In my ever continuing search for useful information online, a very informative article on Copyblogger alerted me to a new affiliate disclosure law that recently came  into effect in the US in early December 2006. Essentially it says, "...companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships...".

So essentially anyone who markets to US citizens will be required by law to disclose the fact that they are being compensated for the recommendation they are providing. Although affiliate relationships are an integral part of the internet, very often people purchasing online may not be aware that their purchase was through an affiliated link, so this law is designed to inform.

Many Affiliates do promote and recommend products and services they honestly support. I'm sure, like anything in life, there are instances of individuals promoting products strictly "for the money" who may not necessarily believe in that product or the company providing it. But my experience online in the last few years has been a little different. Then again, personally speaking, I do try to research before purchasing a product or service online. Years ago, I didn't do this and ended up with less money and my version of a... "Ph.D. in life". In those early days as a seller of products online, I took refuge in solid refund policies: If people didn't like the affiliated product I was promoting, they could get their money back. However, coming from a real estate background in Canada, where "disclosure" is certainly Law, even in those early internet days, I found myself putting disclosure statements on my website long before it was law. After realizing "no one was doing that", I removed it from my pages (why? I can't really remember).  Well now I'm busy modifying pages to reflect affiliate disclosure again.

In the past I would take a recommendation for a product with "a grain of salt" - try it out - and request a refund if I didn't like it. Today I find myself carefully reading online recommendations. Although I may not personally know the person recommending, I try to ascertain whether they are trustworthy based upon their credentials, length of time online, and reputation. I do understand that most of the products recommended are affiliated, in that the Affiliate is getting a commission. Quite frankly, I prefer that. Why? you wonder - Well, in my humble opinion, if someone is willing to stake their reputation on a product they recommend, and fairly receive compensation for it in return, they more than likely take themselves seriously as a business person. Sure, there are some who may abuse their business by merely selecting products "strictly for the money".  However, the commission a product pays is hardly the reason a person's online business will succeed. In my quest to master the home based online business industry, I learned that success comes to those who develop customer relationships, trustworthiness, are willing to put themselves "out there" and probably most importantly, understand that getting traffic to their site is the toughest and most important challenge.

So yes, disclosure is always a good thing. I do believe that. However, after years of research, I can assertively bellow, "It's not easy to become an online success story". Am I still learning? Yes, every single day of online business building, I'm learning. In fact, because of James Martell's book, I feel like I'm just starting out again. It walks through online business building in a step-by-step action oriented way, and yes I get a commission if you buy it. The nerve of me :)

Barbara Cipak, My-Telework-Tools.com