Illumination

Hi. I just stumbled on this article about the crackdown on promoting 'Free Trial' CPA offers. You know... those CPA offers that give away something like a free trial of Acai Berry, and you get a large commission:

ftc.gov/opa/2009/02/jab.shtm

So, be careful that the CPA offer you're pushing isn't deceiving consumers...

Gauher

Generally the FTC will go after the merchant and not the affiliates.

This is what happened to a few CPA networks when the Attorney General of Florida sued them for deceptive advertising when it came to "free ringtones" offers about two years ago.

I don't recall any affiliates getting into any problems.

Gauher

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Illumination

That's true... But I would rather not be promoting their CPA offers if they're doing it on deceitful grounds...

On the other hand, there's nothing stopping them from going after the affiliates if they wanted to... So just a thought...

MaskedMarketer

free credit report .com got sued too : Marketer of “Free Credit Reports” Settles FTC Charges

and they are still running commercials on TV, radio, newspaper ads, and on CPA networks.

I haven't even looked at the grant offers because it seems like a pure scam

jpdwil

I've found that Commission Junction has a lot of legitimate offers. I prefer not to promote deceptive offers. We all know we'd be pissed if we got conned in to signing up for a free trial and then charged out the butt for it. Do unto others...

sjessica

i personally think this has nothing to do with affiliates
yea we do promote these offers but this is the problem that advertisers have to deal with

what we have to make sure that they do pay us for our work

ryansjones

Just out of curiosity, is there a good approach when it comes to promoting "free" offers? I know with Global Domains International, you are supposed to encourage people to sign up for the 7 day free trial that comes with the web hosting package new members get. Also, I noticed that many of the offers that you can promote through clickbooth use the words "free". I usually put a disclaimer that talks about catches to them.

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bigtex

What ever happened to buyer beware?

My girlfriend has been trying these offers for years and has never been charged after cancelling a product. The fact is that people are not reading the terms before trying free trials. They may make you jump through hoops, but that is nothing new or exclusive to these offers.

This is not just cpa offers, but alot of im gurus as well. There are a couple of people who have been flamed on this forum for their continuity offers.

I have not promoted any of the grant offers, but have done well for years with weightloss trials. It would take me months to research every company that has these types of offers. I have never used a fake blog with my fatass looking skinny either. If you think outside of the box, and throw the truth in there, you may be pleasently suprised with your results.

yomimedia

a lot of similar sites turn negative phrases into eyecatching ones so beware. like those "5k profits" but the truth is, its the company's profits not yours and you'l just get to have commission from them

stefanjames

Very good to know. I have seen a ton of these products

Laurencemillionaire

You know like with any produce or service that becomes very large if the company does not pay attention to consumer complaints and just gamble on making millions before the hammer falls on there promotions they run a big risk of losing the farm to a fat FTC law suit..its best to just do business straight Up with consumers and dont do risky force continuity programs

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basif1

Very good to know. I have seen a ton of these products

rvrabel2002

Ya know alot of people give these offers crap, but in all honesty, some of the offers are pretty legit, and require that you use the product for more than a couple of weeks.

I'm promoting a skin care product, which is one of those continuity offers, and they are rebilled and shipped a new bottle every month. I think its like $40 every months supply plus shipping, but this is actually really inexpensive for a womens skin care product.

My girlfriend told me she spends like $100 a month on wrinkle creams and $40 a month is a joke, especially if it is something that works.

Same goes with weight loss offers, Its the american way, we don't see results in 2 weeks, and everyone makes a fuss that they didnt lose the 20 pounds they were promised by some affiliate.

gabibeowulf

The price is not the issue. The issue is that something is marketed as free (only pay for S&H) and than get charged for something they didn't know they would get charged for.

Not to mention, it's a nightmare to get off the continuity ... There's a reason why FTC came into play...

There are a lot of non scammy products as well in CPA (not to mention less competition)

Gabriel

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Tron2k

this is old news, all you have to do is use your brain, if you think a product is a scam, or you probably wouldn't feel right buying it yourself, surely you wouldn't want any affiliation with promoting it!

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RyanEagle

Gotta make sure that the network allows it... always remain compliant! Here are a bunch of resource links: EWA Private Network : Compliance Resource Links

ladyspinner

I'm not 100% sure that an affiliate can be held responsible, but if you are having any doubts whether it is a scam or not, move on....

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Kenster

I believe there is some carry over liability to the affiliate, but its such a gray area. As was said above, just use your head.

If you are promoting an offer, you should be reasonably familiar with the offer. Check out the landing page, check out where the terms are...if you can't find them without squinting, not a good sign.

For some of the bigger advertisers, you can do searches online to see how many (if any) customer complaints there are.

The issue, is not the price of the item, its how deceptive the offer is. If the terms are almost impossible to find, thats deceptive. If its impossible to cancel your trial, thats deceptive.

