There have been some big developments over the last few days on the internet. First, the FTC published a new set of guidelines, then Google terminated the accounts of many of their clients and now further directions have been issued concerning how products should be marketed. Basically, it boils down to the need for full disclosure, clarity and ease of doing business [or not] for the customer.

I was looking for some details that I could give you. A visit to Mike Hill’s blog as called for. Mike is at the cutting edge of CPA marketing and his advice is well worth listening to but please note that if you are unsure about anything, get legal advice. It is your responsibility to do so and yours alone. Mike is not a lawyer and neither am I. The following information is provided on that basis…

DIRECT RESPONSE BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR MERCHANTS

TRIAL OFFERS

Marketing models that employ “Free-Trial”, “Deferred Billing” and/or “Shipping Only” are considered trial offers for purposes of this communication. Consumers must be receiving a tangible good or contracted service in exchange for charging of payment cards. Incentivized discount offers are acceptable when the cardholder is receiving goods
or services in exchange for payment; however we will be unable to support accounts engaging in hidden or delayed charges and ‘free’ offers that are not truly free.

1. Avoid using terms in your marketing and offer presentation such as “Free”, “Risk Free” or any similar and potentially misleading phrases when consumers will be enrolled in a monthly continuity program at the end of a trial period, or will be paying a deferred charge for the trial period. The phrase “Free Trial” is prohibited unless there is truly no cost or obligation incurred by the consumer.

2. ”Shipping & Handling Only” offers must be a fair and accurate shipping charge reasonable to be accrued by the merchant for providing the product.

3. Trial offers must be extended for a minimum of 10 days.

4. Trial periods should not begin until the product is shipped to the consumer.

MARKETING

1. Avoid creating a ‘false sense of urgency’ for the consumer. Unless the consumer’s ability to order is genuinely taken away after a specified timeframe or order count is reached, this practice is prohibited. Use of applications such as countdown clocks, tickers, or language such as “Offer Expires Today!” is also prohibited.

2. Product claims, by law, must be truthful. Claims regarding effectiveness must be substantiated by clinical research conducted to support the claims, and consistent with the formulas and ingredients in your product

3. Qualifications for trial periods of a product should follow pre-determined rules disqualifying consumers who do not meet parameters, including but not limited to: Age, Weight, Height, and Location.

4. Unreasonable claims or guarantees are prohibited. Examples of claims considered unreasonable are: “Flushes Pounds”, ”Flushes Toxins”, ”Builds Muscles”
- Stating that use of a product will result in permanent weight loss
- Stating that a product will cause the consumer to lose a specified amount of weight in a specified timeframe
- Stating that a product will cause substantial weight loss no matter what or how much the consumer eats.
- Stating that use of a product can cause weight loss (or muscle growth) in specific body parts

“Free Money”, ”Instant Money”

- Stating that the product can substitute the income of a full time job
- Stating that money can be earned with little to no effort or investment
- Stating that use of a product will earn you hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars
Additional examples include:

- Stating that the product has been successfully used by an unrealistic or unsubstantiated number of people
- Stating that a product will secure the consumer a job, either at the product’s company or another company
- Stating or implying that a product is endorsed or in any way associated with President Obama or a government entity.

ENDORSEMENTS/TESTIMONIALS:

1. Endorsements and testimonials of user experiences must reflect the true and honest opinions of the endorsee(s).

2. Endorsements and testimonials provided must present a clear picture to consumers of realistic results of using the product. If advertisers do not have substantiation of a specific claim or endorsement, then generally expected results must be clearly disclosed and backed by substantiation of any claims.

3. Blogs used for promotional purposes must be in compliance with published FTC guidelines, representing an accurate and full representation of the endorsee, or clearly designated as a fictional story if developed internally for marketing purposes.

4. News Sites published in marketing materials must be in compliance with published FTC guidelines, and must be clearly presented to the consumer as an advertorial. Written consent should be obtained from a media outlet prior to using the logo.

5. Implied celebrity endorsement by use of an image in your marketing is prohibited without express legal written consent.

AFFILIATE MARKETING (CPA) NETWORKS

A significant contributing factor to Historical Excessive chargeback violations has been the utilization of CPA Networks. Transactions generated from internet traffic and all other lead sources must be managed and monitored for potential fraud using an approved system. Third Party service engagement may be a requirement for account approval.

1. CPA Networks should contractually be held accountable for monitoring traffic generated from participating marketers.

2. Merchants must have monitoring plans in place to detect suspect traffic and monitor Affiliate and Sub-Affiliate performance.

