By Amber Daines, CEO of Bespoke Communications
Like many business owners, I really enjoy in sharing my ideas, insights and expertise online, via guest blogging opportunities and also have my own blog ‘The Little Things’ published on my web site. Let it be known, I do not receive commercial offers to write about certain people or brands.
Yet plenty of Bespoke Communications’ clients as well as countless peers have enjoyed some unexpected money-making success in their blogging pursuits. For some it is just an enjoyable and cost-effective way to reach others in their network and beyond and it’s amazing how fast a community can build once you find your sweet spot in the ‘bloggersphere’.
What happens when your blog then snares the attention of commercial entities and brands who want to align your community with their products and services?
In the fields of technical gadgets, fashion or travel for example, suddenly you can be flooded with free products, gifts and other incentives from businesses in exchange for her writing about them in her blog. While your blog can then become an income-producing business and help build your reputation as a market leader, there are legal implications for all and sundry.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, some bloggers assume these arrangements which is in fact a promotion of gifted services and products wasn’t the business of anyone else. However, it needs to be known that disclosure is important legally as well as ethically.
Keep it legal
There is no express law in where I run my business (Australia) requiring a blogger to disclose the sponsorship of a product or service that may be subject to review or endorsement. However, under the Australian Consumer Law (the ACL), failing to disclose paid endorsements is considered misleading and deceptive, and can attract serious penalties.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) takes the responsibility of administering the ACL and online reviews very seriously and vigorously applies enforcement action against misleading and deceptive conduct.
Given the increasing use and popularity of online endorsements as affordable and effective promotion, it is important to be mindful of the guidelines recently released by the ACCC to assist businesses in keeping within the law when advertising online.
Get local advice
It is worth spending some time getting across the legislation that governs online endorsements and reviews in your country of operations. In Australia, the ACCC has an Advertising and Selling Guide freely available on their website.
That said, in general the three main guiding principles for business bloggers are:
- State your commercial relationships
Using paid endorsements creates a competitive advantage over rival businesses, which may impact consumer perceptions of the competing products. Consumers must be made aware of any commercial arrangements that underlie produce endorsements.
- Never write false reviews
Review or endorsements may mislead consumers where they appear impartial, but are in fact created by vested interests like:
- The business providing the products;
- A third party acting on behalf of one of the above;
- A competitor;
- Brand ambassadors paid to promote the products who are not ordinary consumers; or
- A person who has been offered an incentive to inflate their experience with the product.
- Tampering reviews may be misleading
Reviews and endorsements must not mislead the general impression created by the overall feedback on the products. Conduct that breaches the ACL includes selectively removing or editing negative feedback – even from trolls.
Then blog away and enjoy the fruits
The key message here is you can certainly make money or receive invectives to blog in business. However, sharing opinions about a product or service that has been provided to her for a review, you must disclose that you have been paid or received an incentive for to write that blog post.
If you are blogging under special commercial arrangements, you should display properly prepared legal disclaimers and a disclosure notice to manage legal liability connected with your blog, as many big magazines do in advertorials for example.
Then it really can be win-win.