The only good thing out of this is less over hyped sales pages, less scammers, and less competition(I’m not sure if that’s a good thing though)

All the best,

Jeff Bode

Had never thought about that as a fact – yep and they’ll be lots of them policing an ever growing global sea of affiliate marketers. Pretty depressing when you consider what some of the so-called regulated and un-regulated financial sectors have done to the world economy.

Hey ho – that’s life, live learn and evolve.

Timely post! We’re all concerned about losing opportunity in our marketplace. But this isn’t about the government or bureaucrats, it’s about big businesss — big business that buys K Street lobbyiests. The governement doesn’t really have a dog in this fight; they don’t do marketing. The only role the government is supposed to play is advocacy for the consumer and in that they are to set up “fair and workable” rules. Big business on the other hand has plenty to lose when any of us has success. We are in direct competition in marketplaces that are already mature. They have large legal staffs that carefully posture their mass market advertisements. The finger prints of big business lobbying the FTC are all over these new rules. Big Business doesn’t have to use testimonials, they have already established brands in thier marketplaces that don’t require them to do anything more than hammer home thier messages with repetitive advertisemenst that either humor us or appeal to our sense of envy. Small business has to find traction in these same marketplaces, which of course large business doesn’t like. If you’ve read your Schumpeter, you know all about how small business eventuall inovate large businesses out of their market place control. So the real question here is which lobbyiests were involved and which large companies are paying for those lobbyiests? Remember, we are the enemy in every marketplace that we enter. We are at the cutting edge of new technology and thusly the rabble that big business would like to illiminate in order to protect their marketplace.

And I also agree with Vijay (Post #17) from a purely logical point of view. Though an honest and well respected marketer is more likely to produce or recommend a good product rather than a bad one, that in itself says nothing at all about the offered product’s suiability to any given buyer’s situation. Even the best executed product offered by the most scrupulous marketer can still fail to meet the actual needs of a particular customer who carefully follows the accompanying directions and makes every effort to use it properly. (Thus, a strong guarantee far outweighs the testimony of “character witnesses.”)

So, we still have to warn even the 6% who actually “open the box” as Michael Craig (Post #35) mentions. (The other 94% certainly should be warned, of course — but will they bother to read and truly understand the warning, no matter how well it is worded, wherever it is placed, and however large the font used to display it? Clearly, we cannot control that factor.)

The only real defense, then, is to comply with these new FTC rules (however flawed) while concentrating on delivering as much quality and value to the customer as possible relative to what we are asking in payment for our offering. In short, follow Frank Kern, Craig Garber, and others wise enough to put value first. That this principle works for them is quite evident in their success.

Then, as Jason suggests, be sure your customer service matches that high standard. If you cheerfully enough refund those who ask, they still might buy something else from you later. (You can always eventually ban the few habitual refunders, as such thieves are not your market.)

The point is that no two people are the same (are facing truly identical circumstances with truly identical skills, strength, resolve, intellect, knowledge, perseverance, prior constraints, etc.). So, it matters not at all that X number of people reported good (or even bad) results, since you as a unique individual may well do far worse (or far better). In short, “social proof” is neither scientific proof nor logical proof — indeed is not “proof” at all, since it ignores myriad variables that could affect the outcome.

Virtually all failure occurs because some critical element is missing, and the probability of such a missing piece is far greater than the likelihood that every single necessary factor will be present — just because of the sheer number of variables involved. On the other hand, virtually all success occurs in those relatively few cases where all the key elements really do happen to coincide. That’s why the poor will always outnumber the rich, and very few of us will end up revered worldwide by future generations of strangers, as are, for example, Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin (of course not intended as an exhaustive list).

While the new rules may seem to be “punishing” internet marketers, they are really intended to warn against (accidentally or otherwise) misleading the less educated and less mindful website visitors who, though it may well be their own fault, will fail and later cry “Foul!” In that sense, the new rules protect both marketers and those who buy their wares.

Modifying marketing behavior, as so well suggested in your post, Jason, certainly would be prudent, then.

2. Beneath the surface, however, there is something else afoot here — namely, just one more in a series of seemingly unimportant “baby steps” towards abridgement of free speech and press, fundamental freedoms set forth in the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution. Notice that the new rules are very specific in what they are banning (and what the penalties may be), yet completely (and likely deliberately) vague about how “typical” is to be defined and measured — because, of course, it simply cannot be measured in any practical way.

Here we have one more example of an already bloated and financially overextended government trying to make itself look needed by meddling in commerce under the guise of “protecting” the populace from evil marketers trying to sell them solutions to problems for which they’ve been asking (even begging) for help.

And why are so many (particularly American) people too dumb to separate hype from fact in total ignorance of “caveat emptor” (”let the buyer beware”)? Just look at what our government-run schools have become over the last few decades. Specifically, look at how our “history” books have degenerated into (increasingly socialist) opinion rather than documented fact, and how we are graduating wave after wave of students who couldn’t make change if the cash register at the convenience store where they work failed, and who can’t turn out anything with fully correct spelling — even with a spell-checker in operation — because no one knows how or even cares to proofread anymore — not even people with advanced college degrees who are writing papers in their professional fields.

Now, for those of you who think this is just an American problem, consider this. Who sets the standard when the once-revered standard setter ceases to do so? If freedom of speech is lost in the U.S., supposedly the strongest nation in the world, do you really believe it will not start slipping away where you are too (if it hasn’t already)?

Then ask yourself, what kind of human progress is possible where free communication — and ultimately thought itself — is curtailed? Is that the world you want for your children and theirs?

So, putting this (admitted rant) together with Jason’s well-considered new business strategy, do one more prudent thing: Don’t be the frog in the gradually heating pan until you’re scalded to death. Keep a watchful eye on your freedoms, lest your internet marketing career and all that you hope goes with it slowly slip out from under your feet until you have nowhere to stand.

As far as our “smart’ government is concerned, i’m with Doug & Ron. The FDA, FTC, IRS, so on & so on…they will always do their best to take as much as they can from us “little’ folks so they can fund their own interests like the war and oil. Oops..did i say Oil? God knows ThAT’s Not why we’re STILL in IRAQ & Afghanistan. Are we still looking for WMD?

I think that this FTC ruling is covering up whats going on somewhere in our wonderfully run government. Take the focus off themselves, ya’ know. Any Government agency, despite trying to do what THEY think is right, will ALWAYS screw things up 10fold.

One of the reasons so many people have the “welfare’ mindset, is because we see our government, with all the polies having the money, screwing over anyone they want, whenever they want. Seeing this for one’s lifetime, can only set in our mind that we don’t ever want to be like them. Therefore, we don’t want all that money and power. It’s looked upon as evil. TV shows are just as responsible for this also.
Ultimately, we are responsible for ourselves..but only once we come to realize and accept that we are responsible for ourselves.

Anyone coming to the US to better their lives..think long and hard….
anything you make legally, our government will find a way to take as much of it as they can.

Thank you..
I’m done..
enjoy your weekend!