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Have you made some “resolutions” for your business? I’m hearing from many fellow bookkeepers who are determined to grow their business in 2012. How about you?

What does that really mean in practical terms though?

The economy is still a bit choppy, and times are changing. But our prospects are VERY bright, especially for those who are moving more toward working with clients on a virtual basis. That is, working from your own office and communicating primarily through the Internet and telephone.

Here’s why.

In a recent, informal survey conducted by FreshBooks (an up-and-coming simple, online bookkeeping software program for service-based businesses) small businesses are turning to technology to boost productivity and flexibility. With that, there will also be a shortage of technical help. And finally, relationships (including those through social media) will be more important than ever for small business success.

Why are these three points significant?

First, it means more and more small businesses are getting comfortable using the Internet to run their daily operations. They need the efficiency of online technology to trim costs and maximize value. This including handling their financial recordkeeping.

That’s great news for us!

If you have been working with your clients by going to their location, you know how time consuming that is and inefficient. You cannot charge full price for your travel time (if you charge for it at all). There are usually interruptions and distractions while working in your client’s office, and you are not available to your other clients, or worse yet, not free to answer calls adequately for potential new clients who want to contact you.

If you’ve already been working with some clients on a virtual basis, the trend toward more online technology and efficiency, as well as mobile team mindset, is fantastic. This is what many of us have been promoting for years. Until now, clients have often been resistant to using online technology to handle their financial records. But that is changing rapidly. Because of the convenience, speed and cost savings, many more potential clients are open to working on a virtual basis to get their bookkeeping handled.

It’s important to note, however, that as the way we work with our clients changes, nurturing relationships are more important than ever for both getting new clients and for holding onto your existing clients. Open and frequent communication is a must to succeed this year! Therefore, building trust and maintaining a strong, positive connection with each of your clients is going to be super important for your business success.

When working virtually, this may take some extra, proactive effort on your part. But in my own experience, creating opportunities to occasionally meet in person with your clients, whether they are local or cross country, goes a long way toward building rock-solid client loyalty.

SIDE NOTE: If many of your clients are long distance, you should have a recent photo of yourself prominently available on your website. Your clients will look at your picture often when they are not able to meet with you face to face.

But there was one other finding in the FreshBooks survey that reveals a HUGE opportunity for us. If you really want to set yourself apart from the vast majority of other freelance bookkeepers. This is REALLY important to success in a tough economy.

Small businesses are in a pinch because they may have discounted their prices to attract new customers. They will find it difficult to raise their prices, even as the economy improves. That’s because people have come to expect lower prices than before the economy went South.

How is this an opportunity for freelance bookkeepers?

As I’ve often mentioned when talking about marketing your services, you need to know where your clients and potential clients are feeling “pain.” That’s because we all gladly spend money on solutions that relieve pain because that equates to high value for us.

So the question is, if small business owners are feeling pain from tight cash flow, do you have solutions that you can share with them to help relieve that pain? Can you explain to a prospective client how to use his financial reports to identify where he can improve cash flow? If you can, you will definitely get his attention and easily justify the cost of your bookkeeping services.

As an example, showing them how to use their financial reports to identify expenses that can be trimmed, as well as what’s working best on the sales side can have a huge impact on their cash flow very quickly. You just need to spend a few minutes helping your clients understand what their financial reports mean in practical terms. And of course, to have financial reports that provide this kind of information, they need to keep their bookkeeping up to date and accurate!

Do you think your clients will value your services if you show them the information they need to run their business more efficiently and increase cash flow?

You will be worth your weight in gold because rarely do bookkeepers or accountants take the time to REALLY help clients in this way. (And the clients who don’t see the value in this kind of service won’t be “qualified” clients for you – so this works as a filter for finding and keeping high quality clients too!)

This year, 2012, is ripe for showing clients how you can help their business succeed – and you will likely find that your business will grow and prosper like never before as a result!

So do we have reason to be excited about what 2012 has to offer us?

You bet! Not only is the trend toward virtual services accelerating, but you are in the perfect position to provide your current and potential clients exactly what they want and need most.

If you’ve been looking for ways to take your freelance bookkeeping business online, work virtually, and set yourself apart from the competition, you’ll want to check into the audio book, “Virtual Bookkeeping Secrets: 7 Steps to Taking Your Bookkeeping Service Business Online”

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Have you started working with your clients on a virtual basis yet?

Please comment and share your thoughts and experiences below.

Technology? The economy? Where are we headed in 2012 and beyond?

