It’s finally here! Not the holiday season, although that’s here too, but the new FTC regulations governing endorsements, testimonials and affiliate promotions.  The 81 page document and the much shorter press release from October 5, 2009 have been the topic of much conversation, blogging, tweeting, teleseminar-ing, webinar-ing, and even an info-product from info-industry titan Joel Comm (Disclosure Statement: I’m an affiliate for Joel’s product).

This blog will not rehash the information that you can and (hopefully) have reviewed as the regs officially take effect Tuesday, although I’m sharing some links and resources for you if you at the end of this post that I found very informative. Instead, I’d like invite a discussion on the opportunity these regulations bring for an “integrity check” on our own business practices.

In the wild, wild west that is internet based direct marketing there are a lot, a whole lot, of unscrupulous marketers willing to do or say pretty much anything to get people to type their magic 16 digit number into the space provided. It’s unlikely that either you or I have ever engaged in that type of low-life marketing.  It’s also unlikely that the FTC is going to pay our marketing practices much attention, at least in the short term.  However, it is still a darn good idea both practically (they could be watching “little” guys like us) and energetically to get into alignment with both the letter and the spirit of the new regulations.

The letter of the regulations is complex and as of now at least, no one really knows exactly what you need to do/not do beginning December 1.  The spirit of the regulations, on the other hand, is simple: tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when communicating about your products and services.

Here’s why I believe a stark naked with the over head light on integrity check is due for all businesses:

1) Energetically, a lie is a lie. There is no difference between a big lie and a little one.  A lie is a lie.  A fudge is a lie. An exaggeration is a lie.  Failure to disclose is a lie – but there is an increasingly fine line between full disclosure and TMI.   That’s why the inner integrity check is essential.   You will feel it if there is something in your marketing that is not congruent with truth.  It will either feel “ew”, “not right” or the ego will rationalize a subtle arrogance, “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”  That’s the pleasure center of the lower self in action.  Lying is energetically quite sticky.  The more we lie, the easier it gets and the more we rely on it to get our needs met.  Besides, we all know what happened to Pinocchio. There’s just no hiding it!

2) It’s lack consciousness. A business  based on the principals of abundance cannot be lead with lack goggles on.  The willingness to be anything less than authentic and honest with people is rooted in lack consciousness. We secretly fear we are not enough, we will be discovered as frauds and soon bit by bit our communication becomes more staged and contrived.  It’s a slippery slope with nothing good at the bottom.

3) It’s not sustainable. Being out of integrity even in a small way undermines the foundation of “know, like and trust” essential to strong, sustained growth especially during times of economic stress.  Your audience “feels” you and if they feel something is off, they will take no action on your offers or move on altogether.  While it is unlikely that those of us who define ourselves as conscious entrepreneurs would intentionally create a strategy for quick cash at the expense of reputation, it is always fascinating to observe who we become during times of stress such as a cash flow crisis?  Make or break situations are going to happen in business, and are guaranteed to bring up the not-so-pretty “stuff” that lives deep inside.

4) You can’t take it with you. I’ll risk going a little woo woo here, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that we are in a major shift like we have never experienced before.  Evidence of the shift is everywhere including and perhaps especially in the financial markets.  This shift is an up leveling of the consciousness of all humans, and the tolerance of the Universe for the “old” ways of doing things is going to become, I believe, extremely slim.   It is time to shed the baggage of who we are not, stand tall and “walk our talk”!

My belief is that the more in alignment you are with the natural integrity of your soul, the more successful your business will be.  Successful financially and successful in it’s mission to make a positive impact on the world community. An experience of success well worth the discomfort that comes from a thorough self examination and the minimal time and effort required to make the adjustments in your marketing to get fully compliant with the new regulations.

A few links on the subject that are well worth your time:

http://www.AskJamesHolmes.com/FTCRulesExplained – get a pen and paper out for this  information packed, not-to-be-missed 75 minutes with the guy who probably knows more than the rest of us about this hot topic, Mr. Kevin Houchin, Esq.

http://www.michelfortin.com/disclosure-policy/ – great ideas to model when developing your own disclosure policy and language.

http://www.copyblogger.com/affiliate-marketing-disclosure/ – great article as it demonstrates how the sweetness of integrity plus a twist of perspective makes some really good lemonade.

Mary Kay Morgan is founder of AffiliateWealthPartners.com the only affiliate and joint venture resource exclusively serving the needs of the conscious business community.  Sign up now for our FREE membership into our Affiliate Community and gain access to our library of affiliate tutorials and to our approved list of high integrity, proven affiliate opportunities.

We all know and hopefully do our best to practice The Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It is simple even for the youngest child to understand, and when followed, creates a special kind of lubricant that allows relationships to flow easily with minimal grinding.

What happens however when in our minds this Golden Rule goes something like this: “Do unto others only if they do unto you as you would expect them to do based on all the doing you have already done for them.” <Insert crossed arms and defiant posture here.>    And before you begin thinking that this could not possibly be you, think again because this is the not so golden attitude I hear on a regular basis from disgruntled business owners who genuinely believe they have given more than they have received in their affiliate and joint venture relationships.

These business owners genuinely feel entitled to the promotional support of those they have promoted previously. Perhaps you would agree – after all, if you mailed for me, shouldn’t I mail for you?  Maybe. Maybe not.  There is more to consider and that is why I have established the 4 Golden Rules of Affiliate and Joint Venture Relationships:

Golden Rule #1: Say “yes” to mailing for a friend, colleague, or new business associate when and only when your “yes” can be unconditional. An unconditional “yes” reflects your belief that the product or service you are being asked to promote is rock solid and in alignment with the purpose and mission of your business.  You are excited to be a part of the promotion and you WANT your list to have access to it.  The only reason to say “yes” to promoting is you believe the product to be highly valuable and in service to your peeps.

