The FTC Endorsement Guides:  How-to Guide

I’ve had a fair amount of bloggers and vloggers email me or tweet me asking about how to go about complying with FTC’s Endorsement Guides.

The short answer? It’s EASY.

There is a simple guiding principal to the revised guides, and it is this: consumers should know when someone has received a product for free or if they’ve been paid to endorse it/promote it. This isn’t just about bloggers, it extends to street teams (e.g. a vodka company hires college guys to buy their drinks at bars), Facebook, Twitter, blogs, YouTube, what-have-you. The Guides are about increasing transparency in the online sphere.

Here’s what you need to know…

• The guidelines go into effect December 1st, 2009. There is no clear cut answer, that I’ve heard, as to whether this is retroactive or not. Most legal opinions have been that it is likely not retroactive.
• THERE IS NO $11,000 FINE. The FTC has repeatedly stated, since the Guides first were published in early October, that there is no fine. The Guidelines are not legal regulations–they are not law. The FTC does, however, have the ability to seek a court order in order to fine someone.
• Advertisers over bloggers. Again, the FTC has repeatedly stated that they have no intention of going after bloggers for missing a disclosure statement. They are expecting advertisers to educate the people they work with and to be able to prove the claims they make. There are a lot less advertisers than bloggers, which also makes it more realistic for the FTC to deal with. The FTC does not have the money or the manpower to comb the internet for every single blogger and verify whether they’re disclosing this or that.
• Disclose if you are paid. If you’re paid to write something, the Guides say you must state this.
• Disclose if you have received a free service/product. If you’ve been given a free service, product, etc. by the company (e.g. NOT a free sample bag of dog food ’cause you shop at Petsmart all the time) and have a relationship with the company or their affiliate (e.g. PR), the Guides say you must state this.
• Disclose if you are using affiliate links. The FTC hasn’t said much on this matter, and they’ve certainly not been crystal clear on it, either, but a short and sweet disclosure statement about using affiliate links is probably the best course of action.
• You don’t need to disclose if you purchased something. The FTC includes an example of a woman purchasing dog food and reviewing it — and not needing to disclose such.
• Blanket disclosure is not enough. You need to specifically disclose on a per post/page basis if you’ve received compensation or payment-in-kind. You do not have disclose if you purchased something (when you purchase something, in effect, there is nothing to disclose).
• Disclosure should be written for the reader/viewer. There’s no need to use legalese to stress your point. Make it clear, concise, and readable.

The bottom line is: if you make a good faith to comply with the guidelines by disclosing any connections you may have with the product/brand you’re reviewing (payment, sample, etc.), there’s really no reason to be scared or worried. Disclose needn’t be long — “I received this product as a sample from PR” or “This post was sponsored and paid for by X” are to the point and disclose your relationship with the brand.

Don’t be misinformed or uninformed about FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines. Here are some excellent sources for information:

• Blog With Integrity Town Hall Meeting with Mary Engle (FTC Associate Director of Consumer Protection): it’s about an hour long, but it’s really interesting, answers lots of questions — and it’s where I found a lot of information I relayed above.
• FTC Endorsement Guides: Videos: these are short, 1-2 minute videos from the FTC themselves! They’re posted on the FTC.gov website, and they’re frequently asked questions answered by Mary Engle.
• Revised Endorsement & Testimonial Guides: read the text yourself — but if you don’t think you understand it, don’t be afraid to ask questions or Google for answers.
• FTC Guidelines, Bloggers, and Companies: yet another awesome resource that clearly explains expectations regarding the guidelines and doesn’t employ scare tactics.
• FTC isn’t going after bloggers:  PRNewser gets it straight from the FTC

Christine Mielke is the owner and founder of Temptalia.com, a popular beauty blog and resource. This article is thus written primarily from a blogger’s perspective, but Christine is also a regular consumer who reads and trusts various blogs and bloggers for both beauty purchases as well as unrelated purchases so the commentary has some sense of a very blog-savvy consumer.