BILLING TERMS DISCLOSURE

The FTC has recently published guidelines regarding “Negative Option” enrollment programs and is taking a very aggressive position against merchants utilizing/employing this business practice. Recommendations taken in part from the FTC’s website may include but are not limited to the following:

1. Negative Option disclosures must be clear and conspicuous to the consumer and comply with published FTC
principals.

2. The full price of products sold must be within reasonable “fair market value”
3. Under no circumstances should consumers be billed for a product or service not disclosed.

4. Consumers must be required to validate understanding of the terms of the offer twice during order submission.
The first validation can take place with the initial offer presentation prior to submission of credit card information, and the second during the checkout process. The confirmation order page must also require consumers to acknowledge that they agree to the Terms & Conditions and authorize the merchant to charge the credit card
for the disclosed dollar amount. Terms must be displayed adjacent to the “submit”,”confirm” or any other “call to action” button confirming the order. The price must be within 100 pixels of the “submit”,”confirm” or any other “call to action” button.

- Terms must be in a minimum 12-point “easy to read” font.
- Avoid visually distracting graphics from the display of terms.
- Pre-checked boxes must never be used.
- Consumers should be required to actively and individually select each offer or bonus during the checkout process when there are multiple offers or up sells presented. No offers or up sells should be pre-selected or pre-checked.
- Consumers should not be able to move forward in the offer or checkout until the box acknowledging the terms is checked.
- Verbiage must clearly disclose the enrollment into an ongoing membership with no distraction. An example of an acceptable disclosure is: “By clicking “Submit” you acknowledge that you understand you are being enrolled in a 10 day trial for $4.95, and after expiration of the 10 day trial period you will be charged $59 per month until you cancel your service”
- All products or services purchased when the call-to-action button is clicked should be billed as a single charge unless the order is fulfilled at different times requiring multiple charges.
- Shipping and Handling should not be billed separate from charges for the product or service.

BILLING TIMEFRAMES

1. A merchant may not bill a consumer the full price twice in a 30-day span. An acceptable billing cycle example would be:

- Day 1 – Consumer signs up for a 10 day trial offer with paid shipping of $4.95 charged at the time of order.
- Day 11 – The first monthly order is shipped and the consumer is billed the full price of $59.
- Day 41 – The second monthly order is shipped and the consumer is billed the full price of $59.

2. Consumers should not be billed prior to shipment of products.

REFUND POLICIES

Merchants must not make it difficult for consumers to exercise the disclosed cancellation procedures and all cancellation requests must be honored in accordance with the stated terms of the transaction.

1. Refund policies must be disclosed prior to the sale completion. Establish a clear, concise statement of your refund and credit policy. Your policy should be consistent with the objectives of your business and the products or services sold.

2. Merchants must not require return of any trial offer product samples in order for the consumer to receive a refund, or cancel their ongoing subscription.
3. ”Full Money Back” or “Full Satisfaction” guarantees are considered false and prohibited unless the offer provides a full refund on all products, including but not limited to Shipping & Handling charges.

4. Refunds should be for the full amount charged including shipping and handling

5. All future billing to a customer should be canceled when a refund is issued.

6. All future billing to a customer should be canceled when a chargeback is received.

BACK END OFFERS, AKA UP SELLS OR CROSS SELLS:

All sales should be directly between the business entities (merchants) processing the transactions and the consumer, with consumer authorization for all purchases.

1. Under no circumstances can consumer data be shared with another company as this is a violation of Brand
Regulations, including but not limited to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

2. Forced and hidden up sells are strictly prohibited

3. Up Sells with recurring charges are prohibited, regardless of consumer opt-in or acknowledgement of the offer.

4. A one-time bonus offer may be extended to the consumer for an additional product offered by the same company as the initial transaction. The price of the bonus offer must be clearly disclosed and the consumer must acknowledge the terms of the sale prior to providing credit card information for completion of the sale, and again at order confirmation/ submission.

DESCRIPTORS

1. ALL MERCHANTS DEFINED AS OFFERING A DIRECT MARKETING PRODUCT WILL BE ASSIGNED A DESCRIPTOR FORMATTED TO COMPLY WITH VISA REQUIREMENTS, TO INCLUDE AN *.

2. Billing descriptor should be consistent with the website name, marketing materials, purchase confirmation, and shipping notification (if any) sent to the consumer.

