By Jeffrey D. Knowles and Thomas A. Cohn

Affiliate marketers have long operated anonymously, under the radar screen. They publish content such as blogs, reviews and a wide variety of other types, traditionally with banner ads containing offers and links to advertisers’ products. For every consumer who clicks that link or purchases the advertiser’s product, the affiliate is paid a fee, either directly from the advertiser or indirectly through a network.

State attorneys general (AGs) have recently stepped up their investigations and begun law enforcement actions against both online merchants and the affiliate marketers who drive online traffic to them. How did affiliate marketing get to this point? And how can affiliate marketers and those doing business with them such as advertising networks and online merchants, avoid raising the ire of law enforcement?

RECENT ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Several years ago, both federal and state law enforcement agencies began to notice the concept of affiliate marketing. In 2005, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought CAN-SPAM actions against seven adult website companies, alleging that they violated the CAN-SPAM Act because they paid affiliate marketers to use deceptive e-mails to drive online traffic to the defendants’ pornographic websites. The combined civil penalty amounts in these cases exceeded $1.6 million, but the affiliate marketers were not named defendants in the actions.

The AGs also began to take action on the affiliate marketing front. In 2007, the Florida AG announced a $1 million settlement over allegedly deceptive “free ringtone” online marketing campaigns. That year, the Florida AG also announced a group of investigations of other online affiliate networks using allegedly deceptive offers for “free” or “complimentary” mobile content (such as ringtones or wallpaper) to enroll consumers into monthly subscription plans, without describing the prices and terms of service clearly and conspicuously.

Two of these matters recently settled: the Florida AG within the last year announced two $1 million settlements with online marketers of mobile content, requiring the companies and their affiliate marketers to follow guidelines on the disclosure of material terms in its online marketing of mobile content.

The FTC sued affiliates directly for the first time earlier this year, alleging that the defendants purchased “sponsored links” that appear on the results pages of Internet search engines when consumers search for “making home affordable” or similar terms. The defendants’ ads, which prominently displayed the full government website address “www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov,” then appeared among the search engines’ results. Consumers who clicked on the advertisements were not directed to the website for the government program, but were instead diverted to websites that attempt to sell paid loan modification services. These commercial websites, which are not affiliated with the government, required consumers to enter personally identifying and confidential financial information, and then either offered loan modification services or sold consumers’ personally identifying information to companies that market such services.

Although the FTC did not name these commercial loan modification websites as defendants or allege they were engaged in deception, it did allege that the affiliate marketer defendants were attempting to defraud or scam homeowners trying to use the government site, by falsely implying through search results that visitors were being sent to the government’s website.

Several recent enforcement actions only underscore the perils of affiliate marketing. Various state AGs have cited the role of affiliate marketers in their latest actions against online promotions, and these may be followed by other AG actions and possibly FTC law enforcement against merchants, affiliates and/or networks that either engage in deceptive advertising, or knowingly assist and facilitate it. In addition, affiliates’ unauthorized use of celebrity and news media images and marks is increasingly subjecting them (and the online merchants to which they link) to charges of trademark infringement, false endorsement and related allegations, under both state and federal law.

So what can online merchants, advertising networks and affiliate marketers do to reduce their risk of being targeted by state or federal law enforcement agencies? The following “top ten tips” (while not exhaustive) should be applied by affiliates–and by merchants and advertising networks–to avoid regulatory problems that may arise from affiliate marketing:

AFFILIATES
1. Ensure that affiliate advertising of any merchant’s products or services is truthful, substantiated and not deceptive or unfair.

2. Do not publish “flogs” (fake blogs) or other false content, false or unsubstantiated product claims, or offer incentives to consumers in return for their response to any ad, unless the offer’s terms and conditions of the offer are clearly and conspicuously disclosed.

3. Do not publish fake news articles or other fake media titles, without clearly and conspicuously disclosing that the content is an advertisement.