I would also (since I’m on a writing spree, it would appear) make a quick point about where many blogs diverge from similarities to print media. One of the reasons that there is so much distrust of glossy magazines is because we fear the magazines are getting paid to write good stuff about products.  I don’t work in print media and never have in the past, so I’m not going to address the validity or accuracy of that assumption/fear.  I think there is a very large distinction that holds true for many bloggers, though not at all, that I’d like to bring to your attention.

What is the blogger’s relationship with advertisers?

If a blog runs advertisements (and many do), what relationship does the blogger have with their advertisers?  Print media generally have direct relationships with advertisers, so the relationship is closer, more personal, and the like.  However, many bloggers utilize third-parties to run their advertising, and this includes major advertising networks like BlogAds, Federated, Glam Media, Google AdSense, etc.  Some bloggers (generally bigger and incredibly popular blogs of international acclaim) do sell their ads directly, so they do have direct relationships with advertisers–which is similar to print media.

Speaking from experience (I personally use Glam Media to handle my blog’s advertising), I rarely know what brand is going to advertise on my site in advance.  I don’t know what kind of ad they’re going to put (I just know the sizes), but my role is incredibly minimized.  I see ads like any visitor would – that’s how I tend to find out what brands advertised on my site.  Because I advertise this way, I don’t feel pressure from advertisers.  I don’t have to worry at all about mixing editorial with advertising and juggling those relationships together.

Advertising doesn’t mean a blogger isn’t honest.

Again, it’s all about establishing trust between you and the blogs you read.  If you find them credible, then it’s unlikely that advertising plays a significant role in how they write or how they review products.  This statement just isn’t inherently true.  Advertising is a means for your favorite blogger to make the blog bigger and better for you as a reader.  Earning revenue, whether they want it to be a full-time job or keep it as a hobby, is a good thing and supports your favorite blogger.

For me, earning revenue means that I don’t have to seek out a part-time job and have more time to blog.  It’s about finding what I love to do and working hard to find a way to get paid to do that.  One of my goals in life is to get paid to do what I love, whatever that may be at the time.  That’s such a huge key to happiness, and I continue to work towards making that a reality.

Christine Mielke is the owner and founder of Temptalia.com, a popular beauty blog and resource. This article is thus written primarily from a blogger’s perspective, but Christine is also a regular consumer who reads and trusts various blogs and bloggers for both beauty purchases as well as unrelated purchases so the commentary has some sense of a very blog-savvy consumer.

Next, I want to address some myths about bloggers. Again, these are myths about the general population of bloggers, but they may not hold true for all–qualify the blogs you’re reading and the bloggers you’re believing. I do this in all aspects of my life.  It’s just vital to research and understand what you’re believing and never blindly believe what you’re told.  (Once I establish an expert’s credibility and source of authority, then I believe faster and feel less need to do legwork, which is why we love experts–they save us time!)

Myth #1: Bloggers won’t write anything bad about a product they get for free because they want to keep the freebies coming.

In the three years I’ve been blogging, I have never had a brand cease working with me because of a bad review. I have given some brands multiple bad reviews, but they still work with me–I’d almost say they may even try to work harder to show me that they DO have good products. But here’s a thought – if, at the end of the day, a brand puts out consistently poor products, why would a blogger even care if the freebies kept coming? If it sucks, and it’s not changing, I certainly don’t want to keep wasting my time trying.

My other thought on this issue is – if I purchase a product, but I do have an existing relationship with the brand and/or its PR firm, how does this concern change? That’s because it doesn’t. There is still an ongoing relationship whether you purchase, get samples, or a combination thereof. It doesn’t change that status.

Myth #2: All bloggers get paid (with cash, not product) to review.

From my experience, very few bloggers get paid by the brand to review their products. There are certainly some, and I do think some of it depends on the particular blogging community. Since I am a beauty blogger, I feel comfortable saying that the majority of beauty bloggers aren’t getting money to write a review.

Paid reviews are not necessarily dishonest, either. I will wholeheartedly agree that full disclosure that the blogger has received monetary compensation is absolutely necessary if a blogger chooses to do paid reviews. As a blogger, I’d look at it this way: “I get paid to write what I would write for free anyway.”

