29 Mar Does Your Blog Need a Disclaimer Page?

It’s a simple question with a simple answer, YES!

Yes, your blog needs a disclaimer and don’t tell me that you haven’t seen any such pages yet.

Most of the blogs are already having it and they even make their readers realize of its existence through pop-up or something like that.

‘We’re using cookies…. and you agree with our terms and policies.’

Messages like that are getting common these days and we all find them on top heading bar or in a pop-up, sometimes.

So, the quick answer was that Yes, your blog needs a special page or section describing disclaimer aspects but you don’t seem to be that kind of person who just follow things for the sake of it.

You need answers, right?

Well, you’re heading on the right path buddy. It’s the path called Curiosity and it will lead you to your desire success or goal.

I’m going to cover all possible reasons I can come up with to insist all my readers, who are planning to have a blog or already have one, to have a disclaimer section. Although there is only one big reason for that.

No, Disclaimer? Lawsuit on its way!

The page is primarily for readers, but it can also save you on big occasions. That big one is a Lawsuit.

Yes, a LAWSUIT!

If you’re running a blog just to share information and not at all interested in making money, then you don’t need to worry about publishing a disclaimer page. That’s the only case you can proudly ignore this part.

But I’m pretty sure that’s not the case with us, all bloggers over here. We are working over here to make a fortune out of it. And for that, we are regularly promoting products (off course developed and owned by others) and also getting paid for covering some news, paid articles.

We also develop niche websites consisting of landing pages where we try to pitch our readers to buy a health or finance related product, with whom we are an affiliate with. The product can be in any niche, but the common fact is that we are promoting it.

In very few cases, we have all the idea about their product, its pros, and cons because we’ve used it personally and then recommending or reviewing for our readers.

But in most cases, we have no idea about that product. We just wrote a good selling copy describing features and benefits and now ranking for its primary keyword on Google. There is no shame in admitting this, you did it to fetch money. No one is judging you!

But, the big scene here is that, do you have any idea how that product is affecting or benefiting your readers who actually brought it?

If that’s a health product, then they may get benefits as you mentioned but on the other side, they even get infected by the same. We can’t target specific people who are not allergic to specific chemical components, can we?

A Lawsuit can be a Nightmare

Now, think for a moment that you were doing all the hard works at your desk and suddenly a lawsuit arrives at the door. Scary, right?

But when you come to know that the lawsuit is because of the website you’re running, it becomes further scary. You will have no idea what to do next, other than fighting your case that may end up in losing a lot of money during the related procedure.

How to save yourself from such situations?

Your readers have full right to sue you if the product being praised isn’t helping them in a positive way. And they even end up getting conned.

Also, you’ve cheated on your loyal readers because they believed in your pitching copy labeled as ‘Genuine Review’ or something like that.

Internet (particularly blogging) is shifting towards loyalty and trust these days.

Just to save yourself from any of such situations and also let your readers know that the copy you’ve written and published is just for the sake of earning money, you should publish a disclaimer section. Now this rule implies in both conditions, whether you’ve really reviewed the product or maybe not.

What to cover in disclaimer?

In that special lifesaving page, you are clearing the fact that the reader has arrived at your website, reading and grabbing information and using/buying the product you promoted at his own will and risk. Or something like that.

If you’ve no idea how to write a disclaimer page, then you can copy it from some other blog, change name and URL and publish it. I did in the same way during initial years of my blogging career. None of my blog got penalized for that.

Hiring a good writer who is aware of lawsuits and related aspects to writing a unique copy of the disclaimer is also a better idea. Because that’s how you’ll be getting a unique copy and that’s all according to topics or products you’re covering.

You’re not ALONE, buddy!

You as a blogger are not alone writing this disclaimer page. You’ve already seen it in reports or books and in many other documents around. Now you remember that! That big page in every financial document like Insurance policy, etc.

So, I recommend all of you to prepare a common disclaimer page and share it on all your money earning blogs and especially in those niche websites.

Make sure you include website name with its URL in that special page, thus informing users that the disclaimer is about this specific website.

Once done, you can continue your work.

I know you got a lot of pages to publish now. Also, make sure that a proper visible link to that disclaimer page is on each and every page of your website. You can put it in sidebar, header, navigation or in the footer.

But before leaving, share this much-needed information with all your bloggers. Sharing it on Facebook or Twitter or Google+ can be a simple way. Peace.