This Give A Whole New Meaning To Fake News

Regardless of how you may feel about government intervention in business, they do get involved and swing a big hammer.

This post should really resonate with small business owners and how you market your small business. Why? It is unlikely that you have a legal staff that can thoroughly vet your marketing so you need to know what the government, specifically the FTC has to say.

Here is a recent case:

FTC Charges Marketers Used Massive Spam Campaign To Pitch Bogus Weight-Loss Products

"The e-mails linked to “fake news” websites that were designed to appear as if an independent consumer reporter, rather than a paid advertiser, had reviewed and endorsed the product. "

While you may not be selling weight loss products the lessons learned apply to all businesses.

Link to credible sites- Just because it is on the internet does not make it credible or legitimate. You may want to read this article I saw it on the internet so it must be true to find credible data sources.

Use actual customer testimonials- Do not pay for testimonials. Let your actual customers speak their mind.

The defendants paid their affiliate marketers a commission whenever consumers clicked through from a fake news website to one of the defendants’ sites and bought their supplements, according to the complaint.

• Capture you own leads on your website- Be wary of outrageous claims regarding lead capture programs. The best way to capture leads is to produce meaningful content on your own website that visitors actually want. If you need some help in this area you may want to download this ebook: How To Use A Form For Lead Generation.

All that being said, there are legitimate affiliate marketing and lead generation programs. Remember that if you choose the wrong one, even if you did not know it was bogus, your brand and reputation can suffer.