My personal choice is not to participate in paid reviews, though I have done paid posts (”sponsored posts”), which I have always indicated as sponsored (I think I’ve done maybe 15 or so out of over 5,000–just to give you an idea). I’m sure some are wondering what kind of post gets paid for that isn’t a review–advertorials, which are ads within a post or the post is purely advertising as written by the brand and nothing by me; product placement or an announcement of a new product/contest; or sometimes it’s a mention to their site within an article you write.

If a blogger discloses they’re getting paid and they seem credible after you’ve qualified their content, that’s enough for me. More power to them for dealing with an otherwise sticky situation!

Myth #3: Bloggers get whatever they want for free.

There are the exceptions to this–very popular bloggers who have established audiences, but the majority of bloggers don’t get to email a PR firm and say, “Please send me one of everything from your brand.” It doesn’t work that way for most. (To be clear, it doesn’t work that way for me.) You may or may not be able to establish a relationship, and you may or may not be able to get a sample. You may struggle to just get information. Some brands only send samples to print media or very established online media. Some brands send samples to everyone.

Myth #4: PR can control what a blogger says.

No, it’s very unlikely. I can’t even imagine the skill and power it would take for PR to truly control the average blogger. The only one who controls what a blogger says is the blogger. Whether a blogger feels compelled to review something positively is actually more in their court and on them than on the PR firm. Most PR firms send products for consideration, which means that a product is sent in hopes the blogger will first try it, and then like it, and finally review it. I think only one PR firm has ever said something like, “If you don’t like it, please don’t review it.” (Subsequently, I had no desire to work with them.)

Myth #5: Bloggers can’t be truthful if they get a product for free.

As a blogger, this myth has always frustrated me, because while I can understand skepticism and concern over honesty, I feel like it’s an assumption that is often made without validation. As I mentioned previously, once there’s a relationship between the blogger and a brand/PR firm, the blogger purchasing the product doesn’t eliminate that relationship. If a blogger is credible, they’re going to be honest.

Most bloggers have built their blogs successfully because of their passion for the subject matter and their honesty/integrity. Very few are interested in risking their reputation and continued success to tell lies about a product.

But there is one instance where this myth may hold more water: when it first starts. I think for some (but not all), the glamour of working with brands/PR and receiving product samples may overwhelm a blogger initially. This newness, this pride and “OMG, they want to work with me!” feelings are all natural and don’t usually last forever. I do not, however, think these bloggers revert to lying to their readers, but they may, at first, be excited and thereby review a product in a better light. I just think this is something that is more prevalent in the first few experiences (and again, not true for all), but it is part of the process.

Brand Concerns:

I’d also like to address one comment I received via Twitter from a company: “As a business owner I am concerned that bloggers are going to reluctant to do reviews because it will become a hassle for them.” I think, like you, bloggers also have some concern over whether PR firms and brands will work with them as they have in the past with the latest regulatory guidelines. At the end of the day, if both brand and blogger understand how each other works and the blogger remains honnest and trustworthy, they’re going to continue to work with you. The FTC guidelines are concerning, but they are not damning, if you have nothing to hide.

Bottom Line: GET TO KNOW THE BLOGS AND BLOGGERS YOU ARE READING.

There are so many amazing writers and websites out there, but there are the occasional bad apples that often spoil it for the rest. Use your best judgment and determine whether to trust a blogger. An honest blogger will be trusted–that’s my optimistic outlook–if you do what you do, as you want to do it, and you’re honest, I think you will prevail. I think readers are becoming more and more savvy, and they’re beginning to understand the complexity (and consequently, appreciate as well) of blogging.

And secondly? Though, the FTC (as of December 1st, 2009) will require bloggers to be a lot more upfront and obvious with their disclosures, always read the fine print! Many blogs and websites have policies linked on their page (often under “About Us” or in the footer–which tends to be an internet standard), but many readers often miss these. Check out your favorite bloggers and see if they have clear, written and public policies on how they run and write their blog.  If they don’t have anything written–why don’t you ask them?  You may be surprised!

Christine Mielke is the owner and founder of Temptalia.com, a popular beauty blog and resource. This article is thus written primarily from a blogger’s perspective, but Christine is also a regular consumer who reads and trusts various blogs and bloggers for both beauty purchases as well as unrelated purchases so the commentary has some sense of a very blog-savvy consumer.