FULFILLMENT

1. Orders must be fulfilled in a timely manner. It is recommended that all products be shipped within 48 hours (2 business days) from the date of order.

2. A confirmation email should be provided for all online orders with physical shipment, within the prior 5 days to shipment or 2 days following shipment, including the following information:

- Merchant contact information (at minimum a consumer service phone number)
- Order information including purchaser’s name, unique order or customer ID, summary of item(s) purchased
- Terms of the order, including initial amount billed and future billing schedule (this should be stressed)
- Cancellation and refund policy
- Delivery confirmation / tracking information
3. An invoice should be included with the product including the following information:

- Merchant contact information (at minimum a consumer service phone number)
- Terms of the order, including initial amount billed and future billing schedule
- Cancellation and refund policy

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

1. Multiple methods of cancellation must be provided for consumers to cancel or request refunds, including at least two options of contact. Example of acceptable service channels include: phone, email, mail, and online chat. Phone support is strongly recommended as one of the options.

2. ”Contact Us” information including contact methods and hours of availability should be prominently displayed in all marketing, offer and payment pages, as well as included in purchase confirmations, invoices and any other communication with consumers.

3. Customer Service must be easily accessible and available during reasonable business hours

4. Refund and Cancellation Policies must be followed as disclosed to the consumer at the time of order

5. Hold times to reach Customer Service must be less than 2 minutes.

6. After hours voice mail should include a greeting that properly identifies the merchant to the consumer, provides hours of Customer Service availability and an expectation for call back.

Product Launch Manager

You’ll find a variety of rumors surrounding which different techniques lovers trying to conceive can use to better their chances of success. Some of those rumors are founded upon sound logic, but a great range are fully false. So the issue is which assistance you must adhere to, and which points you need to basically overlook. This post will concentrate on two methods which are completely factual, and will assist any couple in their efforts to conceive.

1st, it really is critical to spend consideration for the woman’s biological clock. Though a number of points should take place to get a kid to become conceived, the 1st phase, which must happen just before any other magic can happen, is that the woman ought to be ready to conceive. There’s a rather large window when this could take place, but during ovulation, there is the greatest likelihood that your lady can turn out to be pregnant. Because this is genuine, it really is important that women attempting to get pregnant learn to listen to their bodies’ signs. There are many methods, which I won’t go into, that a lady can notify regardless of whether or not she is ovulating. It’s throughout ovulation that your woman will be the most fertile.

Secondly, if at first you don’t succeed, have a go with, look at once more. Persistence is vital to successfully conceiving a child. It’s merely a fact that it will take most young couples far more than a couple of tries just before they have a productive pregnancy, so do not be discouraged if it doesn’t come about appropriate away.

If you are subsequent these two steps, and in case you and your partner are both healthy, you will ultimately be successful. So, on that note, even though you are attempting to conceive, it really is a excellent idea to start living a healthier life, to be able to produce a safer, far more stable surroundings for the quickly to be building kid. This involves eating nicely, exercising, and beginning to carry Perfect Prenatal supplements

Why do many people prefer single cup coffee makers? If you are reading this article, you are probably one of those people wanting to get a good time out of gourmet coffee prepared from using a single cup coffee machine. These people are those that love gourmet coffees more than the brewed ones. And what makes that type of coffee machine more appealing to them is the fact that as you produce one cup of coffee at a time there is no mess and clean up to deal with after.

Single cup coffee makers offer convenience and good time to the coffee lovers. There are three major types which consumers can choose from should they decide to buy a new one or to replace their old coffee maker.

The first type is the coffee pod brewer. This kind takes coffee pod to prepare the gourmet coffee. You can find various coffee pod brewers in the market which are made by different manufacturers. The second one is the tassimo brewer. In this type, it needs t-discs to work to prepare your beverage of a coffee. You will find this disc in two kinds, the bosch and the braun tassimo discs. And, finally, the k-cup brewers. Obviously, you will need k-cups for this machine to operate. These cups are available in five variations which you can choose from.

Using this type of coffee machine is not an effort. When you have your sealed cup or coffee pod for your specific choice of coffee maker, all you have to do is to put it into the machine after adding enough water on the reservoir. Pressing one button will then enable this machine to brew your coffee and within a minute or a little more, you will have a served brewed cup of beverage, all the convenience without the messy filters you usually get afterwards with the multiple cup serving coffee brewer machine.

