In part one of this series, FTC Regulations and Their Impact on Your Blog, we talked about the Federal Trade Commission’s  new rules and the issue of mandatory disclosure. We now continue here.

The second part of the announcement is a more enormous issue, however. It covers Testimonials.

Before the new regulations, people used testimonials to sell products online. There is hardly any regular internet user that hasn’t stumbled upon one at some point in time. Remember the big long sales pages mostly packed with testimonials of how great the product is? This practice is known as Social Proof.

In marketing, social proof gives a product maker an unusual edge over the competition because testimonials from previous users are used to create such proof based on the idea that people most often do what they see others do. It is the fad mentality, the bandwagon effect and as they say, there is safety in numbers. Is there really? Due to the risk-averse nature of most of us humans, when we see other people saying how good a product is, we naturally think the product is good.

Before October 2009, marketers would put up the most unbelievable testimonial only to include a tiny footnote saying “results not typical”.

Now that practice is illegal as you have to state the typical results.

No more lies and that is a good thing as we would only see genuine testimonials with actual proof of stated results. Lots of products will naturally go off the shelf and even remain there forever.

Will sales dwindle? Yes. But only those of products that weren’t supposed to be made in the first place.

The FTC is essentially collapsing the part of the online advertising industry based on falsehood by removing the marketing equipment used for deception. In the long-term, this is a good thing and many internet marketers have given out products once worth thousands of dollars for free.

The business that got a boost as a result of this shock is – you guessed it – legal consultation as many marketers got in touch with their attorneys to find out what it all implies because governments, generally all over are too bureaucratic and inefficient when it comes to making laws understandable.  I think they need a lesson in keeping track of their own laws. There is also a lot of chaos on how the FTC intends to enforce this new law. Red tape sucks.

Is this new development a reason to be jittery?

I read that the FTC ruling generated much concern at the 2009 BlogWorld Expo. Why would that be the case? Could it be that we have been sold overhyped products by most of the so called Gurus all along?

If so, then this is a victory for everyone that buys information products on the internet. At least now we get to buy original value-adding products.

The Massive Opportunity

The FTC is now interested in the blogosphere which means a massive opportunity awaits some bloggers.

First of all I think this is a sign that blogging has finally been given its rightful place in the arena of business, commerce and the media.

This is a huge gift to the discerning blogger. First of all forget testimonials – for now. They are practically useless now unless you can back it up with valid, verifiable facts and figures.

The blogging platform gives you as an individual the opportunity to put yourself forth and prove that you are a leader in whichever market you specialize in.

The blogging platform is a social one. You get involved in a community free of charge and create value by posting your writings. You work at notifying members of the community and gradually, they begin to respond (in comments). By doing this, you involve them in a conversation which you mix your personality with, thereby giving your readership an opportunity to bond with you. You in turn are beginning to grow into an authority figure in your market, but more importantly, a trustworthy friend.

A fact in marketing is that people are much more comfortable with buying at the suggestion of a friend than at that of a salesman.

Enter Blog Marketing – the awesome opportunity FTC has delivered on a platter of the law.

Now, bloggers will want their readers to know them better.  They will want to be liked, respected and trusted by them.

The tactic to use is simple and very straight forward: “Use your blog to add valuable information to people and engage them in conversations, persuade them to fill in their emails and use it to bring them back to your blog regularly.”

A good measure of the value you add may now be how qucikly people subscribe to your mailing list.

The blogger in turn protects his readers by all means because you had to gain their trust. When you recommend anything, it is not purely from a profit perspective, it is also because you truly believe it will benefit them as you now have a deeper understanding of their needs based on your interactions with them.

If any high paying product appears on the radar, that you honestly don?t think would be of value to them, you do simply ignore and do not promote it.

Now more than ever, we bloggers need to inject our personalities into our blog posts which is now our major marketing platform.

Be a real person. The Guru days are over and Internet Marketing has forever taking a human face and turned into Blog Marketing. Create a bond and feel your readers.