For anyone selling by internet into the US
Legendary internet marketer Frank Kern has had previous run ins with the FTC so has been keeping an eye on the new guidelines which have already demanded that affiliate earnings and commissions are declared on blogs…
But this is far more serious – and concerns any testimonials.
The fact that it HAS worked for some is no longer enough.
“…The most significant change to the revised guides is the deletion of the “safe harbor” that has long allowed advertisers to use testimonials who reported specific successful experiences with an advertised product or service as long as the advertiser included a disclaimer such as “Results not typical.” Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect.”
So whilst good marketers applaud the fact of cracking down on scammers: this will make marketers very wary of how they use testimonials.
See Frank Kerns blog
FTC ruling on direct marketing