What you need to know about advertising laws and regulations

What you need to know about the advertising laws and regulations for your small business. This is a very important part of getting the right marketing going for your small business. If there are mistakes made due to not knowing the laws and regulations that are required for small business advertising, you can be looking at fines or more.

The best place to start in order to learn about the advertising laws and regulations would be the Federal Trade Commission. This is where many regulations come from that dictate the types of advertising and the manner that the advertising is completed in.

Marketing includes different forms of advertising. A few of these different areas are:

Telephone advertising and marketing
Fax advertising
Internet advertising and marketing
Mail advertising and marketing
Radio and Television advertising and marketing

With this in mind, here are some laws and regulations that you really need to know. However it is a good idea to get a detailed list at a site like this. http://www.ftc.gov/index.shtml

Telephone advertising and marketing

1. Do not call registry.
 The registry was created to provide protection from harassing telemarketing tactics.
 If a person is listed through the Do not call registry, contacting them is considered against the regulation and the fine is up to $11,000 for neglecting to follow this regulation.
 The registry is maintained through the consumer.
 Telemarketing companies need to be registered with the DNC registry. This site will explain all the steps necessary for registering. www.telemarketing.donotcall.gov
2. Complying with the 900 number rule
 It used to be that customers did not understand how much it would cost to use a service through a 900 number. With the telephone disclosure act, it is required that these services have the full price listed in advance.
 You can obtain a booklet with all these regulations about 900 numbers at:
Division of Marketing Practices
Bureau of Consumer Protection
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20580
(202) 326-3128
3. There are rules that govern the solicitation of charitable funds for a profit organization. This is another regulation that should be check into if this is a form of adverting and sales your business plans on working with.
 This protects the consumer from unauthorized billing
 Requests of personal information
 Prohibits misrepresentation
 Caller ID must be present for representation

Faxing advertising

There are specific laws that are designated to work with the advertising that is accomplished by using a fax machine. You can find more information on this through:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/tsrcomp.shtm

Internet advertising and marketing

There are some basic rules and regulations that should be followed where the use of advertising through the Internet is used. These rules can be found in detail at this site. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/ruleroad.shtm

However, here is a brief list of what these laws and regulations entail.

1. Do not mislead the customer
2. There should be no affliction of the consumer's behavior or decisions about the product or service.
3. Try to stay away from advertising issues that are avoidable.

Mail advertising and marketing

There are basic rules that apply to mail advertising as it does to other forms of advertising. These rules can be researched on this site: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/ad-faqs.shtm

However, the basic idea is the same that is listed above.

1. Do not mislead the customer.
2. There should be no affliction of the consumer's behavior or decision about the product or service listed.
3. Try to stay away from advertising issues that are avoidable.

Radio and Television advertising and marketing

This site gives good information for these forms of advertising. It is basically the same as listed above. You will also be able to consult with the companies you will be working with to air through for additional care of the rules and regulations that apply.

This is the basic of what you need to know with advertising rules and regulations. However, this is just the beginning. There is much to learn. A good suggestion would be to consult an attorney for additional questions or concerns you might have.

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