Your gut feeling on an offer should be used in addition to any diligence you pursue

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smartclick

I guess most of the networks are doing their job trying to inform how the offer works ! some times the consumer just don't get to see that and after those ¨15 days¨ the price gets as a cold water bucket at their face !! and just like Kenser says if you can not find those terms and conditions better get going to another offer to promote; saving you the headache and the final user as well.

skygod

Now the credit card policy become strict now, customer are more aware of the "free trial" offer, so the conversion of those did dropped compare to last year.

Kenster

They are getting tougher but there is still a goldmine to make. Lots of people are still promoting trial offers effectively and making a boatload both whitehat and bluefart.

It will get harder but like most things in this industry...the creative thinkers will always find a way to rake in crazy cash.

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Murderface

I'd be surprised if an affiliate was held liable - especially if they were direct-linking to the offer.

The merchant/advertiser has set their own terms for the offer. The affiliate network should carry the burden to carefully review those terms before publishing it within their network to their affiliates. It wouldn't make sense for the affiliate to be sued for anything. Sued for what? - Posting a link online to an offer that they deemed legitimate and trustworthy?

In the end, it is the merchant/advertiser that has to comply with local/federal laws and adhere to the FTC's guidelines by setting their own terms. It is up to the customer to review those terms before making a decision - a decision in which they have to make for themselves.

Knowing up front that the offer is not legitimate is another story - but who's going to be able to prove you knew otherwise?

-M

ChrisBa

It depends on how the affiliate promotes the offer, if they are using a flog or farticle there can be consequences

Kenster

This is what you mainly have to worry about...how you are representing the offer. Are you as the marketer being deceptive before the visitor even gets to the offer page.

With that said, the extension of liability from affiliate, through CPA network to advertiser is still a very gray area.

Its something you always need to keep in mind and its why I suggest setting up some kind of limited liability corp if you are doing any significant numbers. And always use your gut feeling. If an offer seems sketchy, just dont advertise it and save yourself the sleepless nights!

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ThousandDollarDays

Amen to that. If you're pitching a $1 trial probiotic that rebills @ $67/month, when you know you can pick up something similar at the local food co-op for $8, that's a scam that's not going to last.
And forget about the FTC for a second, think about Visa's role in this. People getting rebilled unfairly hurts the perception of their product as it makes people hesitant to use their credit cards online. Visa and Mastercard have a huge incentive in policing the shadier companies operating continuity programs.

AffiliateMax

Nonsense. It's called due diligence. If you are promoting something you should be aware of what you are promoting. You are responsible for what you market and it only takes 10 or 15 minutes to do some basic research. If you are going into business/partnership with someone (which is what affiliate marketing is a basic version of) then you have responsibilities too.
Just saying you "assumed" the network had done the due diligence or you "deemed an offer legitimate and trustworthy" (on what basis if you did no research?) is not a defence. We all know cpa networks accept offers from some shady characters - it seems you want all the monetary benefits of running a business without any of the responsibilities! Yes the cpa networks have a responsibility but you do too.

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AffiliateMax

Well you were wrong on that one - affiliates have been named in the lawsuits by Google, Oprah (Harpo) and the AG of Illinois. There is nothing to suggest they will not be named in future actions by the FTC or AG's. Some of the worst examples of deceptive advertising come from affiliates (flogs,fake news sites, etc) albeit with the 'consent' of the merchant and/or network. Obviously such deceptive practices are going to come up on the radar of the FTC and Attorney Generals; so I am not sure why you seemed to think that affiliates would somehow be immune from legal action!?

But don't take my word for it - here is some advice from a lawyer:

"internet lawyers should advise advertiser clients that flogs may subject them to both civil and/or criminal liability under the federal advertising laws and FTC Rules, including the recently enacted Part 255 Guidelines. While truthful advertising, legitimate testimonials, and proper disclosure of material connections and other information, for example, can help to reduce the likelihood of liability for false advertising, understanding the intricacies of the law as well as the boundaries is now more critical than ever. Otherwise, it is very likely that advertisers may be subject to increased lawsuits as a result of flogs, deceptive advertisements, and false advertisements on the Internet."

"Ultimately, improper endorsements, whether from a celebrity or otherwise, unsubstantiated product claims, and other untruthful statements may lead to significant legal and financial exposure. "

False Advertisements and Flogs Ripe For Internet Lawyer Attention

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numba8

the FTC is definitely trying to crack down on affiliates and hold them just as responsible as the merchants.

Kenster

As but you have to remember, that this mostly applies to the affiliates that are doing shady and deceptive things, not just average affiliates promoting the offers for example through direct linking.

Of course if you do a fake blog or are crazy deceptive with your copy, you can and shuold be held liable. If the problem is purely on the offer page, thats where the gray area is as for extent of liability to affiliates.


This isnt anything abnormal. The same is true for selling any product or service offline. If you do deceptive marketing anywhere you can and should be help liable. The biggest issue is who should be held liable if the affiliate is promoting a deceptive offer....where the offer is deceptive not the copy or sales process that the affiliate created him/herself

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