Little over a week ago I attended one of the bookkeeping industry’s most well-known events – the Sleeter Conference (aka The Sleeter Group Accounting Solutions Conference) and the message throughout most of the training sessions was very clear:

Desktop accounting is on the road to becoming obsolete!

There’s no question about it. More and more businesses are headed online, especially with the rapid development of mobile applications, the power of “smart phones” and how they now can integrate into popular business software – including (but clearly not limited to) QuickBooks.

The accessibility and sharing of electronic data to conduct business–anywhere anytime–is driving the move toward a truly paperless (and mobile) office with (nearly) zero data entry.

Does that scare you? How much of the services you offer consist mainly of data entry?

The future of bookkeepers will be more focused on managing data flow, not data entry.

Another BIG reason businesses are rapidly embracing the move to the clouds is all team members can instantly collaborate in real time without version problems – think about the hassles we so often must wrestle when coordinating backups, accountant’s copy, etc. Problem solved.

Of course, this means as freelance bookkeepers, our role is changing. Those who are paying attention will seize the opportunities that are emerging and start moving  toward becoming a trusted business adviser now, who cannot be replaced by automation!

I’ve seen the opportunities coming for awhile. And it will only grow now as your clients start to upgrade their business technology. And by the way, this is GREAT news since consultants and advisers generally charge higher fees than bookkeepers.

In using multiple applications to run their business, clients will be best served by using a dashboard approach to instantly get a sense of what’s going on within their business. We’ve also seen this trend in the most recent versions of QuickBooks. Intuit realizes clients want tools to USE their financial information to grow more lean, profitable businesses. (Starting with QuickBooks 2009 they created the Company Snapshot feature)

But QuickBooks and even QuickBooks Online Edition had better watch it’s back!

New cloud-based bookkeeping software is also taking root and we need to pay attention. That’s especially so if you focus on small service-based businesses. A few that I’ll be watching and learning more about for my own business are:

- FreshBooks
- Wave Accounting
- Xero

These are FREE online bookkeeping programs (to start) that small businesses can grow with, are easy, and automatically tap into live banking data to nearly eliminate data entry altogether. FreshBooks even ties into QuickBooks.

But the biggest obstacle on the road of transition to the clouds is the human factor – the learning curve is not so easy to climb for everyone.

In truth, not all clients will embrace the new technology quickly. In fact, some people will downright refuse and resist the changes that are already upon us. While the shift to online is gaining rapid momentum, as Doug Sleeter said regarding the slow or non-adopters, “Some of these people just have to die!” (That was my favorite quote! LOL! )

Side Note: If you are one who resists change, don’t despair. There is a sparkle of sunshine here. You can choose to serve the clients who want to keep doing their bookkeeping the way they’ve always done it. But just realize that this market will continue to shrink (and their business profits will likely slip as well). But they will appreciate you for not forcing them to go online.

For those who welcome the online upgrades, you are positioning yourself and your business to prosper going forward! The highest fees will go to those who step up to lead their clients.

A sobering question: Do you serve your clients, or lead them?

Leaders always get paid more. Your clients will look to you to lead their business into the new way of using online technology to grow profitability. (And younger clients are already there waiting for you.)

Your role will be to…

1. Cobble together the technology that works together effectively for your clients
2. Step into the role of business consultant and mentor

In Summary:

• The speed of online technology is increasing rapidly
• Clients will need your help to upgrade their workflow and efficiency (motivated by the desire to increase profitability) using the new (inexpensive) cloud-based tools

What we need to do now:

• Educate ourselves on what’s now available and emerging
• Use the new online products ourselves
• Learn new skills, including how to build dashboards for clients to manage business more profitably
• Move from the role of bookkeeper to indispensable consultant

As a first step, I’ve created a sort of Virtual Bookkeeper boot camp to get up to speed quickly on the basics called, “The Insider’s Guide to Your Own Virtual Bookkeeping Business.” This program will grow and expand as new tools and technology emerge.

We are entering a new online era. We can’t stop where the future is taking us. But we can position ourselves (and our clients) to use the new technology to prosper. It will be a dynamic process.

So, how do you plan to face new online technology and trends during the coming year?

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There’s something I’ve been wanting to alert you to for quite some time. And today, I just had to say it.

“There’s a myth that so many freelance bookkeepers believe that I want to dispel right now.

And that is, if you have more and more credentials, and more and more education, that you will automatically attract more and more clients.

This is simply not true!

But it is commonly believed in the accounting field.

