How To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing

Task Three: Legal Documents and Affiliate Marketing

Notice: this is NOT legal advice. It is just a list of documents that professional marketers use to conduct their business. Seek legal advice from an attorney.

Every affiliate marketer is required to use some legal documents to run his business. Without these documents you may lose everything. Just a single complaint from your customer can shut down your business.

Here is the list of legal documents that you must have to protect your business and yourself.

1. Privacy Policy

This is the document that describes how you are collecting and using your visitors information. It should clearly indicate that you will not use your visitors’ information for any other purposes other than those stated in your program and that you will not share their personal information with anyone.

2. Terms of Use & Disclaimer

This document limits your responsibility to your website users. It usually contains use of site, licenses, limitation of liability, miscellaneous items, etc. For example, if you have a website where people are allowed to post their views about some products, then you may want to mention that these views are just the opinions of the visitors and are not the thoughts of the site owner.

3. Affiliate Agreement

This form is needed if you are running an affiliate program. It is used to set the terms and conditions that must be followed by your affiliates. Affiliates are then required to observe these rules while they advertise your products. Affiliates will be required to sign this agreement before starting working with you. You can freeze their commissions or cancel their membership if they are not following this agreement.

4. No-Spam Agreement

Spamming is an activity where you send email messages to a person who has not allowed you to do so. Posting your ads in the newsgroups and forums where such activity is not allowed is also called spamming. Likewise posting your ads in the chat rooms and message boards it is spam.

In a no-spam agreement, it is stated that you have an anti-spam policy. It is also stated that you will not send any unsolicited emails to advertise your programs, services or products without the permission of user.

5. Copyright Notice

Copyright notice is to protect your website content and graphics. It tells the visitors how they can use this content. If you don’t want to share your website content, you should indicate it in copyright notices. Without this notice, people may steal your website content and graphics. If someone wants to use your content or graphics then he is required to get your permission to do so. If you want to allow people to use your website information, then you should mention clearly in the copyright notice which content, graphics or product is free to use and for which purpose.

6. Earnings Disclaimer

Before starting your online business, make sure that your business is protected by using the above mentioned documents.

If you are selling an information package or running an affiliate program then you need this document. Without this document your business may be shut down by FTC.