Disclaimers for businesses with an online presence - what they are and why you need them
Do you have an affiliate relationship where you promote someone else’s products or services?
Does your website offer an eBook or some type of downloadable?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, it may come as a surprise to you that you should have disclaimers for these arrangements, products and services as well as a disclaimer for your website itself.
Not sure why? This article outlines the reasons why you can only benefit from having a disclaimer on your website, an affiliate disclaimer for affiliate links and a disclaimer for your eBook or free downloadable.
Our disclaimer templates are ready for you to customise:
Disclaimers for websites
Every website needs to have a terms of use and in those terms (or in addition to those terms) there should be a disclaimer about the content on your website. Why? Well, this disclaimer covers you if, for example, a visitor to your website reads something like a blog or watches a video on your website and then acts on your suggestions in that blog or video, but with an unfavourable outcome. That website visitor cannot claim that you should be liable to them for their unfortunate outcome. In other words, it protects you and your business.
If you’re unsure whether you have the right disclaimers on your website currently, you might like to check out my Website Terms of Use and Privacy Policy bundle.
What many of us don’t realise is, there are other types of disclaimers you will also need if your website has downloadables or affiliate links.
Disclaimers for affiliate links
An affiliate relationship is where you get a fee or commission for the endorsement or inferred endorsement of a product or service.
You may become an affiliate for a product or service, such as a software product, by sharing an specifically assigned link on your blog, website or social media. Or you could even send the link directly to your clients recommending a certain product or service.
Usually you’ll get a unique code or ID that your clients or followers can use to receive a discount on their purchase. Affiliate links are very common with software products and software as a service (SAAS). It is a similar relationship that businesses have with influencers and it can be a lucrative form of income for you
So while affiliate relationships sound great in theory, and there is nothing wrong with them legally, it is important that you disclose them to your audience or customer base . There are legal reasons why you have to disclose information which is covered by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA). The AANA Code of Ethics (Code) is a self-regulated system applying to all advertisers and sets a standard for advertising on any medium. Which, of course, includes social media or personal websites.The code requires that all advertising should be clearly distinguishable. Which means that as an influencer or an affiliate, any commercial relationships you have should be prominent and visible.
This is why we often see hashtags saying #sponsored #spon or #ad. But, if you write a blog post with a link through to an affiliate, I suggest that you also have a disclosure statement on the page to state that the links you have provided are affiliate links and that you’ll be paid a commission if the reader is to make a purchase.
You need to be transparent with your audience when you are an affiliate. In my view the best way to do this is to tackle the topic head on by saying that you will only recommend products that you have used, are aligned with and that you believe in.
To make things easy for you and to ensure you’re properly covered, take a look at my Affiliate Disclaimer Template.
Disclaimers for downloadables
An eBook disclaimer is a paragraph or a statement you place at the front of your eBook or other digital downloadable document to help you limit any claims or liabilities after you publish an eBook or release a resource to your customer or client base. The same applies for any other lead magnets like checklists, videos or any other downloadable. It should typically include a disclaimer that the advice given is not specific to the reader/ consumer, that there is no client relationship and no guarantee of success should the reader follow any suggestions given in the downloadable.
The reason for this to protect you as the person or business publishing the downloadable. Something to think about, now it is so easy to publish something, all you need to do is make it into a PDF and put it online.
Once you put that content out to the world, you need to protect yourself. This is particularly relevant to you if you give advice for services-based businesses, health and wellness, coaching, financial, legal, marketing or accounting where you might share tips. If people follow your tips but don’t get results, you want to make sure they can’t claim against you.
For example, imagine you write a blog on online marketing. You have people read the blog and follow the hot 5 tips you give them but some don’t get extra sales. Or maybe you have written a recipe book and offered some recipes for download as a taster of what is to come, but one of the people who download it doesn’t lose weight?
Your website terms may protect people browsing your website, but an ebook or downloadable is something people get from your website and take away with them in digital format, so it needs to have its own protection as it has become separated from your website and may be handed on by the person who downloads it to other people, third parties who never visited your website in the first place.
Think about publishing a book. Disclaimers are a necessary part of that process. Whether your book was to be fiction or an allegory, you should always protect yourself by having a disclaimer that states the book is not based on any person in particular. Because if you use examples of people, you are at risk of defamation claims. The same thing goes for ebooks and other downloadables.
Having disclaimers will also protect you if you make misleading or deceptive claims that you weren’t aware of. It also highlights to the reader that the eBook or downloadable is just a taste of what you offer. If they want to work with you as a client, then they’ll need to book in or sign up for your paid program or services.
How can I get my online business disclaimers sorted?
While to some people eBook and downloadable disclaimers may seem irrelevant, it’s not an expensive process. We have individual templates for a very low cost that can ensure you are protected.
Related article: Keeping it confidential: When to use a non-disclosure agreement
Getting disclaimers for your online business isn’t as daunting or as expensive as you may think. In fact, there are several ways to go about it. If you are ready to get expert advice on how to ensure you have the right disclaimers, you can book an obligation free chat here. Or you can send me an email at hello@theremoteexpert.com to enquire further. Or check out the templates available on the website.