4. With respect to any endorsement (third-party promotion of an advertiser’s product to consumers), do not publish false or unsubstantiated endorsements, and be sure to clearly and conspicuously disclose any material connections with the merchant and/or the network.

5. Do not infringe on the personal rights, trademark, copyright, patent rights, service mark or any other intellectual property right of any third party mentioned in published content.

MERCHANTS AND NETWORKS
1. Enter into written agreements with affiliate marketers, requiring that all affiliates publishing content designed to drive online traffic to the merchant abide by all state and federal consumer protection laws and regulations including the FTC Act and the CAN-SPAM Act.

2. These agreements should also require affiliates to comply with the FTC’s Endorsement Guides.

3. These agreements should also require that affiliates not infringe on the personal rights, trademark, copyright, patent rights, service mark or any other intellectual property right of any third party.

4. These agreements should also require that affiliates clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms and conditions of any incentives, points, rewards, cash or prizes promised to consumers in return for their response to any advertisement.

5. Agreements must provide that any affiliates who violate these laws, regulations and guides shall be terminated by the merchant or network, and shall forfeit any commissions earned in the course of committing such violations.

Given recent law enforcement developments, everyone in the online advertising stream, from merchants to networks to affiliates, should follow these tips to avoid getting caught in regulators’ crosshairs.

Jeffrey D. Knowles manages Venable LLP’s Government Division and heads the firm’s Advertising and Marketing Practice Group. He can be reached at (202) 344-4860. Thomas A. Cohn is of counsel in Venable LLP’s New York, NY office. He can be reached at (212) 370-6256.

http://www.onlinestrategiesmag.com/os0909_legal/

There are thousands of products, videos and articles on the Internet concerning affiliate marketing education for newbies. So much that many aspiring affiliate marketers suffer from information overload as to which direction to take and become paralyzed.  

Affiliate marketing education for newbies is very important to their success online. The question is, how can a newbie get the education, strategies and mentoring necessary to jump start them on their road to success???  

There is no better place on the Internet than Wealthy Affiliate University. Wealthy Affiliate University offers by far the # 1 Internet marketing education available on the Internet. They provide a wealth of videos, diagrams, books and marketing tools that are on par and most times better than any single products currently available. Wealthy Affiliate University offers everything necessary for affiliate marketing education for newbies that gives aspiring affiliate marketers a strong course of action that if acted upon guarantees success. 

Education on keyword research, product research, niche finding, PPC advertising, e-mail marketing and much more all comes with membership. Wealthy Affiliate University also offers web hosting for up to three domains for all members. Once you are more advanced in your marketing education you will want and need to take advantage of this feature. They even train you to build highly targeted sites for you marketing ventures.  

I haven't even mentioned the WA forums where you will get to interact with some "heavy hitter's" of affiliate marketing that are million dollar producers. Some of you are undoubtedly considering or even have purchased the products of  these Wealthy Affiliate members. The WA forums are a absolute gold mine in affiliate marketing education for newbies and is more than worth the cost of membership by itself.  

So instead of throwing away hundreds or even thousands of dollars and months searching for that one product,  program or MLM opportunity that will finally give you what you think you're missing, join the only Internet community where all the affiliate marketing education for newbies you need to succeed is provided and the only missing element is YOU. 

How much does all this cost you say??? $39.99 a month ($29.99 if you pay for a 12 month membership), which you would have to pay at least half of that for any adequate web hosting for three domains without the education and tools to build or monetize the your sites that you'll receive at Wealthy Affiliate University.  Once you experience first hand all that is provided you'll know you've finally found the right place to start on your road to success. 

Network marketing or sometimes known as Multi Level Marketing (MLM) is actually a good business model. The market for this type of business is huge and the long term prospects are excellent. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that not all of the MLM opportunities will be successful.

There are four things  that you must do with any MLM opportunity that interest you:

1. Research the company first

Research the company profile on google. Look for the information about the company as much as you can and consult multiple sources not just sites for current members.

