Ah, the classic “asshole” kid from Meet the Fockers
After The Verge published Scamworld on May 10 and Frank Kern responded with a Facebook post about it, it was hard not to wonder what might happen to the biggest players in the world of internet marketing.
Lord knows there are more than a few of us ‘onlookers’ who have, over the years, heard about the amazing “million dollar sales days” of that small group of info product marketers and wondered how the Helsinki they attracted so many customers.
Hearing about info marketers becoming millionaires overnight is pretty tough to swallow.
After all, what makes their stuff so great? What makes their followers so hungry?
Most small businesses and startups (like yours truly) surely watched in wonder as the Scamworld story unfolded.
I admit: I had a bad case of Schadenfreude when my hubby forwarded me the Scamworld article. I wanted to see people who’ve always seemed unimaginably successful called out on what they were really doing. (As in, will the real Slim SHADY please stand up?)
I couldn’t help it.
But the truth is that I also felt sort of bad for the people implicated as “modern day snakeoil salesmen”.
….And then my hubby talked me out of feeling bad for them.
And I realized who I really felt bad for: the rest of us!
The freakin’ good guys!
I just made the transition from in-house copywriter to “info marketer” some 6 months ago… and now the whole business is tainted? Whaaaa—???
Are all ebook writers and info marketers going to get painted with the same poisoned brush?
Gosh, I think about people like The Yogipreneur and the Information Highwayman, both of whom do info marketing and neither of whom are even CLOSE to being a$$holes, and I want to group them (and moi) far, far away from the bad guys in blue shown here:
But the truth is that those guys always existed. The assholes have always been there. Bad apples are always there – but they don’t have to ruin us.
With that in mind, I decided to share what I know about complying with the rules of the US Federal Trade Commission.
Sounds boring?
Well, I guess that’s true.
Getting fined nearly $300K like Frank Kern did doesn’t sound so boring. Sounds exciting! So if that’s your gig, just close ye olde window down and carry on your merry way.
But if you want to cover your a$$ and – MOST IMPORTANTLY – protect your customers and your reputation with them, check out these How Not to Be Scammy tips*:
- MESSAGING FREE: Something is only free if the consumer is not paying for it in any way; be careful about jacking up the price of one product in order to cover the costs of throwing in a “free” product
- MESSAGING FREE: If you’ve adjusted the quality or quantity of a “free” product, do not represent it as having the same quality or quantity as the paid version of it
- MESSAGING FREE: If you show the regular price of the product that you’re giving away “free” on your sales page, that regular price should have been established over a 30-day period; if the price of the product fluctuates, the lowest price it was sold for during the past 30 days should generally be used as the “regular” price; basically, don’t make up some inflated price just to make your free product look more desirable
- MESSAGING FREE: If there are any special conditions around whether someone qualifies to get your free product for free or not, disclose those conditions clearly – which usually means in very close proximity to the “free” messaging
- PRICING YOUR PRODUCT: Don’t artificially inflate prices! If you set up a price comparison – such as showing a before / regular price and an after / discounted price – the before / regular price needs to be genuine, not just an inflated value you place on it to make your discount look great
- PRICING YOUR PRODUCT: Don’t suggest price reductions that don’t exist! If you show only your discounted price rather than your discounted and regular price, the discount needs to be significant in order for you to use messaging like “Reduced to”
- PRICING YOUR PRODUCT: Don’t claim to be selling your product at factory or direct-from-the-manufacturer prices if you are, in fact, not selling at the standard factory or direct-from-the-manufacturer price
- Letters from satisfied customers are not enough to substantiate a claim
- If your offer is not for a limited time, do not message it as being for a limited time; if your offer does not end at midnight, do not message it as ending at midnight
- If you’re an affiliate for a product that uses hype advertising or messages the FTC wouldn’t look kindly on, it’s up to you to exercise caution in marketing such products, especially when writing your own copy that links to them
- If you’re advertising health-related products, alcohol, consumer credit products or environmentally friendly products, review the FTC website in detail for specifics around each
- If you’re advertising to children, review the FTC website in detail
- Avoid suggesting an endorsement of your product by a person or company that has not actually endorsed your product, either by using it of their own volition (i.e., purchasing it) or by agreeing to endorse it; even celebrities and companies that agree to endorse your product must actually have used it
- The FTC website is updated on a daily basis, so always refer to business.FTC.gov for the most up to date regulations, guidelines and so forth
- Be sure to refer to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines for labelling your food and/or drug products
Don’t forget to head over to the FTC site whenever you’re unsure.
Better safe than sorry, right?
Better safe than waking up to see your name in an article about the shady practices you employ.
At least, that’s my take on it.
LONG STORY SHORT: Protect your customers – don’t lie or misrepresent – and you should be in good shape to sell as aggressively as your market can bear.
*These tips come from a worksheet included with my fifth ebook. No, that’s not a sales pitch.
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