, in which case you probably deserve what the FTC throws at you. Your customers do matter, and the sooner you start caring more about them, the better off you are.