The company that is less than 5 years old might or might not be a scam. Not necessarily but the possibility is higher so research the founders of the company in this case. The company that is not a scam usually is a member of the Better Business Bureau.

2. No Mentor

Stay away from MLM companies where do not provide a mentor on how to successfully market the business. A mentor plays quite significant role in any internet marketing business especially for people who know little or nothing about internet marketing. With a mentor, "newbies" can be guided step-by-step on what and what not to do when starting the business, where to do the promotions and how to  profit from the internet. Look for a mentor that is accessible and can  provide you support along the way.

3. Full support from the team

Team support also plays an important role in an MLM business. When you have a team of members that support each other your success  rate increases drastically and you aren't as likely to "burn out" as opposed to when you go it alone. Members can support each other by sharing the techniques that they have to get leads, sales and so on.

4. Consistent and Hard work

Just like doing anything worthwhile, taking internet marketing in any form requires "hard" work but you do not need to work 8 hours a day seven days a week. However, you do need at least to work on your business 2 to 3 hours a day. If you still have a full time job, just consider this MLM business as overtime. You have to be consistent in order to achieve the desired results from your efforts. Internet Marketing is not a "get-rich-quick scheme" (depending on what you consider rich) so you have to be focused and work at it consistently.

In Summary, if you want to join any MLM business keep in mind the things that I mentioned above. Dig a little deeper into the company and the whole process of how to make the money online. It is not instant gratification but with team work, a mentor and commitment you WILL be successful.

For more information on how you can make money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info.

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

There are a few basic things that anyone with the desire to make money online will need to do to ensure success in their endeavor. Here are 4 tips to point you in the right direction:

1. Differ wants from needs

Once you decide to start your online money making endeavor you will probably find that in the beginning you might be overwhelmed by lots of sources that will tell you to get this and that, and maybe to upgrade a myriad of things that feels totally strange to you. Most of these upgrades and purchases, if not all, will probably be necessary eventually down the road, and if you have the extra cash to spend on it, more power to you. However, if you are anything like me, you don't want to blow more money than you need to, and in the beginning there has to be some investments made. This is after all a business endeavor you are starting up. The investments could come at advisable times though, differentiate between things you want, and things you need. In essence, what you want is to get the maximum Return on Investment (ROI) on your purchases.

2. Backup all your work/information/stuff...
A good habit to learn is to make consecutive backups of all your work to an external source such as disc, floppy, thumb drive....the choices are many. It is a fact that any storage device will eventually brake down and the information on it will be lost, and in knowing that we should determine the best cause of action to prevent that we loose our vital information. I recommend getting a thumb drive with enough space for all your work (homepages, articles...you name it..). Why a thumb drive you might ask, well, these small little devices can be inserted into any computer with a USB port. So all in all this will provide you with a guarantee that all your hard work won’t disappear into thin air because of a computer failure.

3. Reinvest
This step is to determine how to use the income wisely once you start receiving them. First I must congratulate you for getting as far as you have since you are reading this step, and if you are not there yet, don’t worry, you can read this for future reference. The first thing that comes to mind when receiving your first check might be "lets go spend it!!!". This course of action, however enjoyable, might not be fully advisable. I suggest taking at least 50% of your income and reinvesting it into your online marketing campaign, even if one comes to a point where the business is self sustaining, it would still benefit from more power to increase its marketing efforts. In essence the more hay you give your cash cow the more milk it will produce, and thus it will be profitable and very advisable to follow this course of action.

4. Networking
Once again it is time to emphasize on the power of networking and why you should continue to pursue it. Through networking, opportunities, ideas, tips and tricks about the business can be obtained, and down the road even well profitable joint ventures could be established which would benefit all parties involved in it. Networking involves everything which has to do with communicating with other parties, be it talking to a friend, a mentor, or just simply posting on a message board. The ways are many and the future opportunities are infinite.

