Some Bloggers Welcome FTC Scrutiny for Paid Reviews

When it was reported in 2006 that the FTC would begin forcing word-of-mouth companies -- which paid people to hype products to their peers -- to disclose their marketing campaigns, Brian Clark predicted at the time that these rules would apply to bloggers as well. Now it looks like his prediction is coming true -- and bloggers are taking the news in stride.A former commercial litigation attorney, Clark is the founder of Copyblogger, a site focused on copywriting and effective use of social media to sell products and services. Earlier this year he published a post stating that he made much more money through direct sales of his services and affiliate marketing programs than he ever did with third party advertising.So when the AP reported recently that the FTC would begin enforcing disclosure rules on bloggers that were paid to review products, received free products or used affiliate links, Clark wasn't surprised. In fact, one could even say he was delighted. In a post titled How to Turn Affiliate Marketing Disclosure Into a Selling Point, he argued that disclosing your economic incentives to push a product...
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