Earlier this week I was on Kevin Price’s CBS Radio Show called the Price Of Business. You can grab the mp3 of the segment here.

Kevin has talked to me about being a regular contributor on his Price Of Business show so keep an eye out you might hear more

From Jeremy:  I am excited to have William contributing to ShoeMoney.com. William Rothbard was an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, holding positions as an advertising enforcement attorney, Deputy Assistant Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Attorney-Advisor to FTC Chairman Michael Pertschuk.  Bill has practiced law continuously since 1984, except for a two-year appointment as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights, in 1987-88.  Bill writes a excellent blog with the latest news here.

Pay Phony Product Reviewers First, Then Pay FTC Later

Advertisers now can know with confidence there is a costly toll to pay to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for using online product “reviews” by affiliates that pretend to be independent but aren’t. In a March 2011 settlement in In re Legacy Learning Systems Inc., the FTC – for the first time – imposed financial penalties on an alleged violator of provisions of its Revised Endorsement Guides that were added in 2009 to address testimonial practices in online marketing. It also ordered the institution of a tough affiliate monitoring and disciplinary program that’s a precedent for the type of compliance measures the FTC expects online marketers to take to ensure product reviews are for real and don’t mislead consumers.

Legacy Learning Systems sold a home guitar instruction program through “Review Ad” affiliates it recruited and paid to promote its courses through endorsements in articles, blog posts and other online editorial material. The FTC claimed the reviews violated the Endorsement Guides because they falsely posed as the opinions of ordinary consumers or “independent” reviewers and did not disclose at all, or clearly enough, that affiliates made money on sales.

As an example, one review said: “Read my Independent Review and Discover the Truth of Learn & Master Guitar Now.” Another said it was “The Independent Reviews Site…Learn and Master Guitar emerged from our test as the King of ‘learn guitar at home’ courses.” The FTC also alleged that Legacy Learning Systems failed to enforce affiliate contracts that required them to comply with FTC disclosure guidelines.

To settle, Legacy Learning Systems agreed to pay $250,000 and implement a rigorous affiliate compliance monitoring and zero-tolerance disciplinary system requiring it to:

• Monitor and submit monthly reports to the FTC about its top 50 money-making affiliates and ensure they are disclosing they’re paid for sales and are not misrepresenting themselves as independent users or ordinary consumers
• Monitor and submit monthly reports on a random sampling of another 50 affiliates to ensure they also disclose the financial connection and don’t misrepresent who they are
• Immediately terminate and stop payment to any non-complying affiliate

The mechanism of a regular FTC reporting requirement should be plenty of stick to make sure the company meets its settlement obligations to monitor affiliates and swiftly can those who don’t tow the line. If it doesn’t, it could find itself in contempt and facing even greater sanctions.

Other online sellers who sponsor product reviews won’t be under such a microscope, but should still heed Legacy Learning Systems as a signal the FTC is conducting its own “affiliate monitoring” program to enforce the Endorsement Guides against phony reviews – and will make marketers who pay for them without consumers’ knowledge pay the FTC as well.

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In the mid-2000’s, I was killing it, and literally making millions per year as an affiliate marketer. I was generating real estate leads, and from the incredible climbing traffic on my websites, I felt with certainty that America was in a housing bubble. I wanted to sell my company while I could. The problem is I had no idea how to do that. Eventually the housing bubble popped and you can guess the rest of the story.

Yesterday my wife and I went to go see The Green Lantern.  Green Lantern was always my favorite super hero. I never read the comic books but I watched the Justice League of America religiously… So I didn’t really know the backstory. All I knew is he could make his ring form anything he wanted in front of him.

Why would you want to be any other superhero limited in powers…. Green Lantern can make a gun or maybe even a superman or money or a hot chick whatever limitless. Green Lantern rules.

What I didn’t know about Green Lantern is that his ring gets its juice from other peoples will. In this movie he goes up against a monster that gets his power from other peoples fear and kills them.

I don’t want to ruin the movie so I will stop there.

I could not help but think about how everyone I know that is successful has an iron will and while they like to always challenge themselves with new things, they are fearless.

Willpower is an amazingly powerful thing.  Some people could determine my willpower as cockyness.  I just know I will always figure out a way to win.

I am not afraid to stick my pecker out.

Maybe because I have hit rock bottom before in my life that I know that even in lives worst moments I have and can find a way to survive.

Wills can be broken though.

This industry is filled with broken wills.

I think there are several reasons for this:

• People follow exactly what others are doing – Exhibit A:  John Chow’s I make money by telling people how to make money online. Have you seen any make money online blogs from people who actually don’t make money?  Yea… When was the last time they were updated?  5 posts in a year?  No posts in years? Broken will.
• People try to get started but give up very easily – Someone just bought the latest “Overnight Riches” info product and when it didn’t plant a money tree in their back yard.  Now don’t get me wrong I have met a LOT of people at events who purchased a $97 ebook (I have spent probably 50k on info products myself) but the one who really dedicate themselves to it are few and far between.  Broken wills.
• People find something hot… then it dies – In 2004 a passion project working in my spare time out of my house turned into a multimillion dollar company.  I literally tripped over a rock and fell into a hole filled with money.  All thanks to a phone call from a Google AdSense rep telling me I should place AdSense on my site.   But I never believed it was going to last and quickly leveraged it to the next thing.  Now 6 years later I have several companies.  But a lot of people will blow all there cash on hookers, blow, cars, etc…  Then they don’t know what to do.   Will is broken.

There is probably a ton more reasons peoples will to make money on the internet gets broken.

The sad thing is what become of these people.  Most of them become HATEFUL at people who are successful.  Show me the biggest haters on the internet and I will show you a guy who either tried and failed or was successful and eventually failed.

Lots of times broken wills = hate for those who do have the will power.

Just like with Green Lantern who had the will to win many other Green Lanterns had failed because they lacked the will and succumed to fear.

Hows your will?

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