If you are an individual who loves to have a cup of coffee every now and then, there is one type of coffee brewer from the choices above that will suit you. It will be ideal if you love drinking gourmet coffee beverage but do not have much time to make a full pot of grind coffee beans. The same thing if you are no fan of preparing coffee with cleanup or mess afterwards. These are the advantages you get when you choose and use the single cup coffee brewer.

However, just like any other machine, there are also disadvantages to expect from single cup coffee makers. The choices of coffees will be limited for you, as in contradiction to the hundreds of types of ground coffee beans to be ground available in the market. The one-cup brewer only offers limited number of gourmet coffees for you to choose from. And since it is a single-cup type, you don’t get to offer cups to other people. And the second disadvantage is that it can be costlier than the more economical loose coffee that is brewed in a traditional coffee maker.

VOIP Phone Services

Roger Ackroyd knew too much.

He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband.

He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her.

Now, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose.

But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish the letter, he was stabbed to death…

Category :Thrillers

Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers
Author: Agatha Christie
Narrator:Hugh Fraser

Length :6 hours (Unabridged)

Our Download Price :$14.49

Format: Encoded Windows Media

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Only Available in the UK, Europe, & the Commonwealth excluding Canada

HarperCollins Publishers

The New York Times said of this book, “There are doubtless many detective stories more exciting and blood curdling than The Murder of Roger Ackroyd but this reviewer has recently read very few which provide greater analytical stimulation.

Many of us have at one time or another experienced heartburn. While heartburn can be mild for a great many of us, for others it is extremely painful. Heartburn is the generic term for gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD, and acid reflux.

Acid reflux is also called gastroesophageal reflux. It is considered as, a disorder where the acidic juices of the stomach flows back (reflux) into the esophagus. The stomach walls are made to withstand the acids that are produced by digesting foods. The esophagus, which is the tube that passes food from the throat to the stomach, has a very thin lining to it. This lining does not have the protective strength of the stomach intestines. Thus when stomach acid reflux into the esophagus it makes the lower section of the esophagus painful and irritated. This painful inflammation is called reflux esophagitis.

The esophagus is usually sealed from the stomach by a valve known as the Lower Esophageal Sphincter, also called LES. This valve only opens when food passes into the stomach from the esophagus. There are a few conditions that make the valve work incorrectly. These factors range from eating large meals, drinking caffeine based drinks, eating acid causing foods to taking drugs like morphine, meperidine, nitrate heart medications and adrenergic drugs. The LES also becomes relaxes when foods like peppermint and chocolate are eaten.

The symptoms of acid reflux are varied. They range from your typical heartburn to cramping, excess salivation, shortness of breath, difficult or painful swallowing, fluid or vomit being inhaled into the lungs and other conditions. While acid reflux is painful, frequently occurring gastroesophageal reflux can lead to more serious conditions known as reflux esophagitis, esophageal narrowing and esophageal ulcer. The most serious acid reflux condition is Barrettís syndrome. With Barrettís syndrome a change in the lining of the esophagus leads to esophageal cancer.

Acid reflux can occur in anyone. The main sufferers of acid reflux are those who are obese, experience repeated vomiting, have nasogastric tubes, and have a history of hiatal hernia or scleroderma. Pregnant women may also experience acid reflux.

Acid reflux can be diagnosed and treated so that the symptoms are relived. A gastroenterologist will take x-rays of the patient. The patient will drink a barium solution and lie down so that their head is lower that their feet. An esophagoscopy examination is taken. Here a flexible viewing tube is inserted into the patientís esophagus for a close look.

For suffers of acid reflux there are some simple things that you can do for a reflux cure. Simple things like eating several small meals a day, not eating fatty and fried foods, maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. And these are only a few things that can help you to ease the acid reflux that you suffer from. There are countless other simple and easy ways for you to steer clear of acid reflux, and there is no time like the present to start trying them.

This question has been asked a lot and the answer is “you should use a cell phone directory website”. There are literally dozens of online services that allow you to look up a phone number. Some are free, while others require a minimal payment. Some are detailed and useful, while others provide little to no useful information.
Are you looking to do a reverse phone number lookup? Do you want a free cell phone lookup? Do you have a number, cell phone, or land line, that you want to find who it belongs to? Perhaps, you are just looking for other types of records which you know must exist somewhere online.

You may want to do a reverse address search, or perhaps perform a background check on someone you are suspicious of. You can find an ex-partner or family member. You can even check on someone’s criminal history.

The real key to a successful reverse cell search lies in the company that you choose. We tested several, and our overall favorite was Reverse Phone Detective. The information they provided was both accurate and detailed.

