The new FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials and how they affect bloggers and marketers has been a brewing story since late Summer 09′. Frankly, after doing an interview on the subject in August my “BS antenna” have been up at attention awaiting the Marketplace Molesters to use this to drain money out of your pockets with promises of protection.

With the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) new guidelines going into effect on December 1, 2009, scam artists, Internet marketers and even some attorneys are trying to sell bloggers, affiliate marketers and website owners like you products and services that could actually get you into MORE trouble with the FTC.

Whether these people are honestly trying to help, or knowingly are misleading you and millions of others in the hope of short-term profits — it doesn’t really matter. The facts of the FTC guides are what matter.

Although I’m not an attorney (nor do I play one on TV or sing like one in the shower) this thorough overview of the new FTC Guidelines on endorsements and testimonials will help you understand what your new responsibilities and potential liabilities are.

The marketing approaches you use, the products you produce or promote, and your own business structure are unique.  You need to be armed with the facts so you can make the best decision and take the action that’s right for you.

The new FTC guidelines on endorsements & testimonials: the facts you need to know

Watch this video to learn what’s new, what some of your new responsibilities are, and what you can do to actually use the new FTC guidelines to gain an advantage over your competitors.

Straight from the horses mouth . . .

As I shared in the video above, there are several things you can do to protect yourself short of hiring an attorney to draft custom disclaimers for you to use on your site and documents to use with your affiliates. The best thing beign reviewing the new FTC guidelines yourself.

Download the new FTC guide on endorsements and testimonials here

Videos from the FTC that answer some of the top questions online marketers have

Why new guidelines now?

What do the new FTC guidelines mean for bloggers?

How do bloggers follow the new FTC guidelines on endorsements & testimonials?

Does the FTC intend to chase down & sue bloggers?

Additional legal reviews on the new FTC guidelines for your reference

• New FTC Blog Guidelines affect companies without blogs

• “New Media” Provisions of Revised FTC Endorsement and Testimonial Guides

• FTC Rolls Out New Guidelines for Endorsements and Testimonials

What’s your take?

• So what do you think about the new FTC guidelines on endorsements and testimonials? Fair? Unfair?

• Is this just another instance of the government sticking it’s nose into the private sector trying to exert control over New Media?

• Are most consumers adults capable of making their own decisions? Or do most people REALLY need to be treated like children being warned about every little thing?

• What are you going to do to protect yourself against the finger-pointing of consumers and the wrath of the FTC?

Talk back and share your psychological graffiti in a comment below.

Want to dominate your niche and look like you’re the only game in town? Building your New Media Marketing Wheel is the way to do it.

In this video training you’ll learn how to overcome the five common challenges stopping most entrepreneurs from ever generating a fraction of the leads they could online. And you’ll learn the what, why AND how of growing your business in today’s New Media marketplace.

Imagine showing up in the search engines so prominently that you look like the only doctor, attorney, gym or health food store in your town. Wouldn’t it be great to be positioned as the leading fitness trainer, Realtor, roofing contractor or consultant in your niche or geographic area? Wouldn’t you be happy to find a continuous flow of new qualified leads coming in to your voicemail and email when you walk into your office each day?

Here’s how you can make it happen . . .

The New Media Marketing Wheel

Download the New Media Marketing Wheel PDF

*NOTE: this is a large image-heavy PDF so please be patient as it loads. It may take up to a minute depending on your internet connection speed.

What’s your take-away?

After watching the video training and taking notes, what’s your take-away?

• What part of the New Media Marketing wheel do you like the most?

• With what you learned, what’s been missing in the marketing of your business online up until now?

• What are you going to do to immediately get you New Media Marketing wheel rolling for you?

Talk back below in a comment and share your thoughts.

We’re back with the final part of last week’s webinar.  If you’re new to the QuanSite system, be sure to join us this evening at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT for our new member orientation webinar.  iDeborah will be on hand to give you a technical “how to” overview of the QuanSite system and answer your questions about the basic features within the QuanSite system.  You can register for the webinar by visiting: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/664269371

Getting Started With QuanSite Part IV

In Part IV of the webinar, we discuss:

• How to write an engaging blog
• Integrating your QuanSite with 1ShoppingCart or Paypal
• Promoting affiliate products using QuanSite
• How offline business owners, doctors, lawyers and other professionals can use QuanSite
• The QuanSite AMP’d program
• How to choose a good domain name

Here’s another segment from the strategic webinar held last week with Coach Deb & JP Micek.  If you missed Part I, you can catch the replay at http://www.quansite.net/blog/webinar-getstarted1/.  Part II is at http://www.quansite.net/blog/webinar-getstarted2/.