In fact, at a high level seminar I attended a few years ago, I heard the keynote speaker say that if you get more education, more credentials, you will grow your business.

What?

That’s just not true.

What we need to do is communicate the skills that we have because clients will not come to us unless they know that we exist.

Now, it is true if you provide high quality services that your existing clients might talk to other clients and then you might get referrals. That can happen, and does happen often.

But to effectively growing your business, more important than the number of letters after your name, is your marketing ability. You need to have good marketing in order to attract the kind of clients that need the skills that you have.

So, marketing and education are two vital tools to grow your business. But you need to focus more on marketing, especially in the beginning.

So now you know the truth.”

If you’ve already got the bookkeeping skills you need, but have been struggling to find more clients, then it’s time to learn how to improve your marketing communication skills. That’s the kind of education that can REALLY grow your freelance bookkeeping business.

My Freelance Bookkeeper Marketing webinar is popular, because many have said that they just don’t know where to start when it comes to marketing.

But I’d be interested to hear what you seasoned bookkeepers have been doing and what YOUR best sources for learning how to market your services has been.

Please share your experiences in the comments below!

Technology is changing WHAT we do for our clients, along with HOW we do it.

If you are working with your clients virtually… or headed in that direction, your role is in the process of some major changes.

A large part of the bookkeeping role has been to do “intelligent” data entry so that financial records are accurate. But with the improvements in electronic information processing, much of this is being done by computer programs via the web instead.

Think about how banking transactions can be downloaded directly into QuickBooks Online. Or services like ShoeBoxed can scan paper receipts and categorize expenses for you. Even Bill.com has a feature where they will seamlessly get your faxed or emailed vendor bills entered into QuickBooks for you.

And finally, there are new programs emerging that bring all the financial data together, using the Internet, to feed into the bookkeeping records automatically… from banks, vendors and client sales, using online accounting programs like Xero.com.

What does this mean?

Entering data into bookkeeping software is something that will eventually be nearly eliminated (or at least greatly reduced). Does that mean the role of the bookkeeper will also be eliminated?

No. But WHAT we actually do for our clients… and the value we provide… is starting to shift dramatically. We are moving from entering financial information efficiently and intelligently to get it into the bookkeeping records to managing the financial data flow and interpretation of it. We are facing a unique opportunity to assist our clients with getting the real VALUE from what their financial information means for their business. This prepares them for more productive meetings with their accountants for tax and business planning.

In other words, we are growing into the role of assistant / consultant with our clients to help them get the BENEFIT of their financial information for managing business. This is MUCH more valuable than simply doing the clerical work of keeping records updated after the fact so taxes can be filed. Our services are becoming more present and future focused.

and THAT is a VERY good thing for both you and your clients… if you’re willing to step up into this revised role. Of course, with a promotion to higher value for clients comes higher fees, too. It will likely also mean the TYPE of clients you serve will begin to change (improve), too.

So what do these changes mean for you right now?

Be aware that they are coming, and they are taking hold rapidly. You need to pay attention to how your existing clients are reacting to and embracing new mobile / online technology. You also need to choose the changes that you want to support for the future of your own business and the services you provide.

Of course, there will be some clients (and bookkeepers) who will dig in their heels, resist change altogether, and want to keep handling their financial records the same way they always have. If you are one of them, there will continue to be that “old fashioned” business owner who will still need your help… for a while. But know that those clients will be left behind in their market and eventually struggle, and possibly go out of business. How long that will take remains to be seen.

Small businesses are changing HOW they operate because of the major advancements in mobile and online technology coupled with affordable applications… this includes how they get their bookkeeping done.

So the question is, if these changes are coming – whether we like them or not – what will you do to prepare for it now, and how will it affect the way you provide YOUR bookkeeping services in the near future?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, complaints, excitement, or any other reactions you have to where our services are headed and how it is changing our role as bookkeepers with our clients in the months and years ahead.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below.

Typical Problem: Need to access to your clients’ QuickBooks financial information when you are in your office and they are in theirs.

Assuming they are not using a hosted desktop solution, right now you have several choices, including…

* Remote access
* Using an Accountant’s Copy (you must be using the Accountant’s Edition to access it)
* Using a Portable Company File or Full Backup
* Using QuickBooks Online Edition instead of the desktop versions

Each one of these choices has its limitations.

A better choice may be on the way…

Intuit is working on a new, very cool tool. It’s still in the testing and development stage, but it’s a promising solution – especially for virtual bookkeepers – if it really will work the way it’s being designed to work.