The other night, I was trying to fall asleep, and my mind drifted to what exactly readers are concerned about when a blogger receives free products (”samples”) for review. Since I’m a beauty blogger, I know a great deal about this issue, because there are so many that receive samples, and since most beauty products are to-be-consumed, bloggers rarely are required to return samples they use (there’s nothing left, or better yet, why would you want a used lipgloss back?!).  Nevertheless, I was kind of wondering why or what issues readers may have regarding this situation.

I put out a feeler on Twitter, because it’s so easy to interact and get instant feedback and thoughts.  I’d like to address–from a blogger’s perspective–the concerns some people mentioned, their validity, and how to qualify a blogger.  This editorial will make generalizations about bloggers, because I feel the generalizations I make are true of the majority of bloggers I know and based on my own experience and practices as a blogger for the past three years.  There are bad apples, though, and what I say shouldn’t be immediately applied to any and every blogger without qualification.

The Real Concern is Blogger Honesty

It’s definitely a valid concern, but I think what’s important is that we first recognize readers are smart and can think for themselves–that they’re not susceptible to just anything a blogger says.

• “I think what can tick people off is that they are afraid of getting an untruthful review? Some people think there’s compensation.” — @freyza_
• “As long as the reviewer is honest, then I have no issue with free goods. If the reviewer is just in it for the products? Not cool.” — @hardcorelamb
• “Honesty! Bloggers getting free stuff is great (more reviews for readers) but please be totally honest, insightful, and helpful!” — @loudhearted

The majority of bloggers who are “in it for free stuff” are transparent (even if they think they’re not).  Just like any expert you might look to for advice, it’s important to determine if they’re credible.  If you have never read a blogger’s reviews before, you should read through some.  One fantastic way to find out whether the blogger is credible is reading past reviews.  Look specifically for reviews on products you’ve personally tried, because what they say may align with your own experience.  (Though, if it doesn’t, you shouldn’t automatically assume they’re lying.)  Here are some questions I ask myself when establishing a blogger’s credibility:

• Is there review thorough?  Is it pointing out pros/cons of a product?
• Does the review add insight based on experience or is a regurgitation of the product’s claims?
• How many reviews have they done?  Do I agree with any?
• Have others commented in disagreement with the review?  How does the blogger respond?
• Do others look to them as an authority in the blogosphere?

A short review when it probably merits a longer discussion is a sure sign someone may not have thoroughly tested a product.  It may also indicate there wasn’t much good to say about it.  Not every review needs to be long and drawn out, so I always look to see what they’re saying about the product.  Do they tell me how it performed for them?  Talk about the feel, weight, packaging?  How it fits into their routine?  I’m looking for things that someone who’s tried it woud know about and pass on that knowledge.

Like it or not, but a blogger’s track record is important. If you’re just starting out, you do have to earn your readers’ trust, whether you like it or not.  If you’re reviewing products and you’re heavily involved in another community or have lots of reviews on a retailer’s site that you can point to… do so!  You could even republish those reviews on your own blog.  Show people you know what you’re talking about, and thus, having multiple reviews to read through helps.  If I find that we agree on products we’ve both tried, I feel better connected to you.  Also, seeing too many glowing reviews–and I mean reviews that say things like “This is the best product ever!” over and over–will naturally lead to suspicion, so pointing out any negatives about a product helps qualify your positive review.  Nobody’s asking you to be flat out harsh or to bash a product, but there should be a balance.

Most products are “your mileage may vary.”  We’re just not all going to agree on everything all the time.  What I love, you may just like or even dislike.  What I dislike, you may love, and so on and so forth.  This is no difference than when a friend tells me they LOVE this and I try it, and I’m not impressed.  It doesn’t make my friend a liar, and it doesn’t make a blogger (or reader!) a liar.  What’s more important is how a blogger deals with readers who chime in with their experience (in a thoughtful, respectful way, of course).  Personally, I expect some will agree, some won’t, and I think it just adds to the whole review–I want to hear from readers who’ve tried the same product.

