I quit my job so I could have more time to learn direct sales. A mistake? Maybe!

I want to prove that it was the right choice. So to test my chops... I'm starting two different sites to sell ebooks.

Question though... hoping you can help:

Are claims, testimonials, statements of credibility regulated by any organization? Can I just get a friend to give me a testimonial? Can I embellish or revise a real testimonial? Can I get in trouble for using a celebrity's name or competitor's name in my copy? Can I use a statistic I found on a website that may or may not credible (I have no way of telling)?

I plan to make this as authentic, credible and worthwhile to my customers as possible ... but if I can spruce up a testimonial or two without risk, I'd like to include them.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon, if you knowingly attempt to fabricate or embellish testimonials or statements by celebrities or anyone else, you will find yourself in hot water with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).

And depending on the celebrity, you could also find yourself on the wrong end of a civil suit.

Don't lie. Don't fabricate. Be honest.

You'll keep your reputation intact, and save yourself a ton of headaches in the process!

Dale King

You can't make up or embellish tesis. You can however delete things from those testis if they don't help you sell your product. But you must use elipses (three dots) to signify that there is missing text in the testi. And those deletions can't leave the quote out of context. For instance you can't say, "... best book ever..." if the testi was, "I could say this is the best book ever, but I'd be lying because this book sucks!"

You can get your friends to give you testis, but make sure you actually have your friends really read the book and give you a testi based on that.

You can't use a celebrity without their permission. Can't at all... no discussion.

There are multiple organizations that can regulate statements of credibility. This includes the FDA, FTC, FCC, consumer protection division of state attorney generals' offices (tobacco suits, for instance), and even the U.S. Post Office if mail is involved. If there is a lot of money on the table, and fraudulent misrepresentations can be alleged, all bets are off.

Absolutely...if it is real.

With the permission of the person giving the testimonial. Of course, there is a difference between "embellish" using power words and not telling the truth (lying). This is going to be fact-specific. When in doubt, run it by your attorney for compliance issues.

Depends. Fact-specific...once again, that's something to run by your attorney. Here are a few hypotheticals. If I say that Britney Spears endorses my new diet pill, and she hasn't, I'll be hearing from her lawyers about it. Under some circumstances, I might get away with a testimonial where a successful user of my diet pill referred to "feeling fatter than Britney Spears" before taking my pills. The context is going to be key.

Competitors names can often be used in copy...particular when making comparisons. Isn't necessarily a good strategy...but does occur. Take a look at the Coke/Pepsi, beer ads, and the Apple Mac OS ads that trash Microsoft Windows.

Hate to be redundant but run it by your lawyer for compliance issues...particularly since the FTC frowns on misrepresentations and competitors like to sue if comparisons are fraudulent. For example, if I falsely claim that my competitor's widget causes heart attacks, I'll probably have both the government after me and a civil lawsuit from the competitor.

Depends. My personal preference is...when in doubt, leave it out. However, some are known to cite the statistic and quote the source for the statistic...leaving it to the reader's mind to decide credibility. Once again, context is everything. Using the heart attack example above, citing unverified claims that a competitor's product causes them based on something seen on a website isn't going to be much of a defense when the government and competitor's lawyers get involved.

Regards,

-Mike

One clarification on mentioning competitors... from a letter selling a fantasy football cheat sheet...

"… while the money-sucking so-called “experts” at Fanball, ESPN, and FantasyFootball charge top-dollar for SAFE, HO-HUM, CONFLICTING picks that are usually downright WRONG (remember Edgerrin James?)…"

Is it okay to name competitors in the way I did here? Mike, after reading your comments, I'm unclear if I'm on the "trashing" side or the hire-3-more-lawyers side with that one.

Dale, tv, and Mike, I appreciate the feedback on this somewhat touchy issue.

This is interesting dialog. I've always been under the assumption that I can quote a celebrity, if it supports a point I'm trying to make, without their permission. Are some here saying that is wrong?

Here is an example. Say I have a copy writing course. If in my sales copy, where I'm talking about headlines, if I say,

"One headline can pull 1950% better than another"
~ John Caples

I'm doing something wrong? I need Caples permission to use that?

money-sucking = call your lawyer/liability insurance co.
so-called “experts” = call your lawyer/liability insurance co.
usually downright WRONG = call your lawyer/liability insurance co. (unless you've got proof to back it up)

Never bait a bear with deep pockets to fund lawsuits.

Regards,

-Mike

In the abstract, I'd be comfortable with it. On the other hand, sales copy that 'borrowed' blocks of text from his Tested Advertising Methods would likely result in a cease-and-desist and/or lawsuit from the copyright owner.
Also any additional text that infers or states that Caples is endorsing the product or service being sold can lead one into legal hot water.

And there are some copyright owners that might even send a cease-and-desist for a quote as small as the one you've provided. IIRC, the owners of Napoleon Hill's works are very protective on that front. And a well-heeled Goliath as plaintiff can destroy David the defendant due to sheer size of the pocketbook...not the merits.

Once again, this is a hypothetical. The safe bet is to address specific fact situations with your attorney for compliance.

Regards,

-Mike