QuickBooks SharedBooks, as they’re calling it now, is an advanced way to share copies of a QuickBooks company file (PC desktop versions) between you and your clients.

It uses a central storage area “in the clouds” to synchronize the client’s company file with a copy of the file that you work on on. There is only one company file, but using the hosted synchronization technology in the clouds, it makes sure both you and your client always have the latest changes. You and your client both have access to the QuickBooks file, but only one of you can work on it at any given moment.

This is similar in concept to remote access, but streamlined because of using a central storage area where both you and your client can “check in” to work on the most up-to-date information. While you cannot work on the file simultaneously, you can “chat” in real time with your client if they are working on the file.

If your client has the QuickBooks file open, but has left their computer, you are not stuck either. You will be able to “force” a safe save-and-close of the customer’s session in order to get access to the QuickBooks file.

Sweet.

Also, the client doesn’t need to leave his / her computer on all the time in order for you to access the company file, and the file is only unavailable when someone is working on it.

The idea is similar to using a hosted desktop, in that you log into the clouds to access the data file. But this solution promises to be streamlined and more cost effective than current hosted desktop services for QuickBooks. You will also be able to use the File Manager program (which comes with Quickbooks Accountant Edition) to see at a glance if your client’s file is available for access.

Right now Intuit is working with Beta testers who are using QuickBooks 2011 Pro and Premier in single user mode. At this stage, it does not support multi-user client setups, Mac, or Enterprise versions. Ultimately, though, the goal is to support multi-user scenarios, as well.

I first got a glimpse of this concept using cloud technology with a third party QuickBooks add-on called Method Integration. It’s main purpose is not for this use, but I tried it on a client project because it used the “cloud” synchronization with the data file still housed on the client’s computer.

The concept was good and almost exactly how SharedBooks promises to work. But Method wasn’t designed for that purpose, it was more expensive than I would have liked for our purposes, and ultimately it didn’t work the way we were trying to use it (nor was it designed to do this).

On the other hand, this is exactly what QuickBooks SharedBooks is designed for! If it comes to market (and there is a HUGE amount of interest in this succeeding), it will be an easy, streamlined solution that promises be both cost-effective and convenient for working with clients, no matter where they are located.

Keep your ears open for further developments on this one. It will be a valued tool to add to your Virtual Bookkeeper’s toolbox.

If you want to hear the gory techie details right from the Intuit product development manager, Howard Shen, listen to the discussion from earlier this month on Radio Free QuickBooks starting at the 52-minute point.

There are actually many more small businesses that need the help of professional bookkeepers than there are bookkeepers to go around!

So why is it so hard to find new clients – especially when starting a freelance bookkeeping service business?

Get the real answer to that question (and many more) on a brand new LIVE webinar designed especially for Freelance Bookkeepers on Wednesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time (6:00 Central, 5:00 Mountain, 4:00 Pacific)

If you’ve been looking for …

* Effective, low and no-cost ways to pull in additional revenue quickly and easily

* A reliable way to get referrals that’s easy and sends you a steady stream of new client inquiries every month

* High quality clients who appreciate your expertise and are glad to pay you what you’re worth

…then you’ll want to join me on this ground-breaking webinar.

“Freelance Bookkeeper Marketing: Proven Strategies for Getting Clients to Come to You”

Get all the details here:

http://thefreelancebookkeeper.com/webinar

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Do you feel like you’re being held back from building your business and your income as quickly as you might want?

Actually, there are several hurdles successful freelance bookkeepers must typically overcome, but most of these obstacles can be traced back to two main areas:

• Not enough clients (or sales)
• Not enough time (or capacity)

One of the most common questions I hear from new and even seasoned self-employed bookkeepers is, “How can I find more clients?”

Why would a freelance bookkeeper lack clients? Every business on the planet needs bookkeeping done, right? And many of them don’t have the time or the expertise in-house to do it themselves. The demand for bookkeepers SHOULD be quite high!

And the truth is – the demand is very high.

Part of the problem is that bookkeepers are not necessarily self-promoters. And unless potential clients know that you exist, they can’t hire you! That’s why marketing your services is so important. But that’s usually not something we relish.

Many seasoned freelance bookkeepers will tell you that clients come naturally from word-of-mouth referrals. And it’s true! It’s because, as we’ve all heard, good help is hard to find… including the finding of a good bookkeeper. If you’re good at what you do, the word will get passed around and new clients will find you.

But there’s a problem. How do you get your first few clients so they can get the referrals rolling?… or what if your referrals have slowed down and you need more clients NOW?