A blogger’s online presence is important. The more the community at large looks to a blogger as an authority, the more likely others have already qualified the blogger and their blog and determined that they’re honest enough to keep reading.  BUT there is a HUGE caveat… taken alone, popularity or even having expert status is not enough.  You still should evaluate them for yourself, but it can be indicative of hard work and honesty to have earned a good reputation.

Now, that’s my two cents on how to qualify a blogger and determine if they’re credible or not. It’s my advice as a blogger, but it’s also my advice as a consumer based on what blogs I choose to read (whether related to my community or otherwise) because I definitely scour the internet for reviews on all sorts of products, beyond my beauty niche!

If you are a reader or public relations specialist or brand and want to speak up, we’d love to get your perspective!  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Disclaimer: This article is written as a reaction to the FTC’s Guidelines. I am not a legal expert in any means, so this article only represents my opinions and personal interpretation of the guidelines as they stand today.

How Might the FTC Guidelines Affect Bloggers?

With today’s release of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising report and revisions, the blogosphere—make that the bloggers of the blogosphere—are all abuzz. There’s really two pieces to the newly revised guidelines: keep consumers/customers informed about advertisements, endorsements, paid endorsements, paid-in-kind endorsements, and overall, the need for disclosure; the second is about accuracy of advertisers’ and bloggers’ claims. Bloggers have been on notice about increased disclosure since this ball got rolling, but when it comes to holding advertisers and bloggers liable for what each other says… that’s truly concerning.

When to disclose?

Based on Section 255.0, Example 8:

A consumer who regularly purchases a particular brand of dog food decides one day to purchase a new, more expensive brand made by the same manufacturer. She writes in her personal blog that the change in diet has made her dog’s fur noticeably softer and shinier, and that in her opinion, the new food definitely is worth the extra money. This posting would not be deemed an endorsement under the Guides.

Assume that rather than purchase the dog food with her own money, the consumer gets it for free because the store routinely tracks her purchases and its computer has generated a coupon for a free trial bag of this new 51 brand. Again, her posting would not be deemed an endorsement under the Guides.

Assume now that the consumer joins a network marketing program under which she periodically receives various products about which she can write reviews if she wants to do so. If she receives a free bag of the new dog food through this program, her positive review would be considered an endorsement under the Guides. (Pages 50-52)

If you purchase the product, you probably have no need to disclose. In effect, there’s nothing to disclose, because you have no relationship with the advertiser.

If you are offered a free sample through a store based on previous purchases “to try it”, you probably have no need to disclose. I think what distinguishes this from freely given product samples from PR to a blogger is that this is still very much removed from the advertiser. This is an incentive to consumers in general, it is not reserved to influential bloggers. (A brand sends bloggers products in hopes they’ll review, love it, and influence their readers.)

If you receive a free product/sample through an advertising relationship, you are probably required to disclose this relationship. How much do you need to disclose is a key piece of missing information—do bloggers need to disclose particulars of the relationship? This example in particular refers to what sounds like an affiliate network, like LinkShare or Commission Junction. These systems, typically work on a commission basis. A blogger posts a link to a product on Nordstrom, and if someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase, the blogger receives some percentage of commission from that purchase.

But what about PR/Brand relationships?

By going through the guidelines and reading through examples, it is very likely the FTC means these as well.

The revision to Section 255.5 (Disclosure of material connections) explains further:

When there exists a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement (i.e., the connection is not reasonably expected by the audience), such connection must be fully disclosed.

Example 7: A college student who has earned a reputation as a video game expert maintains a personal weblog or “blog” where he posts entries about his gaming experiences. Readers of his blog frequently seek his opinions about video game hardware and software. As it has done in the past, the manufacturer of a newly released video game system sends the student a free copy of the system and asks him to write about it on his blog. He tests the new gaming system and writes a favorable review. Because his review is disseminated via a form of consumer-generated media in which his relationship to the advertiser is not inherently obvious, readers are unlikely to know that he has received the video game system free of charge in exchange for his review of the product, and given the value of the video game system, this fact likely would materially affect the credibility they attach to his endorsement. Accordingly, the blogger should clearly and conspicuously disclose that he received the gaming system free of charge.