Getting Started With QuanSite Part III

In Part III of the webinar, we’ll discuss:

• the difference between a squeeze page and a hub site
• using video and the OTO (one-time-offer) feature on the home page
• split testing with Google analytics and a new feature coming soon to QuanSite

We’re back with another segment from the marathon strategic member training session hosted by Coach Deb and JP Micek last week.  If you missed Part I, you can find it at http://www.quansite.net/blog/webinar-getstarted1/ The previous session dealt with setting up your QuanSite, how a QuanSite differs from a static site and using your QuanSite to promote a book.

Getting Started with QuanSite Part II:

In Part II of the webinar training, you’ll discover:

• How many sites you should be building at the same time
• What’s the quickest way to familiarize yourself with QuanSite
• Strategies for setting up a capture page and ethical bribe

We held a special training call this week geared specifically towards all our new members and answering their questions about how to get started on the QuanSite System. We know it can be a little intimidating when you try to familiarize yourself with a new software platform. That’s why we want to make sure you feel confident and supported over the coming weeks as you set up your site. Tonight’s call gave you a taste of some of the additional perks you receive as a member of the QuanSite Family: direct access to Coach Deb and JP Micek on these calls.

If you’re new to both, Coach Deb is known for being on the bleeding edge of social media, particularly Twitter. As a frequent speaker on the seminar circuit, Coach Deb has access to the brightest strategists in other niches and always comes home with golden nuggets to share. Not only that, she’s also a great motivation coach and can help motivate you into action, FAST!

JP Micek’s primary coaching focus, on the other hand, is the theory and strategy of building your business. As a serial entrepreneur, he knows the challenges that beginning entrepreneurs face and helps create the systems to support them. JP is also the lead strategist behind the QuanSite system and leads the development team that works to ensure your QuanSite System remains on the cutting edge of New Media technologies.

Now both Coach Deb and JP regularly lead calls on their own that run an hour or longer so is it any surprise that when we put the two of them together, the call runs two hours? Don’t worry, we’ve cut it down into manageable pieces and will release only one video per post.  The first video post is just under 30 minutes.  Enjoy

Getting Started with QuanSite Part I:

In Part I of the webinar training, you’ll discover:

• How to set up your QuanSite
• How QuanSite Differs from a Static Site
• Using QuanSite to Promote Your Book

We’ve had a few questions on the Support Desk recently about integrating your Hub Site with a mailing list service like aWeber so we put together a special training webinar that walks you step-by-step through the process for including your opt-in code on your Hub Site home page and blog sidebar as well as using aWeber’s blog broadcast feature.

aWeber Integration Part I: Creating an Opt-in Form and Adding It To Your Hubsite

aWeber Integration Part II: Setting Up aWeber Blog Broadcast to Automate Your eZine Publication

One of the most powerful features of your QuanSite is the built in one-time-offer (OTO) feature. In this week’s LIVE member training we covered the OTO feature in depth and discussed how to use the OTO feature on your home page, landing pages and thank you page.

One-Time Offer Strategies

QuanSite is a complete New Media Marketing system. Standing at the center of the 5 channels of New Media, your QuanSite is a complete site-building system that makes it easy for you to have a google optimized blog, an attractive SEO optimized home page and unlimited landing pages, focus pages and salespages – all in one!

In this week’s LIVE member training, you’ll learn the differences between blog posts, blog pages and marketing pro pages and see examples of the type of content to put on each page.

Blog Posts, Blog Pages & Marketing Pro Pages

Note: The first few minutes of the video is audio only. You will see a black screen until JP starts speaking.

Member Q&A

Timothy Carter was in the hot seat recently at our LIVE Quan$ite Webinar.  Watch, listen and learn as JP Micek critiques Timothy’s Hub Site.  The strategies shared, especially the tips and pointers JP shares on how to maximize your affiliate promotions, apply to all Quan$ite members.

Hot Seat Critique Part I

JP discusses the Google sandbox, page rank, the visual hot spot for your subscription form.

Hot Seat Critique Part II

Strategies for your subscription form, the importance of contact information in your footer and some tips for video on the about page.

Hot Seat Critique Part III

The importance of developing a strong personal brand and affiliate marketing tips