Answer:  You need to market yourself. You need to attract potential clients who are a good fit for the services you have to offer.

Like it or not, the reality is, if you’re running a REAL business – even if it’s a business of one – you will need to do some marketing to stay in control of how many clients you have at any given time and to maintain and grow your cash flow.

There are easy marketing methods, however, that are well suited even for freelance bookkeepers who are shy. (More on that soon)

Lack of Time and Capacity

Why would a freelance bookkeeper lack time?

For the simple reason that when you sell a service, it takes time to get the job done (as opposed to selling a product that is limited only by supply). Your capacity is limited by availability of adequate production time.

Since there is also a level of expertise needed to provide accurate bookkeeping services, your capacity is further limited by the amount of available skill.

Typical Solutions

When availability is the problem, most businesses will seek to hire additional staff.

• SIDE NOTE: By the way, the problem of availability is the very reason your clients hire YOU!

For the freelance bookkeeper, you can choose one of two basic solutions:

1.  Get help – hire staff or subcontract to other freelancers

2.  Become more exclusive or specialize – raising your rates, specializing in a particular area of bookkeeping or specific industry, and turning away potential clients who do not fit your ideal client profile.

One option is not better than the other. Your choice will depend upon the primary goals for your business.

But there are new variations on how you can implement these choices that may have a huge impact on the success and growth of your business.

Technology and New Solutions

The Internet is adding some exciting new twists to conquering the limitations of both attracting new clients and available capacity to get the work done.

In fact, it is actually opening up ways to helps us attract an unlimited number of clients, as well as ways to work far more efficiently!

Building a virtual bookkeeping business – that is, providing your bookkeeping services to clients regardless of location because it is all done through the Internet – is an ideal way to find and service many more clients than those in your local area. (Although you can also work for local clients on a virtual basis)

Because the geographical limitation is removed by working online, you can also have greater access to a virtual staff and/or colleagues with whom you can collaborate to take on more clients than you might otherwise serve offline.

All of this adds up to far greater earning potential.

These developments are very exciting! We are now at an important time period where we can truly be of service to many more clients and quickly grow our own businesses at the same time. There is even more good news about the benefits of adding a virtual bookkeeping component to your business.

So that’s why I’m doing a FREE webinar LIVE on Thursday, October 21 at 8:00 PM (Eastern Time) to share with you what I’ve been doing with my own business, as well as the other “virtual” opportunities that are now available to all of us.

If you could use more clients or are frustrated with not being able to get enough billable work done in a day, then I think you will really find the information in my new webinar invaluable.

Find out more HERE.

How about you? Have you ventured into the world of Virtual Bookkeeping yet?

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That’s the question I’ve been asking.

Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard all the noise about the BIG claims of mega-success by businesses who are using Social Media to promote their businesses. But is it really just that – a lot of NOISE that doesn’t mean a hill of beans in the real world? Or is this an important trend that small business owners need to pay attention to for the sake of their bottom line?

Cut through the hype and find out what the real deal is with social media. Get straight answers from an expert who’s actually doing it and knows first hand whether it’s really just a big waste of time, or if you can truly use it to market your business profitably.

Join me, Gabrielle Fontaine, and my special guest, marketing expert and social media guru, Ely Delaney as we cut through the hype and finally learn…

* How to use social media to build relationships with prospects, customer and referral sources

* How social media is changing the way we do business

* How to easily get up and running on the three biggest and most strategic social media networks

* How to attract quality “friends” and “followers” without getting caught up in the numbers game

* What free automation tools you can use to maximize your reach and save time in the process

* How to avoid getting sucked in to wasting a ton of time keeping up with your social posting

* What NOT to do so you don’t make enemies, or worse, get banned from the social networking sites

* How networking online is not the same as in-person networking

Find out for yourself why such respected business authorities as Inc. Magazine are now saying that Social Media really is worth your time.

Isn’t it time you found out how to put it to work for YOUR business? Now you can, right after you attend this cut-to-the-chase, FREE, get-action webinar.

Join us Thursday, July 8 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time for this LIVE webinar training.

“Social Media” Online Business Networking Basics”

Grab your seat as our free guest right here:

=> Register Here

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An often overlooked way to get your phone ringing with calls from prospective new clients is by making sure you are where they are looking when they need help.

One of the first places people look for help is on the web, using search engines. The most popular ones are Google, Yahoo, and Bing (formerly MSN).

When someone searches for bookkeeping help in your local area, can they find you easily in the search engines? Do you Google yourself from time to time and know what prospective clients see?

