Affiliate Links and ActiveRain Blogging: Legal & Ethical?
Regarding ActiveRain and affiliate links: My daughter posted a nice piece about a problem we see occasionally with AR members promoting a product or service then linking out with an affiliate link. Read on to learn more...
My parents and I dabble with affiliate marketing from time to time and rub shoulders with affiliate marketers, mainly through Squidoo. In the affiliate world, affiliate marketers have an unwritten code of ethics whereby affiliate links are disclosed as such to their blog readers. I am surprised at the number of ActiveRain members who promote and endorse something through an affiliate link without full disclosure. The practice is not ethical and may be breaking the law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires endorsements to be fully disclosed. From the FTC:
"...bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service..."
Not sure what an affiliate link/marketing is? From Wikipedia: "Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts." The Wikipedia continues with a rather nice introduction to affiliate marketing.
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