Golden Rule #2: Respect the “no”. In order to receive the kind of big “YES” that will provide your campaign with the enthusiastic boost that will significantly up levels sales, you must be respectful when someone says,”no”.  No one owes you promotional support – not your good friend with the big list, not your coach, and not the business you mailed for so enthusiastically last month.  The reason for the “no” is none of your business and it likely has nothing to do with you or your product.  Accept it with an open heart knowing the “no” to be in your best interest and move on to the next potential partner.

Golden Rule #3: Know the difference between an “affiliate” relationship and a “joint venture”. Put simply, in an affiliate relationship there is no obligation for the  affiliate to do anything for the business.  If the affiliate chooses to promote and their promotion results in a sale, the business sends the affiliate a check.  Happy end of story.  Anything over and above a simple affiliate relationship, including reciprocal mailings, moves the relationship into joint venture territory (stay tuned for much more on joint ventures in future posts).   Which brings us to Golden Rule #4

Golden Rule #4: Never assume! I’m going to say that one more time: NEVER ASSUME.  It seems so simple yet over and over the conversations I hear behind the scenes where an business owner is peeved because so and so did not reciprocate could have been avoid if the parties involved had treated their business relationships as business relationships instead of star struck new lovers.  You honor your friendship and your business when you communicate appropriately to the situation and then put that communication in writing.

How does this look in action?  Consider:  if you agree to promote for a colleague (see Rule #1), and you choose to ask them to promote for you (see Rule #2 and Rule #3), and both parties say “YES!”, there must be absolute clarity on what each party will do.  Mail to their list 3 times in February for your Live Event Launch? Put it in writing.  Host a call with you to their list in December?  Put it in writing.   Put every detail including number of mailings for each party, dates and other seemingly minor details (Will you tweet for each other? How frequently?) put all these seemingly obvious, even “silly” details in writing (Rule #4), in an agreement, and have each party sign it.

If you adopt and follow these 4 Golden Rules, I can promise a significant improvement in your results both subjection (like how I feel about my relationship with Sue) and objective (how many sales Sue referred in my last launch).   It can also go a long way towards keeping your business legal fees to a bare minimum – and THAT is a good thing.

Mary Kay Morgan is founder of AffiliateWealthPartners.com the only affiliate and joint venture resource exclusively serving the needs of the conscious business community.  Sign up now for our FREE membership into our Affiliate Community and gain access to our library of affiliate tutorials and to our approved list of high integrity, proven affiliate opportunities.

My sister has an amazing sense of style and with almost no effort can toss a few pieces together, add an accessory and wind up looking straight off the pages of a fashion magazine. I’ve been out with her when she is really dressed to the nines and overheard people trying to figure out “who” she is; what television show she’s on or what movie she’s acted in.  My sister knows how to express herself to get positive results.

Since we are pretty close to the same size there is a great temptation to borrow outfits from her in an attempt of getting the same or at least a similar result, but guess what? Her clothes don’t work for me the way they work for her. Same clothes, similar bodies but vastly different results.

Why? Because my sister’s clothes are not me. They don’t match my unique style, my personal energy or the way I move and express myself. Instead of fabulous and amazing, I look unnatural, contrived and phony.  I look like I’m trying too hard.  I look like I’m wearing my sister’s clothes!

The moral of the story:  authenticity of expression (think marketing) is the key to positive results (think conversions), every time!

What does this have to do with affiliate marketing? A lot actually. Consider that one of the most common ways an affiliate promotes a product or service is by sending an email to their list. Perhaps you have sent one of these pre-written emails, and I’m pretty sure that you’ve received them.  This morning in fact I got one that was a real stand out and the inspiration for this article. The email stood out because I know the sender personally, and I also know the company behind the product.  Both parties are solid citizens with the best interests of their customers at heart, but the combination was off – way off!

The email was written in a strongly masculine voice and the sender was a woman.  To make matters worse, the email was written in first person so there was immediate loss of authenticity and with it credibility – kind of like the results I might get if I wore my brother’s clothes to a meeting!   The effect was so awkward that not only did I not click through to learn more about the offer, but if I hadn’t known the sender, I might have left her list for good.

This lose/lose scenario could have been easily avoided had the sender spent just a few minutes softening the language to better match her authentic personality.

Another case of an affiliate email disaster showed up in my in box several months ago and in this case, I did get off the person’s list.  Like the first example, I knew the sender and I knew the company behind the launch and it’s products have a good reputation.  While the first email was simply a problem of a mismatch of voice, in this case sending the email as written resulted in a full blown lie on the part of the sender!  Do not let this happen to you!  If there is anything in an email that is not true for you then by all means, take it out!

So before you hit “send” on any affiliate email, pause.  Take an extra moment to match the style of the communication to your authentic self.  Change or eliminate anything that is not true for you, and for best results accessorize the email with a “P.S.” that includes something you know or have experienced personally about the product or the person behind it.   If you are serious about being an effective and successful affiliate, taking the time to dress your email for success is a something you will want to be sure to do.

Mary Kay Morgan is founder of AffiliateWealthPartners.com the only affiliate and joint venture resource exclusively serving the needs of the conscious business community.  Sign up now for our FREE membership into our Affiliate Community and gain access to our library of affiliate tutorials and to our approved list of high integrity, proven affiliate opportunities.