For information on how you can start making money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info.

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing Success?

These kinds of questions play around in the minds of new affiliate marketers who want to make big money in this business.

If you are a newbie to affiliate marketing then I would like to tell you some of the essential tools that are needed for the success with affiliate marketing.

Although affiliate marketing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make money online, it is not as easy as it seems. The wise affiliate marketer first of all plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the ability to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing venture. Some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business  have been consulted and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.

# Your Own Website

You must have your own website. Most people use the free domains to save money. But, if you are taking up affiliate marketing as your business then why you not invest money and buy domain name? You can have your own domain name for as little as $1.19 for the first 12 months

# Quality Content

The content  on your website should be informative and interesting. This will keep traffic flowing to your site and will  increase the number of customers clicking on your affiliate links and purchassing your products ad will click on the links given in your website. If you post articles then make it good quality wise because people love articles that are appealing and helpful. Quality content will not only impress your visitors but will also help you get higher organic (free) search engine rankings.

# Incentives

Give out some incentives to your visitors like shareware software, music, e-books, etc. so that they visit your website often and tell others about your website. Offer a newsletter and tell them about your new products and services.

# Link Popularity

Traffic is the only source of income and there is no substitute of it. Link popularity is the only way of getting free traffic to your site. Try to build more and more links. A few ways of achieving link popularity are:

- Forum Posting

- Articles writing.

- Commenting etc.

These were some of the tools for the success of affiliate programs. You can always include new ideas and strategies as you learn them.

That's all for now be sure to check back often for more tips on how you can make money online and visit my website www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info.

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

Are you looking to make money online? A simple plan for your home based endeavor is a necessity.

In part one and two of this three part series we discussed the importance of anyone wanting to make money online needing to develop a plan for their success, writing down their goals and making the numbers work. In other words a simple road map to get from point A to point B and some of the things to consider before beginning the journey. In this final installment we will discuss creating a plan of action.

Now it’s time to create your plan of action. This will be the base or legs for your online money making plan! By following specific outlined steps and utilizing the information from the first two articles, you can now build an action plan to use for your home based career. A step by step action plan includes a specific time line for accomplishing your goals and should be established.

Define your niche market by focusing on your value. You need to focus on what makes your home based business unique. What value do you offer that no one else does? Indeed, what separates you from the masses?

Develop your marketing plan. Even if you already have one, utilize your niche market to create a targeted plan. The more defined your plan the faster your work from home business will prosper and produce the extra income you desire.

Detail your budget. Review the business expenses discussed in part two of this series. Remember all internet expenses for an internet home based business, mileage, office supplies etcetera. Decide if any changes need to be made and form a complete and thorough budget. 

So what about those goals we discussed in part two. Your goals, short, medium and long term should be on paper. Now they need to be monitored and adjusted on a regular basis. Review and adjust your goals as you achieve them and be willing to challenge the goals you’ve placed before yourself. Create new goals to strive for and increase the extra money from your work at home business. Always THINK BIG, be in charge and above all expect to succeed.

By utilizing the above steps, you will find yourself in a far better position to realize your dreams. A plan itself does not promise success for your home based business, but when combined with your commitment to reach your goals, it will. Move forward, don’t become stagnant and if you feel that happening to you go back and review your action plan. Recharge your original excitement for making money online and continue to focus on success both small and large. A plan is merely a map to help you realize your goals, the action needed to achieve them is inside you. You only put your plan on paper so that you won’t lose your way along the road to success.

For more information on how you can make money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

Millions of people have jumped into affiliate marketing as a means to make money online. Many times, you can set up an affiliate marketing campaign for free online. However, to be truly successful, you will have to create your own website and that means using a reputable internet webhosting business.