The manufacturer should advise him at the time it provides the gaming system that this connection should be disclosed, and it should have procedures in place to try to monitor his postings for compliance. (Page 80)

If the product was given to you (whether free or with payment attached) for the purpose of reviewing, it is likely you will need to disclose that relationship. Again, the FTC is ambiguous (in fact, I’d say they really haven’t even touched on it at all) about how to go about disclosure. I would presume that there is a marked difference between paid reviews and paid-in-kind reviews (e.g. with a product sample). Nevertheless, both situations seem to merit disclosure as per the guidelines.

It appears value is important, because their example is of a video game blogger who receives a free gaming console (likely $200-600 in value) and not merely a sample bag of ten peanuts. It is unclear whether value has any consequences for disclosure, level of disclosure, and the like.

Disclosure Isn’t the End of the World

Those who fear disclosure should not fear if their reviews are honest, they have built up a strong audience, and they have credibility established. It is also much too early to determine the actual effect disclosure will have on posts/blogs. I’d expect the FTC wants bloggers to disclose on a per-post basis, but it’s not certain how long, detailed, or thorough that per-post disclosure needs to be. Can bloggers merely include a one-liner and link to a post for a more thorough explanation of their editorial policies? It’s uncertain at this time, and it is with great hope that the FTC will recognize that the average blogger is not experienced in legalese and archaic jargon and will provide at least some basis or clearer guidelines on how exactly to comply with the revisions.

Something product/service review bloggers do is review and recommend products. This is the very nature of a review. I tell my sister, “I loved X! You should try it!” because of my experience. But Section 255.1 should make review-based blogs pay close attention to what they’re saying, how they’re saying it, and how will readers interpret it?

The Commission is revising the fifth and sixth sentences in proposed new Example 5 to clarify that the advertiser and the blogger both are subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made in the course of the blogger’s endorsement.

Example 5: A skin care products advertiser participates in a blog advertising service. The service matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on their personal blogs. The advertiser requests that a blogger try a new body lotion and write a review of the product on her blog. Although the advertiser does not make any specific claims about the lotion’s ability to cure skin conditions and the blogger does not ask the advertiser whether there is substantiation for the claim, in her , review the blogger writes that the lotion cures eczema and recommends the product to her blog readers who suffer from this condition. The advertiser is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made through the blogger’s endorsement.

In order to limit its potential liability, the advertiser should ensure that the advertising service provides guidance and training to its bloggers concerning the need to ensure that statements they make are truthful and substantiated. The advertiser should also monitor bloggers who are being paid to promote its products and take steps necessary to halt the continued publication of deceptive representations when they are discovered.

The blogger also is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made in the course of her endorsement. The blogger is also liable if she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously that she is being paid for her services. [See § 255.5.]

Being held liable for inaccuracy or false claims is a major concern for advertisers AND bloggers. I feel that this is something that will cause certain advertisers, brands, PR firms, etc. to pull out, at least substantially, of certain industries. Nobody wants to be liable for anything. The last thing an advertiser/brand wants to be is liable for what a blogger says. A blogger they don’t really have control over. Bloggers, on the other hand, write about their experience, but of course, many make suggestions as to who might like the product (e.g. in the example, the skin care product worked well for dry skin, so the blogger recommends it to those with dry skin). When does a blogger’s experience become the blogger making a claim?

What distinguishes a claim from experience is primarily the idea that a claim is a result that applies to the average customer. For example, weight loss advertisements that show someone who experienced substantial weight loss but then conditions this statement with “results not typical.” But it is a very scary thing to recommend a product to readers and be held liable that the blogger’s experience is more than that—that it is a claim.
This leads to the debate about what kind of things you can and cannot say. I’m most curious to understand and see more examples of what constitutes a claim and how best to posit your review as your experience vs. a claim about the general populous. Is it even possible to make recommendations to a certain subset of people without it being a claim? (e.g. “If you like Batman, you’ll love this game, too!”)

The Guidelines go into effect December 1st, 2009. We have a couple more months for experts to help us understand what this really means and how best to comply with the revised guidelines. It is unlikely that the guidelines will be retroactive, but the revisions do not address this either way. With so many issues raised, it is only expected that at least twice as many questions are posed.

