Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Why The New FTC Guidelines Are A HUGE Opportunity For Bloggers

November 27, 2009 | Marketing

While so many people are getting their tighties in a bunch over the new FTC guidelines and how it affects our industry, my opinion is that you should not be concerned.

In fact, you should be THRILLED.

opportunity Better yet, you should be using it as a huge kick in the ass to put on your A-game, get into gear, and start creating a real business.

I’ll go more into this in an upcoming report I plan to write (stay tuned for it), however let me give you the long-and-short of it.

Blogging as a business is RELATIONSHIP MARKETING. If you want to make money as a blogger, this is the short version of what you do:

  1. Create a product line.
  2. Attract people to you through quality content.
  3. Get people into your sales funnel. In other words, capture them as a lead. Get ‘em on your list.
  4. Build the RELATIONSHIP. Get them to know, like and trust you. Be a real person. You want them to trust your expertise, but also view you as a friend.
  5. Sell them things by providing quality recommendations they can trust.

Now, traditional internet marketers are all consulting their lawyers over the new FTC regulations. One of the biggest things that will affect the industry is the use of testimonials to sell. To make a long story short, you will not be able to throw out a bunch of glowing testimonials, throw in a “results not typical” footnote in tiny print at the bottom of the page, and move on with your life.

In fact, in a recent report put out by John Reese, he said to forget using testimonials! That’s right. No testimonials. By not using testimonials, you just avoid that whole FTC mess.

Why is this a huge piece of good news for smart bloggers?

Because bloggers who are doing this right are building up a RELATIONSHIP. And a solid relationship makes testimonials a much less important sales tactic.

Most marketers sell people stuff because they fall onto the sales page and you have to overwhelm them with social proof in order to get over that natural distrust they have.

In the NEW way, your loyal tribe will have a relationship with YOU. And they’ll buy what you recommend if they have a need, but because they trust that YOU told them it was OK.

Know. Like. Trust. It is everything.

And bloggers are poised better than almost any internet marketer to do this, both through their blog as well as their mailing list.

The FTC guidelines don’t matter. In fact, it is going to be more of a game changer for the people who’ve not been doing this business with relationships in mind from the beginning.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

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  4. Affiliate Marketing 101 For Bloggers
  5. Internet Marketing And The Power of Trust

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  • I never thought about it that way! Of course, testimonials are still necessary for converting non-tribal members. Humm... can't wait to see how the top dogs work with these new rules.

    Blog comments are great testimonials, but what about sales pages? Looks like the lead up to the sales page will have to change drastically.
  • sergimora
    Comments on blogs are the new testimonials. Yes Dave, I agree!
  • I think this is good for all legit bloggers out there, I am sick of seeing all those pseudo testimonials. It will weed out a lot of crap!
  • Yes, but guess what the scammers are using? Fake blogs with fake comments!
  • Great and informative article here. The hole new thing about FTC is a bit confusing. And I really enjoy how you have simplified some of the effects, and the best action steps to take.

    I am looking forward to some follow up articles on this issue. Nice to finally get some basic CYA articles for us that still learning to handle the blogging beast..

    Cheers.. Are
  • 100% agreed. This is a great attitude to have. I remember when the do-not-call lists came out, and all the sales people and business owners I work with were complaining about how it was going to ruin their businesses. Others saw it as an opportunity and banked...it's all about perception.
  • Funny thing is I never read testimonial anyway and very rarely purchase products that rely on them to sell.
  • David, what you're saying makes total sense. And if a blogger has been building relationships and building trust the past several years with his readers, like he should have been doing, he'll only be that much more ahead as of FTC guideline changes. You're also correct in saying a loyal tribe will buy from you because they have a relationship with you, and they like and trust you. But I've noticed even a further benefit in my blogging. PR just doesn't come from old fashioned marketing which may now become somewhat obsolete. The best PR for your blogs and products often comes from your tribe also, as they spread around your blog URLs, site URLs, and word of your products. There's nothing like word of mouth about your blog and products from your tribe! If your tribe likes and trust you, words about you, your blog, and your products will spread quickly. krissy knox connect w me on twitter: http://twitter.com/iamkrissy
  • David, couldn't you also argue that this situation is going to create significant barriers to entry to new bloggers who want to monetize, especially if they don't have preexisting relationships to leverage?
  • Comments on blogs are the new testimonials.
  • Brilliant post! Trust you to see the benefit in something so many people have been stressing over. But you're so right, the kind of relationships we build don't actually need a load of third party endorsements to make sales happen.
  • What a fantastic opportunity for us all! Lets get out there and rock it! Good post David
  • I think it's also an opportunity if you are serious about blogging -- the new regulations will quickly separate those that are serious from those that are just playing around or those trying to "game" the system.
  • Nice .... This is definitely be a cool idea for bloggers
    Thanks David for sharing with us.
  • Yep, good stuff. Everyone needs to have a signature product. There are some businesses like my friend at joebees.com who lives off his testimonials and I think may see a dip in his biz if he removes them though.
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