Blog Post Policy

Opinions

If you publish a blog or post to a blog and it has something to do with work we offer, use a disclaimer such as this:

The opinions on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent NETFLY’s positions, strategies or opinions.

Copyright Infringement

You should NEVER copy anyone’s writing or any work without seeking permission or giving proper credit to the author.

Never steal or copy someone’s blog posts, images or anything else that does not belong to you unless you want to be sued for copyright infringement and face severe legal consequences.

What should you do when someone copies your work?

You should follow these two steps:

Once you are sure there’s a copyright infringement, send a ticket to

@Haleema Umair⁠

, who will notify the

@Austin Irabor⁠

to initiate a cease and desist letter or email to the infringer demanding that your copyright work is removed.

If after sending the cease and desist letter, your copyright work is not removed then you may be instructed to send a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown notice to the infringer’s Internet hosting company, search engines, etc.

Blogging About Other Companies - Promoting Other Services

You should only present other companies as potential vendors for our clients if we are in direct partnership with those companies.

Always check with

@Haleema Umair⁠

to ensure that your draft will meet this guideline. We should never promote or help our competitors, and maintain strict controls on promoting partners.

Talking About other Companies’ shortcomings

Never Defame, Badmouth, or Slander another Company

As bloggers, you have to be careful about what you write about others. One of the laws you should know about is called defamation.

Defamation is when you publish a false statement about someone that harms that person’s reputation.

There are two types of defamation –

1) Slander – this is the oral form of defaming someone such as through podcasts, audiobooks, videos, etc

2) Libel – this is the written form of defaming someone such as through your blog posts, written comments, etc

For example, let’s say you publish a false statement about your competitor that affects his or her business’s integrity, credibility, credit or solvency. You could be sued for defamation now!

Read

this recent case⁠

of a blogger being sued for more than $15,000 defamation damages in Florida!

The takeaway is what you publish must be a false statement for it to defame someone.

Sponsors, Affiliates, and Partners

Many bloggers confuse a disclaimer with a disclosure. They both are different. A disclaimer, as explained above, is where you “deny” legal liability for the content you publish on your blog.

But a disclosure on your blog is where you reveal your affiliate relationships, sponsorships, and any other endorsements, so your readers can make well-informed decisions.

The FTC protects consumer rights and to ensure transparency, honesty and prevent misleading advertising, they require you to disclose your affiliate relationships for the products you recommend as well as any other sponsorships and endorsements.

Most bloggers are affiliates for other people’s products. This is pretty common because we all have used other people’s products that we love and recommend.

As an affiliate, you earn a commission and receive compensation if someone makes a purchase from your affiliate link.

But you must disclose to your readers that you have financial relationships with third-party companies in which as an affiliate, you will gain financial rewards, commissions or other incentives if someone makes a purchase from your affiliate link.

An affiliate disclosure must be:

Clearly and conspicuously placed

Must be located close to your affiliate link

Not buried in graphics, text or other items

Must be clear and understandable for your readers

Similarly, if you publish sponsored posts on your blog then you need to disclose those as well following the same rules above. Otherwise you and the sponsored company both risk getting fined by the FTC.

Always remember to disclose the incentives you receive for publishing something, whether that’s monetary compensation or free products. This will not only ensure fair ethical business practices but also keep you away from lawsuits.

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