Before getting any further about how to start an affiliate marketing campaign, do you have any idea what it is? It is a method where established successful businesses online allows you to earn money on a commission basis through the sale of their products on your own website. You have to set up your website and advertise their merchandise through a variety of marketing efforts. In return, you can earn a percentage of each sale that spawned through your website link.

It sounds like you are doing a lot of work for free and creating more revenue for an online business. While that is true, you are also reaping the rewards from that increased revenue. Remember, you are earning a commission on every sale instigated from your website. What is so great about affiliate marketing is that practically anyone who can turn on a computer and take an online internet cruise through the World Wide Web can do it.

If you become an affiliate, you will not have to supply customer or technical support nor will you have to worry about shipping because no inventory is ever handled by you. This scenario sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? The only thing you have to focus on is promoting your affiliate marketing website online.

Perhaps one of the great things about your online affiliate marketing campaign is that is becomes automatic. Except for some routine network maintenance, you can expect to earn money free and clear. Twenty-four hours in a day, seven days a week and three hundred sixty five days of the year …. That is how often you could potentially earn money. And if you go on a little vacation? No problem! Once you set up your affiliate marketing website online, there is little to do, so you will be relatively footloose and fancy-free.

Many affiliate marketing programs online are free to join and some will even train you in advertising and promotions. In addition, there are no rules that say you have to stick with one online affiliate marketing program. You can run several of these marketing campaigns simultaneously because they are low maintenance and you can earn multiple streams of income. You are not limited to only one kind of product either. You can choose from a variety of free online affiliate programs.

Now that you have an idea of what affiliate marketing is and would like to try this free way of making money online, you have several items to consider and think through. First, what type of affiliate marketing programs will you participate in? There are thousands of options available to you. Think of some things you are interested in, whether it be cooking, reading or other stuff. Then find some free affiliate programs that cater to that particular interest. It doesn’t hurt to enjoy the subject matter!

Next in your quest to make money online is your website. If you are comfortable with the html language and can build your own web pages quite easily, then do so. Otherwise, there are a few terrific online affiliate marketing companies that will handle all that technological mumbo jumbo for you.

For your affiliate marketing website online, don’t just post the referral links to the affiliate websites. You will not get any search engine hits that way. You want web traffic to your website. To achieve this goal, incorporate content articles that are appropriate to the theme of the affiliate marketing links. In addition, there are quite a few free website content sites which might have articles that are handy to your online affiliate website.

The only way for your affiliate marketing campaign to work is to drive visitors to your website. There are a variety of ways to accomplish that goal. First, offering a free newsletter or free eBook or ezine and signing up people is one way you can target a certain clientele. With subscribers, you have a built-in mode of advertising. In addition, you can try a free link exchange or an advertising campaign using Google AdWords.

Other ways to increase your website traffic and thus increase the possibility of revenue through affiliate marketing is writing reviews of the very products you are touting as an affiliate. Providing free unbiased opinions of the products not only helps consumers make their purchasing decisions, but it also boosts the likelihood that consumers will click on your affiliate links to make a purchase.

Free is a favorite word for many people. Offering something for nothing is another common practice that works great with affiliate marketing programs. Think about it: you have a visitor who is already halfway vested in your website. After all, they found you! To keep them coming back for more and clicking your affiliate links, offer a free ezine or eBook download. Another idea is creating a free email course. Through this method, you and your affiliate marketing website are brought to their attention each and every time you show up in their inbox.

Because affiliate programs are a dime a dozen these days, you have to really be selective in what you choose. Chances are that thousands of others have also signed up as an affiliate with the same business. That is why it is important to incorporate some of the helpful hints listed in the above paragraphs as well as sign on with more than one affiliate. This will increase your chances of earning revenue.

There are more issues to deal with in regards to affiliate marketing. However, these are just a few of the basics to get you started on your road to revenue. Before jumping in with both feet, be sure and do your research. Due diligence is the key to a successful affiliate marketing campaign.

For more information on you you can make money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

Are you looking to make money online? A simple plan for your home based endeavor is a necessity.

