This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer for more info.
Would you practice medicine without indemnity cover? Probably not. It’s for your own protection.
Similarly, if you have a website or blog you want to make sure you have some basic legal documents in place to cover your ASSets.
* I’m a doctor not a lawyer. In addition to the information provided here check what’s allowed by your medical board especially regarding advertising guidelines and testimonials.
No legals will be perfect but like they say in medicine:
Good notes- good defence,
Some notes some defence,
No notes – NO DEFENCE!
1. Affiliate Disclaimer
Some websites (like this one) make money through affiliate commissions. When a reader clicks on a link and makes a purchase, the website owner gets paid a referral commission.
Affiliate link disclosure is mandated by Federal Trade Commission and also applies to sponsorships and endorsements.
Best practice is to ensure that your disclosure is at the top of any blog post with affiliate links. You should also mention if you were paid or received free products to do a review post.
2. Terms of Use
These are the ground rules of your website. It explains to users how they can use your information and helps to protect you if a customer was to take you to court.
It’s also recommended that you reference your terms of use whenever you make a sale or offer a downloadable product.
The components may include:
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Copyright and content ownership
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Educational and informational use of content
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Accuracy of content
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Use of communication services and comments
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Links to third party websites
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Guarantees
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Refund policy
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Limitation of liability
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Indemnification
3. Privacy Policy
This tells your visitors what information you collect and what you do with that information.
This covers your sites use of Google analytics, the Facebook pixel and tracking cookies. It also explains how you protect your readers email address and data.
In addition, on May 25th, 2018 the GDPR was implemented and defines specific requirements for the data protection and privacy of European Union residents.
4. Disclaimer
The disclaimer serves to limit your liability from the information contained in your site.
It tells your readers that you are not giving them professional advice and the content is for educational and informational purposes only.
This is especially relevant if you provide legal, financial or medical information. Readers should be guided to seek professional advice from someone who understands their personal circumstances.
It also covers you for errors that may be contained in your site and discloses your affiliate relationships.
What Are Your Options?
You can choose to:
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Go naked.
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Get a lawyer to write your legals.
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Customise a template.
I chose option 3. The legals I use have come from Bobby Klinck– Harvard Law graduate and online entrepreneur who runs a site called Your Online Genius. He understands that our focus is on building our online presence so he created simple do-it-yourself legal documents that literally took me under an hour to purchase, customise and upload. Yes, I am an affiliate but only because I truly believe that at just $150 his documents give me peace of mind. To get your terms of use, privacy policy and disclaimer today- click here.
If you have guest posts or publish testimonials you should also consider getting these media release documents.
