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Earnings Disclaimer/Privacy Policy/Legal Notice

by pex7
8 replies
Every ebook I read has Earnings disclaimer, legal notice etc.

Most website/squeeze pages have these things as well as privacy policy in the footer.

All of the ones I have read have a "legal copywriting" feel to them. Are there templates somewhere to base your own site off of or do you just write them up yourself?
#disclaimer or privacy #earnings #notice #policy or legal
  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    Most of the reputable sites have had an attorney review their terms, or they purchased base documents from an attorney.

    You reference 3 different documents. There is not much to an earnings disclaimer or privacy policy. You do not want to copy and paste something you see elsewhere, but instead want to make sure what you have is applicable and accurate for your website.

    For example: a basic privacy policy may state you do not sell email addresses. But maybe you do! A privacy policy does not require that you keep information private. It just discloses what you are doing, or not doing, with customer information.

    The same is true for the legal notice. This can be extremely important. Do it wrong and I've seen it cost someone $500,000. Do it right and you'll avoid lawsuits, FTC problems, etc.

    What you use for a legal notice - your legal terms, depends on your website, what you are offering, and what risks are particular to you.

    There are 3 places I recommend:

    http://www.internetmarketinglawproducts.com - Bob Silber. Bob has been around here a long time.

    http://mikeyounglaw.com - Mike Young. Mike doesn't post in the WF as much, but I wouldn't recommend him if I didn't have confidence in what he is doing.

    http://internetmarketinglawcenter.com - My site, so I'm obviously biased.

    Make sure you are dealing with a licensed, practicing attorney. For whatever reason that has been a problem on the forum this last year, with several masquerading as attorneys.


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  • Profile picture of the author pex7
    Thanks for the reply, so you're basically saying I need a lawyer to write these? I'd rather not go down the $500,000 path if I can help it....But does the average affiliate really hire a lawyer for their site?
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    • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
      It depends. I cannot give you a 'one size fits all' answer.

      (Great lawyer answer, I know.)

      But here are some factors ...

      What is your exposure if there is a complaint?

      One lawsuit or FTC investigation can wreck severe damage on your life. Maybe you have little and it doesn't really matter. Maybe you have some assets and want to protect them.

      What is the nature of your website?

      If you are an affiliate promoting Stars Wars DVDs on Amazon, you do not need much. Frankly, perhaps nothing except what Amazon requires of its affiliates. (While I cannot say one should not disclose they are an affiliate to safely stay within FTC guidelines, lets also 'get real'. You probably don't need legal terms for a Star Wars DVD affiliate link.)

      If you are promoting make money, financial, health, medical issues, etc., that is entirely different matter. What you have on your website, and what the merchant has on their website can have a significant impact upon the purchaser.

      Sometimes, a life or death issue.

      Then you should take more care to protect yourself.

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  • Profile picture of the author pex7
    Thanks for the links. You actually brought up another question for me, what is the law regarding affiliate disclosure when promoting to an email list? I am on several email lists, very few people have any type of disclosure at the bottom of the email, but a few do. Now that I am building my own list I want to make sure I am following the proper procedures.
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    • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
      The 'best practice' would be to have an affiliate disclosure at the bottom of every message saying there are affiliate links and you are compensated if someone clicks thru and makes a purchase.

      Or a link to disclosures.

      Or perhaps instead of using an affiliate link you link to your web page where you more fully try to presell the person on a purchase. Then any disclosures would be on that page.


      Alternatively, I believe a disclosure at the time someone signs up is sufficient - especially in the IM niche. For instance, when someone signs up for an email list it is common offer them a bribe such as free report - but it should also be made clear that in addition to the free report you will be sending then periodic newsletters about whatever and these may include affiliate links.

      Context is also important. If you are dealing with the "IM" niche it will usually be obvious affiliate links are involved.

      If you are direct linking using an affiliate link then the fact there is an obvious affiliate link may give notice. But if you are using a redirect then it may not be obvious.

      If you are dealing with other niches, say a knitting niche, common subscribers may have no idea what an 'affiliate' is so, unlike the IM niche, you would simply and plainly disclose you may offer links to products you recommend purchasing and you are compensated by the product sellers.

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  • Profile picture of the author pex7
    Thanks again, that clears up a lot of my questions!
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  • Profile picture of the author blu330ciracer
    What about video marketing, when is it absolutely necessary to have a disclosure. I was wondering if that means I need to make annotations with a disclosure in youtube videos that I plan on creating. Is it necessary to have a disclaimer or disclosure for youtube videos that have an affiliate link, but your not necessarily endorsing a product or service.

    A good example would be if I had a HOW TO video that was related to the type of affiliate link that I have in the description, but I wasnt actually encouraging people to buy the product or service. Like - if I simply state if you arent sure which service to use, I'd be happy to let you know that I use "blah blah service" and I am very happy with it.

    In that case is it necessary to have a disclosure?
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  • Profile picture of the author blu330ciracer
    Another thing to add as an example.... What if I just have a video that is about My favorite coffee or something "a type of word of mouth video" just explaining why I like this coffee or why I like this blender"...... To me that seems natural in a way that its just an opinion, spreading word of mouth, talking about what you like or what you prefer. but does that mean that you now need to put some type of earnings disclaimer just cause there is an affiliate link?
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