We got full names, billing addresses, and cell phone carrier info… all from one quick search. We also like the upgrade feature: for just a few dollars more than it cost to perform a one time search, we got an entire year of unlimited reverse phone searches – a great value for small business owners.

Couldn’t I get the same information by looking in the phone book? No! While phone books are great for looking up an address or phone numbers when you know who you’re searching for, they are practically useless when you are trying to conduct a reverse cell phone search, because these directories do not have mobile phone listings.

Click to find the owner of any phone number using recommended reverse phone look up number system

From Reservoir Pips

Most foreign exchange brokers offering accounts to retail traders operate in one of two ways. It is doubtful that you’ll be enrolling with a broker who has their own dealing desk. Rather more likely, you will be looking at either an ECN broker or a market maker.

ECN currency exchange brokers use the Electronic Communication Network, a world online marketplace that caters for many different sorts of trader from retail to the massive banks and market makers. The spread on the ECN is little, often just about non existent, so brokers using this network will often either add a couple of pips to the genuine spread or charge commission or charges per deal. You can often get better prices from an ECN broker but take a detailed look at their fee structure and consider what it would mean to you on a typical deal.

ECN brokers are usually better for scalpers and will even welcome them because they are dealing at once with a big market. Slippage is not most of a problem either for scalping or at times of forex reports reports. They’re also often well regulated.

On the other hand, the variable spread can mean more doubt when setting stop losses and limit orders. ECN brokers also tend to offer fewer charts and can have a less user friendly dealing platform because they aren’t especially aiming to attract amateurs. They generally tend to presume that you know what you do and have a paid subscription to do your technical analysis elsewhere.

Motion pictures and popcorn go hand in hand so in case you are a person who cannot watch a film with out popcorn then it is advisable to search for popcorn machines for sale. The primary place the place you possibly can search for these kinds of machines is on the internet. You’ll want to browse some good websites reminiscent of eBay whereas searching for a popcorn machine. Earlier than really shopping for the machine it’s best to first get slightly information and knowledge concerning the product. It’s best to know issues like what elements the popcorn machine has, its functions and reliability. You also needs to have slightly experience of popcorn making.

When contemplating popcorn machines on the market one should all the time take into consideration the taste because it issues a lot. Think of the difference in style you expertise if you eat popcorn whereas watching a movie in a theater and while watching a film at home. The distinction in taste is especially due to the kettle heating process. The business popcorn machines use a different process as they cook it in oil or butter; so in order for you the same style look for a similar type of popcorn machine. Plus you also needs to look for machines that make less popping noise because the noise wouldn’t do nicely next to your couch.

Look for such popcorn machines for sale that has good and straightforward to make use of features so you will get a maintain over it quickly. Making popcorn is a messy job so be sure that your popcorn machine has detachable trays which can provide help to in cleansing it regularly.

Moreover Hot Air popper, finish off your private home theater with shaved ice machines.

Air Conditioning Systems are usually complicated. Read this article to learn how to choose the most effective one.

For folks wanting to get an air conditioning system, there is a good deal to consider. Initially is the type of system that they will have to have. This will depend on whether individuals will be looking at business systems, or systems for any smaller location or home.

While the scale and costs of the systems will certainly change with regards to the planned use, the other basics don’t. Ideally people still need to be trying to find systems which are focused on providing high level operation, whilst still having a focus on power use.

Power efficiency is vital for two reasons, being that systems that use less energy will end up being more low-cost to operate and using a smaller amount of energy would mean that they are a lot more environmentally friendly.

Among the firms whose aim is very much on this area would be Mitsubishi Air Conditioners from Mitsubishi Electronics. They have developed what is called an ‘inverter driven’ system. This means that the system just uses as much electrical power as is required for any room or building area.

Conditioning Systems that just use only chlorine free chemicals must be utilized, because these are chemicals that will not deplete the ozone layer.

Those who find themselves on a very small budget, or with limited space outside should consider the potential of ‘multi conditioning’ systems. They’re systems where numerous devices are operated via just one on the outside of a building. It saves on installment fees and space also. Then again, it should be known that you will have some reduction in performance.

Individuals taking a look at new systems also need to ensure there’s a guarantee available with a minimum of 3 years. Anything less is simply not worth it.

The net is an excellent place to begin searching for a brand new system, with lots of the most widely used suppliers being offered at more affordable rates compared to normal retailers.

For more information, or to get the best prices on systems like Mitsubishi air conditioners, as well as a number of other manufacturers, just follow the link.