“Blogging is just a hobby right? Maybe not so much. The content marketing industry is projected to be worth $400 billion by the end of 2020. There is one blog for every three people in the world. Blogging is a business venture like any other, and therefore subject to formalities and laws like traditional businesses. Here are 3 common mistakes I see bloggers make and what you can do to avoid them…
MISTAKE #1: NOT USING REQUIRED AD DISCLOSURES
If you were given money for a product or were given a product for free in exchange for an endorsement the Federal Trade Commission requires you to disclose it. These disclaimers need to be “clear and conspicuous,” for example in the first few lines of an Instagram post before the “more” button or within the blog post itself (i.e. not just buried in your terms and conditions). Furthermore, your endorsements have to reflect your actual opinions and experiences with the product. You can read more about FTC affiliate/endorsement disclaimers HERE:
MISTAKE #2 NOT HAVING TERMS AND CONDITIONS/PRIVACY POLICY/ APPROPRIATE DISCLAIMERS
When I started my blog back in 2014 I didn’t have a Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy because it felt overwhelming to draft one (and I’m a lawyer). I get that it is something a lot of creatives put off because they don’t know where to begin, but the truth is these documents are so important to protect you from liability. If you have a website you need a Website Terms of Use, which is your contract with visitors of your site. It tells users how they can behave, what kind of comments they can post, and limits your liability. You also need a Privacy Policy, which tells your website, visitors, how their personal data is being stored and shared. You’re legally required to have one if you’re reaching anyone in the EU or California and if you run Google or Facebook ads, or use Google Analytics.
MISTAKE #3 RELYING ON BRAND CONTRACTS AND GIVING TOO MUCH AWAY
Brands often have the upper hand in the brand-influencer relationship due to their resources and legal teams. As a result, Influencers are often presented with contracts that have very unbalanced terms. For instance, these contracts could provide that the Brand is going to own all of the Influencer-created content during the brand campaign forever. That means the picture you have promoting the brand could end up on that brand’s billboard 10 years from now, and you wouldn’t get any extra $ (unless it was provided for in your contract). The solution? If you’re an influencer/blogger you can negotiate things like giving away your intellectual property rights and exclusivity requirements by asking for more $.