A Chance To Be Found More Quickly

I just learned about a special program that Intuit Proline is running, especially focused at QuickBooks ProAdvisors, but even if you are not part of the program, there’s an important tip here for you.

Here’s the scoop.

From now until the end of June, there is a special for all QuickBooks ProAdvisors wherein you can not only connect your ProAdvisor profile (if you’re certified) to a listing in Intuit’s Business Directory, but you can also get their WebListing service for 90 days and then a discounted rate thereafter (only $9.99/mo.)

The listing service helps you with your local listings so that you will come up on the first page when people are searching for QuickBooks services, and it ties to your own website as well as your ProAdvisor profile. So you can really give a lot more good, enticing information to pull in new clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This price is far more effective than paying for a Yellow Pages ad, and it is optimized for your local area!

I’ve signed up for it myself just a few days ago, and I’m already listed #1 in my city (which is a very BIG metropolitan area). Amazing.

If you are a ProAdvisor, you can find the offer after logging into your account, it’s near the bottom of the page.

If you’re not part of the ProAdvisor Program, but have been thinking about it, this would be a good time to join! Here’s why:

You’ll not only be able to get in on this deal, but you can still get certified in QuickBooks 2009 until the end of June, as well as get certified in 2010, and 2011 will be coming out in the Fall. That will qualify you to go for your Advanced Certification.

Talk about the fast track!

And of course, you’ll get the 2010 software now, and the 2011 software when it comes out too. You can’t beat getting all that for a single annual membership. This is the best time of year to join!

Finally, if you’re not quite ready for the ProAdvisor program, and you’re just getting started in your freelance bookkeeping business, you can still get a completely free business profile listing (though it won’t get fed out to all the major search engines, at least not as quickly), but there is still a lot of traffic on the Intuit sites. So you will still get targeted exposure to those who may need your help.

So my best advice is to take advantage of ALL the free profile listings you can on the web (and there are a lot of them!), including this one at the Intuit Business Directory.

You want people in your area to be able to find you in as many places as possible. Even if you don’t have a website yet, you can link your profile to your LinkedIn profile or your Facebook business page.

So those are just some quick tips I thought you could use and get in on while the getting is still good. This is a great way to make your marketing dollars work overtime for your business this summer.

And just in case you’re wondering, no, I’m not an affiliate of the Intuit WebListing service or the ProAdvisor Program and don’t get anything but the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping you fill your business with great clients!

There really are plenty of clients to go around!

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On December 1, 2009, recent changes to the Federal Trade Commission Act affecting online marketing, blogging and advertising will go into effect. The expanded regulations affect every US-based individual and business that sells or recommends products and services on the Internet. So if you have a website for your freelance bookkeeping business (and you should) or post on social media, you need to know about this.

What’s it all about?

“The original FTC act ‘prohibits deceptive and unfair acts or practices in commerce and misleading advertising of drugs, foods, cosmetics, devices and services,’ and these prohibilitions apply online and offline,” explains Richard Cleland, Assistant Director of the FTC Advertising Practices Division in a recent online interview.

The new guidelines expand on how the regulations apply to online marketing. With the ease in posting recommendations for third party products and services, such as using Amazon affiliate links, this change affects nearly everyone who has any kind of commercial dealings on the Web.

In which situations does it apply?

Specifically, the new rules apply to anyone who posts on a blog or website using affiliate links or where customer testimonials are used to sell a product or service. Any kind of reviews or recommendations online where compensation is involved are also included.

The fact that there is compensation involved now must be plainly disclosed. Where testimonials are involved, average customer results must be disclosed. It is no longer adequate to state that “your results may vary,” as has commonly been done by many.

What to do next

Since the new regulations go into effect next week, if you have a website where you use testimonials or affiliate links, you should figure out what needs to be revised on your blog(s) and/or website(s) to bring them into compliance and avoid getting snagged by the authorities. You may also have to change the way you post information with commercial connections on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The rub is, the new guidelins are not especially clear on how they specifically apply to some situations. So the best advice is to check out the information available on the FTC website itself. I’ve also included additional resources below, including an interview just released this week by online business expert, Jim Edwards, and FTC official, Richard Cleland, which includes real life examples of online advertising and how the requirements for disclosure apply.

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Resources

The official FTC guidelines that take effect on December 1st.

Jim Edwards interviews FTC Official for clarification of the new guidelines

Interpretation of FTC guidelines by an Internet lawyer

How to use the new guidelines to your advantage with testimonials