In part 1 of this three part series we discussed the importance of anyone wanting to succeed at making money online needing to develop a plan for their success.

In other words a simple road map to get from point A to point B and some of the things to consider before beginning the journey. In this installment we will discuss putting your short term goals in writing and making the numbers work.

What does it mean to have a short term goal? A short term goal can be a very simple thing or it can be this great overwhelming shadow that follows you everywhere you go. Let me illustrate:

GOAL 1)

Your first goal this very morning was to have a great cup of coffee. Simple, achievable and very satisfying in the end.

GOAL 2)
On the other hand your next goal was to make five million dollars online by the end of the day. Almost impossible, unless you win the lottery and not achievable for most. Really not very satisfying when you don’t achieve it.

You get the picture.

Short term goals need to be above all written and achievable. The great American author Henry David Thoreau said it very well: “If one advances confidently in the direction of their goals and endeavors to live the life that they have imagined, they’ll meet with success unexpected in common hours.” Set your short term goals at achievable levels and when you are about to reach them you can always rethink them and raise the bar. With short term goals that are unrealistic we set ourselves up for failure in any endeavor.

Now is the time to review the numbers to reach your goals. Are you trying to secure some extra income for a vacation or a new car? Are you trying to develop a home based business so that you can retire in leisure? Whatever the scenario, it’s all about the bottom line. Even the best money making endeavor needs to work out a comprehensive list of expense numbers.

Always consider your current expenses as well as your planned expenses. Be very exacting as you develop your list. You should include everything from your internet service for an internet home based business, to office supplies, mileage and the list goes on and on. Remember to always take into consideration areas that may not come up immediately.

Don’t forget to set your income goal. Decide how much extra money you want to earn from home and again, Go For It! and THINK BIG!

In part 3 we will put the plan into action so you can be making that extra income you desire from the comfort of your own home.

Make sure to watch for it.

For more information on how you can make money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info.

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me

Are you looking for a road map to success? A simple plan for your endeavor is a necessity.

The great educator, Booker T. Washington, said “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, but as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” To be successful in any endeavor we need a simple business plan or a road map to get us from point A to point B.

If anyone wants to get the most from any opportunity to make money online it would be wise to develop a plan for success. When done correctly, not only will your plan show you where to go, but the process of putting together your business plan is sure to open your eyes to problems and solutions not previously considered. The journey will have more of a direct route without as many roadblocks or detours discovered along the way. In turn making it a much more enjoyable trip to your final destination, success.

Before you develop your road map or plan, you may have to figure a few things out - not only about making money online, but about yourself. Some of the areas you may want to focus on are:

Who Are You? What is your purpose in wanting to make money online? What are your core values? Will they play a part in your success? What are you looking to achieve: Extra Income, Time Freedom, and Social Freedom? Purpose and value are two building blocks in the foundation of any worthwhile opportunity.

Some things to consider:

A) Take a long hard look at where you currently are. Are you happy? Are you just getting by? Where do I want to get to? What do I desire to change about my present situation and how much time do I need to do it? How much extra income do I need? You get the idea…

B) Scrutinize your personal and business values. Which ones do you consider important? Decide which you desire to bring to the forefront and actualize by taking advantage of the opportunities to make money online. Ask yourself, "Do I want do get rich or just earn extra money?"

C) Combine your past business experience with the present and decide what your goals are for the future. "Do I really want to make money online?" "Do I want a system that requires that I talk to people (online and/or by phone) and build mutually beneficial relationships or a more hands off fully automated system?" "Do I want to learn and do both?"

At any rate, THINK BIG, and go for the gusto! Make sure to write everything down as it will help you down the road. In part 2 we will look at putting your goals in writing and making the numbers work.

Make sure to watch for it…

For more information on how you can make money online visit my site www.ijnmarketingsolutions.info

To Your Success,

William B. Iverson III

Contact Me