Affiliate marketing legal services

Affiliate marketing legal services
In this file, you can ref free useful materials about affiliate marketing legal services and other materials
for affiliate marketing legal services such as affiliate programs, affiliate tips…
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I. Affiliate marketing guides
Online affiliate marketing is still in its infancy. Many trace the channel’s roots to the mid-
1990s, when several retailers developed platforms that would track third-party online referrals
and would award sales commissions on completed transactions. The concept of commissionable
transactions was not new. Recall “Avon calling” and door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen.
However, when translating that model online, new issues arose.
The lack of geographical boundaries brought into question tax nexus in the U.S., and marketing
rights in foreign countries. The lack of face-to-face transactions forced a reexamination of
disclosure requirements. And these issues are still being discussed today. We have not yet seen
typical legislation associated with a more mature industry. As such, here is a brief overview of
three legal issues that retailers with affiliate marketing channels should consider, follow, and
understand.
I am not an attorney. The issues presented below are not legal advice. Consider them discussion
points to have with your own counsel.
Affiliate Tax Nexus
Prior to the Internet, sales taxes were levied on companies that maintained a physical presence,
or nexus, within a state’s borders. However, the advent of ecommerce enabled retailers to sell
products to state residents without collecting and remitting taxes back to that state, or county, or
city.
This was initially a minor issue for the states and local governments, as ecommerce was a
relatively small portion of overall retail sales (and sales taxes). But ecommerce is now big
business, and states and local governments are feeling the impact of declining sales taxes that
were previously remitted from local, brick-and-mortar businesses. Thus, legislators in many
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states are proposing bills that proclaim affiliates as an extension of a merchant’s sales force, thus
satisfying the physical nexus requirement for taxation, to bolster sales tax revenue.
Active legislation in one form or another exists in the following states: Arkansas, California,
Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. If you have affiliates in these states, you should review state
nexus definitions to determine whether you are required to collect and remit state sales tax.
Performance Marketing Association’s map of nexus legislation in the U.S. Yellow states have
some form of affiliate nexus legislation in place; green states have affiliate nexus bills that were
ruled invalid through the court process; red states indicate that a bill has been introduced or is
being considered by state legislature.
To learn more about the affiliate nexus issue and keep abreast of developments, go to
Performance Marketing Association, which is a non-profit trade association founded in 2008 for
the affiliate industry.
Affiliate Disclosure
In 2013, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission updated its disclosure-of-advertising guidelines to
include blogs and social media. The guidelines state that if a blogger or social media maven
receives any sort of monetary or product incentive to promote a brand, product or service, then
he is required to disclose that relationship. This means that any affiliate that drives traffic your
way via a blog or social media post must adhere to these guidelines. However, the penalty for
non-compliance seemingly impacts the retailer more than the affiliate. This last point can be
illustrated by a 2011 ruling that found Legacy Learning Systems, a provider of guitar lessons,
guilty of deceptive advertising when certain of its affiliates falsely posed as ordinary consumers
or independent reviewers. The fine was $250,000. (See “Enforcing FTC Advertising Disclosures
for Blogs, Social Media,” my previous article, for more.)
The current guidelines emphasize social media posts and state that a limited character count is
not a valid defense for excluding disclosure. The revised guidelines also state that disclosure
must be “clear and conspicuous,” and disclosure within the body of a blog post is insufficient, as
any content prior to the disclosure could distract consumers and cause them to click away before
finishing the post.
Direct Marketing to Canada
In July 2014, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation will go into effect. It is considered by many to be
among the most aggressive anti-spam email laws in the world. It provides a very strict definition
of “implied consent” to determine whether it is legal to email a consumer who has not
specifically requested it. According to Mohammed Ahmed, director of email deliverability for
AWeber, an email service provider, consent can be implied if there is an existing business
relationship, which can be established if one or more of the following conditions is satisfied.

 The recipient has made a purchase, accepted a business opportunity, or bartered with the
sender in the past 24 months.
 The recipient was party to a written contract with the sender in the past 24 months.
 The recipient made an inquiry or application regarding a purchase, business opportunity or
barter within the past six months.
Consent can also be implied if there is an existing non-business relationship as defined by a gift
or donation made, and the sender is a registered charity, political party, organization, or political
candidate.
II. Affiliate marketingstrategies
Affiliate marketing is a low-cost
way for merchants to build
awareness and showcase their
products and services. The model
is simple; it works as a
commission-based referral
system. A partner or affiliate
markets a merchant's products
for a "piece of the pie."
Affiliate marketing experts often make an income that can tally over five figures
per month, however only 1 to 5% of thousands of marketers achieve this level.
When an affiliate reaches this elite level they are often referred to as a "super"
affiliate.
How does one become a super affiliate? Can anyone do it? Super affiliates have
common tactics that they embrace and put into place. Anyone can become a
super affiliate, but it will not come without blood, sweat, and a hefty time
commitment. The typical super affiliate possesses the following traits:
 Persistence
 Patience
 Thirst for Knowledge

These three traits combined with the following strategy gives you the formula for
the makings of a "super" affiliate.
1. Find a Unique Niche
The mistake that many affiliate marketing hopefuls have in common is that they
try to offer everything under the sun rather than focusing on a specific niche
market. Do not scatter your efforts, focus on your niche, promote it, and sell it
well.
2. Search Engine Marketing
Once you've built your affiliate storehouse you will need to promote it. Many
affiliates use pay-per-click engines. I suggest that you learn how to achieve organic
search results or hire a search engine marketing company. This will save you from
spending all your profits on pay-per-click engines. Only use pay-per-click engines
if you know what you are doing, otherwise all your profits may end in the hands of
Google Adwords or Overture.
3. Know Your Product, Know Your Audience
Create a resource. By taking the time to learn about the products and/or services
that you are offering you can create information that builds your credibility. That
credibility builds trust. If your viewers do not have trust in you more than likely
they will not purchase from your storehouse. If you want more information on the
psychological process that an online buyer goes through I suggest that you read
my article on the Five Levels of Internet Marketing and the Sales Process. This will
help you in creating a web site that converts well, which in return will increase
your cash flow.
4. Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
Promote products from different merchants. This way if you have a problem with
receiving payment from a merchant, or their products do not convert well the
effects on your business will be minimal. Watch out for exclusivity agreements;
remember this is your business. Protect yourself and diversify so that you do not

feel the famine effect if something goes wrong. There is absolutely nothing wrong
with promoting niche products from different merchants.
5. Seek Knowledge and Embrace Change
If you are familiar with Internet marketing at all you know that what worked three
months ago may not work today. Stay on top of the trends. Seek knowledge, start
by learning something new about affiliate marketing daily. For example remember
those marketing tools called "banner" that use to drive sales at an astronomical
rate a few years ago? Well those banners developed a term called "banner
blindness." That means most online viewers will not click on banners even if they
do pertain to what they are looking for. To be a "super" affiliate you must always
spend time reading, learning, and embracing the changes in Internet marketing.
6. Don't Give Up
It's hard to do, and most of the time those dabbling in affiliate marketing give up
way too soon. Monitor your statistics, watch to see what is working and what is
not. Make changes when necessary. Do one thing daily to promote your storehouse
and be patient. Before you know it you will start getting payments.
Remember that it will not happen overnight. Encompass and develop the
persistence, patience, and knowledge. Then follow the tactics I've mentioned
above and you are on your way to becoming a "super" affiliate.

Affiliate marketing legal services

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Affiliate marketing legal services