This article is a Guest Post by our pal Ryan Yockey.

If you have problems with users finding key pieces of content or generally navigating your websites, then you need to start working on your UI or user interface. I am going to help you discover ways to increase user participation and in most cases this will help increase the retention of your user base.

1. Find A Focus

Find a part of your site which is the focus of every users attention. A focus helps define a place to start and get immediate user feedback. Feedback is the golden key in all UI work. The focus can be anything from comments systems, where an important button is located or how the content on your site is formatted.

2. Measure Success

Use statistics software, like Google Analytics, to track what people are clicking on. Make it a point to get initial statistics before any changes are made to the website. It’s impossible to measure success without a starting point. This does not only have to be link clicks. You can be measuring user registrations, file uploads or emails sent. The message is find a way to measure your successes and failures with your UI changes.

3. User Feedback

The website may have gone through its first changes, but how do you know its working? I mentioned find a way to measure success through simple statistics. There is another important way to understand if the work being done is successful, user feedback. The best ways to gather feedback can be through polls, comments on the website and email responses about the website. It is important to not get stuck on one persons opinion about your changes. Look at the responses as a whole and see how the group is reacting overall. Use those reactions to help gauge what to do next.

4. Mistakes Are Okay

There is rarely a change which will cause your website to completely shutdown losing every single visitor and causing the world to explode. We all make mistakes when working on the UI of a website. The key is to recognize exactly where the mistake is through user feedback and the statistics of the website.

5. Iterations

Rinse and repeat. There is never really a ‘final’ UI design, unless the plan is to leave it and never touch the website again. Most of us want to grow a business and make life easier for the users of your website. This is when we take the feedback and corrections and make the necessary changes to the website. Here comes the repeat. Now we do it all over again until we have dialed down the website focus to work at its best. Then move on to the next focal point.

These are the same steps most UI designers go through to create usable interfaces which guide the users through the best parts of your websites. Taking a little time here can benefit you in the best way possible. More traffic, higher quality users and ideally more money.

Niche blogging is a great way to build a blog quickly and efficiently. There are problems that can arise from this approach, but can be taken care of with slow and methodical outward growth. It is important to pick a topic that interests you, and a topic you will feel comfortable talking about on a consistent basis over a long stretch of time. If you are able to pull together a bunch of unique and interesting content about your niche, you will start to see a tremendous growth that enables you to expand into broader subjects.

Continue reading »

A big thing people struggle with in the blogging world is procrastination. Sometimes it is just hard to get out of bed in the morning and start writing. For other people with full time jobs or full time lives they just don’t want to give the time required to their blog. It is important to get around this way of thinking and move towards being efficient!

Be Goal Oriented

Set small goals for yourself each day and set out to accomplish them. Keep a notebook and write out your list of what you want to accomplish. Be sure to reward yourself every time you go a week without procrastinating!

Get Inspired

If you are starting to feel that general malaise than it’s time to get inspired! Take your laptop or a notebook and go out into the world. Jot down ideas and feelings that surround you. Step out of your comfort zone and use the experience to propel you towards a goal. You’ll be surprised how refreshing this can be!

Just Do it!

Nike wasn’t joking around with this motto. Every time you sit down to do something and can’t seem to find the energy or the spark just repeat to yourself: “Just do it!” This philosophy is shared by athletes and everyone who is trying to succeed. No athlete wants to train, but they know they have to so they can perform in the big game. So when you are starting to feel the urge to procrastinate: JUST DO IT!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has changed a lot in recent years. On page elements are not nearly as important as they once were. These have been replaced by the all important back link. Getting your blog up in the ranks is all about getting your site linked on quality web sites. You can have the greatest content in the world, but until other bloggers or sites are finding it and linking it you won’t be able to move up in the search ranks.

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One of the greatest benefits of wordpress is its plugins system. Users can create extremely power features and offer them to other users for free! These plugins allow you to do and feature things that no other blogging platform can. The following list will be a guide to helping you pick out the essential plugins you need to utilize wordpress to its full potential.

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