Once you sign up for the service, you are going to be provided with a shortened URL that you can use to link to from your blog. Currently, 5 tops of disclosures are covered through this service. But you can always create custom disclosures using CMP.ly. There is nothing ambiguous about these disclosure documents. Once you have chosen the one that applies to your post or your blog and add it to your posts, your readers are not going to have any doubt where you stand in connection with products that you are displaying on your blog.

I personally have tried this service for some of my sites and decided to stay away from it on some other blogs. It really comes down to what you are doing on your blog. Since BloggingOT is a part of exxponent network, our team has decided to have a universal disclosure for everything that we do in our blog network. However, if you own a single blog and want to make sure you are compliant with the FTC guidelines, it can’t get any easier with CMP.ly.

Affiliate marketing has quickly become one of the easiest ways to make money from blogs. Let’s say you have a blog about health products. You can always make money with Adsense and through other channels, but you shouldn’t forget about the affiliate products in your niche either. Here is where problems arise. There are many bloggers who get freebies from product manufacturers to review a product. They go on to write a review on those products. The tendency here is to write a positive review to show appreciation for the product manufacturers’ gesture. That’s not how you are supposed to review a product. Your review needs to be unbiased and objective. But if you are getting compensated by some a company, would you still point out the major flaws in its products? If you want to stay compliant with the FTC rules, you should!

One way to get around this issue is by returning the freebies that product makers send you. I have sent back review products in the past and usually that won’t be a trouble if you discuss things with manufacturers beforehand. By returning freebies, you show the FTC that you are not in it to get freebies. Of course, you can always disclose what you are getting to write a post. That’s probably less painful.

If you are a blogger nervous about the latest FTC ruling, here are a few ways to keep yourself and business covered:

• Disclosure: disclose everything and make it as clear as possible. That way nobody can claim you were being deceptive on your blog. If you are getting a free product in exchange for a review, make sure you mention that in your post. Your audience deserves to know.
• No Freebies: one way to protect yourself against potential liabilities is by returning the review products that companies send you. It’s inconvenient, but at least you are keeping yourself protected. Do make sure to mention your policy on your blog. Just claiming that you are returning review units to manufacturers doesn’t actually mean that the FTC will believe you. So don’t forget to keep your documentation.
• Avoid Affiliate Products: if you are not making too much money with affiliate products or it’s not part of your overall strategy, then link directly to manufacturers instead of using affiliate links. This is not an option for everyone though. In case you are using affiliate products, make sure you disclose that somewhere on your site.
• Avoid Fake Reviews: if you have not reviewed a product, do not write a review on it. It’s very simple. Avoid fake testimonials or anything fake on your blog. You’ll get caught eventually.
• Get a Lawyer: if you own a large blog or a blog network, you probably need your own lawyer. Not everyone can afford a lawyer these days, but that’s still the best way to keep your business protected. The FTC is more likely to go after larger blogs, so if you get a significant amount of traffic on your blog, you may need a lawyer.

Many bloggers are blaming the FTC for everything that is wrong in this world. But the FTC is only doing its job to protect the consumers. If you write fake reviews on your blog, the blame is on you.

In case you haven’t noticed, the FTC has decided to regulate the blogging/social-media world to provide more protection for consumers. For far too long, bloggers have been getting freebies from advertisers and product manufacturers in return for positive reviews. Of course, you wouldn’t expect a serious blogger to engage in such practices. But you would be surprised what people do for freebies. We are not talking about small gifts here. Some people have received computers, camcorders, and all kinds of free gadgets just to provide a positive testimonial for a product. It’s not that hard to imagine why the FTC has decided to go out of its way to come up with a guideline that needs to be followed by bloggers, affiliates, and social-media marketers, starting December 1st. There are many people who read these fake testimonials and believe them to be real. Besides, reading a positive review without having all the facts in hand is not the best way to get informed online.

The FTC guidelines are vague to say the least. They always are. But the fact remains that bloggers and social-media marketers who are being compensated by advertisers need to disclose what they are receiving for their reviews, testimonials, and so on. Andy Baer, who I had the pleasure of personally working with and is an absolute expert on this topic, has taken the leadership to help bloggers understand this ruling better. Here is what he had to say about the FTC’s latest ruling on this matter:

companies that make payments or give free products to bloggers and other online commentators in order to generate positive buzz or favorable reviews for their products will now have to monitor closely the statements and claims made about the products and ensure that these relationships, if material, are clearly and conspicuously disclosed.

So as you can tell, the FTC intends to go after advertisers and not bloggers. But if you write for a large community, you want to make sure you disclose the freebies that you receive from advertisers. The fine could be as high as $11,000 if you fail to pay attention to the FTC’s warnings. The FTC is clear about what constitutes an endorsement:

… blogger could receive merchandise from a marketer with a request to review it, but with no compensation paid other than the value of the product itself. In this situation, whether or not any positive statement the blogger posts would be deemed an “endorsement” within the meaning of the Guides would depend on, among other things, the value of that product, and on whether the blogger routinely receives such requests. If that blogger frequently receives products from manufacturers because he or she is known to have wide readership within a particular demographic group that is the manufacturers’ target market, the blogger’s statements are likely to be deemed to be “endorsements”…

So how do you stay out of trouble with the FTC? Make sure you disclose your relationships with your sponsors. The good news is that the FTC won’t be coming after you before warning you. But why deceive your readers when you can gain their trust by disclosing your existing relationships with advertisers in a clear manner. I personally don’t ever guarantee a good review on this or any other blog that I own. You shouldn’t either. If a product doesn’t meet your standards, you should mention it on your blog. Think about it. If we all sell our souls to advertisers, more people will be worse off for it. If you have been honest with your reviews, you should have nothing to hide.

**For more information on the FTC’s ruling, you should check out: http://www.baerbizlaw.com/ or follow him on Twitter.