World Copywriting Blog

How to Calm Your Fears About The New FTC Advertising Rules

It's lesser-of-two-evils-time here in marketing-land.

On the one hand: Dealing with the new FTC rules coming into effect December 1 is a royal pain.

On the other hand: Dealing with hard-boiled dectectives from the FTC directly because you didn't bother to deal with their new rules is... hmmm, how shall I put this in a family-friendly blog... it's, let's just say, a lot worse...

Someone decided to do something about it.

Joel Comm brought together three very savvy lawyers... and a "language cop" (an ex-journalist) to make sure what the lawyers have to tell you is in plain English!

And they created a detailed, practical, easy-to-understand product called The FTC Toolkit.

Frankly, this product is more a "got-to-have" as opposed to a "want-to-have."

You may not want to give a moment's time or attention to the FTC. 

But...

You've got to have this resource because everything you know about marketing is about to become wrong.

Almost.

Affiliate marketing will undergo a forced, major overhaul come December 1. The FTC Toolkit is the only authoritative source I know of that tells you exactly WHAT TO DO to protect yourself and still remain a viable (meaning, money-making) affiliate marketer -- short of personally hiring a lawyer like the ones who created this toolkit.

On December 1, the rules for testimonials will change.

This toolkit actually is very practical. 

As just one example, it contains sample letters to use to help you stay in the clear. Getting your lawyer to write similar letters for you could cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

And if your lawyer is not experienced with the FTC, you might not get as good a letter. (To say the least.)

There's a lot more in this product, too.  For example, a 13-point, detailed, plain-language checklist to use to make sure your content and advertising copy don't raise huge red flags for the regulators to home in on.

Actually, the toolkit contains far more than I can cover in this post. That's why I put a copy of the table of contents on my website.

I got a review copy of this product myself and I am starting to use it now. I will ask all of my clients and partners to get a copy as well.

I'm an affiliate for this product.  Please check it out through my affiliate link.

Because...

(as much as I dislike the sound of whining)

I'd rather hear you griping about the extra time and inconvenience resulting from the new FTC rules, ...

... than hear about you, as in: "Did you hear what happened to ____?"

(By the way, I heard exactly that about a high-profile Internet marketer who suddenly disappeared from the scene about two weeks ago.  Never mind who.  The reason he dropped out of sight could be directly traced back to some bad blood between him and the FTC.)

So, if you plan to stick around marketing on the Internet, this is one resource I strongly recommend you have.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

What It Takes To Make It - A Book That Takes On The Popular Myths

Watch out.

A lot of outright lies, half-truths and well-meaning misconceptions masquerade as the truth about what it takes to be successful.

Probably the biggest one is: There is ONE way to be successful, and that way will work for you.

Lie.

What's true is:

The IS a way to find ONE way that will work for you.

Big difference.

Because the one way that will work for you might be strikingly different from the one way that will work for me... or for someone else.

The NLP concept of "modeling" is dangerous because it's based on incomplete information. How can you know that you have duplicated all the conditions that made someone else successful... including, of course, all of their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences and points of view?

The saying "A goal is a dream with a deadline" is a lie because -- what happens if you have a dream and don't meet the deadline?  Is your dream now suddenly unattainable?

Kevin Hogan, a remarkably successful man in his own right, who has helped thousands of other people find their ways to success, has done some deep thinking about these issues.

And he's come up with some crisp, clean, easy-to-understand suggestions and solutions along the way in The 168 Hour Week.

What's great about this book is that Kevin cuts through the crap of these three approaches:

1. Left brain disconnected time-management and goal achievement systems, which work for robots and computers (in theory) but are frustrating for humans because they don't have anything to do with real whole-person life, and

2. The New Age, self-indulgent "Dr. Feelgood" systems that promise everything and deliver mainly hope and then, ultimately, disappointment (at least in material terms).

3. The gonzo, rip-your-world-to-shreds-and-turn-yourself-into-a-productivity-MONSTER systems! Their mantra: Because success is all that matters, people really don't.  Your friends, your family members, and most important, YOU don't matter.  SUCCESS matters. That's all.  If you lose any hope of peace of mind the in process?  That's not important, because you're SUCCESSFUL!

That's just ridiculous.

But wait.  You don't have to settle for the above three approaches.

What?

You mean there's another way?

Yes, and Kevin maps it out in great detail.  It's not necessarily pretty.  It's not always comfortable.  But it is realistic, honest, doable, and in fact it will work.

Most important: It's socially responsible. Meaning, it takes into account that you may have a family and you live and work in a world with other people -- and they matter, too.

If you want to know why you've succeeded when you have... why you've failed when you have... and what you need to do to succeed more in the future... I can think of no other book or system that gives you clearer, simpler, more pragmatic information to help you do that than this one.

Kevin readily admits that he's not politically correct, and I heartily agree. But these days politically correct means coddling people into wallowing in their comfortable prejudices and misconceptions.

With goals, achievement, and quality of life, I can assure you that will not get you results if you demand that everything feel perfect every step of the way.

Kevin allowed me to post three pages of the book for download, so you can see for yourself what it's like and if it's something you'd like to get.

Get this book. It will do you a world of good and help you find the way to success (or new levels of success) already within your reach... and all you need is to be shown how to see it.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Disclosure: This is a review, not an affiliate promotion. I wasn't paid to write it. I have a pre-existing and very profitable business relationship with Kevin. He's also a good friend. However, I'm reviewing the book for the benefit of my readers, not for Kevin's or mine. The link above is for reader convenience only, and does not register purchases with my membership in Amazon.com's affiliate program.