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On October 5^th, 2009 the FTC published and released to the public its final revisions on guides governing endorsements and testimonials.

What does this means for the Bloggers of the world that have affiliate links on their sites?

From what I understand, you will now have to state that you get compensated if a customer buys off of your affiliate link. well, the visitors to your sites must be informed that if they buy from your link you wll get some sort of compensation. I will more than likely give it like this, “Thaks for checking this out, just an FYI, if you buy from my link here, I will get a little commission so I’ll just say Thanks in advance. Seeking legal advice is your best bet to be clear on the rules. I am definitly not a lawyer and have no education in legal counsel. “Um, yes this is a disclaimer.”

This new ruling goes into effect on Dec. 1^st, 2009. It’s not a bad deal acutally as this will help the honest bloggers and weed out the bad guys. What will be bad is if you don’t follow the rules.

David Goldman, staff writer for CNN Money notes in his article released on October 6^th, that the existing rules carry a fine as high as $11,000 if product endorsers and reviewers don’t comply.

Frank Kern did an amazing job writing a post on this subject also. you can do a search for him if you have not read his stuff already. His post puts it all together and just nails it hard with what he learned from one of his lawyer pals.

So, do yourself a favor and go to the Federal Trade Commission site and read the entire article.

Personally, I think it is great for bloggers that are truthful and want to give great content to help consumers make informed decision on a purchase. I also believe that this will help in the fight against the guys that are not being honest and will assist in getting consumer trust back.

Have an awesome day!

The Bloggomaniac