Odds are that if you do online marketing long enough you’ve been slapped around. It reminds me of the slap fights I used to get in as a kid, or the Catholic nuns that used to carry paddles around and give students a quick whack if anybody got out of line. Physical violence aside, being on the receiving end of an online slap has almost become a right of passage. And to be sure, there is a whole lot of slapping going on. Let’s take a look at a few slaps (in order of severity) that go on, and ask ourselves, can we ever be slap proof?
FaceBook Slap – The FB slap is becoming more commonplace as their standards continue to evolve and change. The result is likely that a particular campaign gets suspended without warning, and your campaign becomes “disapproved”. While frustrating, these slaps normally are easy to remedy, but as Facebook continues to evolve and grow more powerful, look for this slap to become more painful.
The Google Slap – This slap is bordering on routine nowadays, and for most of us, it’s the most common slap you can get. It can be a painful one because many Affiliate Marketers and Small Businesses have relied so much on Google’s steady flow of online traffic. Slaps here (15,000 affiliates had their accounts slapped recently) can quickly turn into an all out beat down, as the next step is a lifetime ban from Google. Once you’ve been Google slapped, it signals that you’ve arrived as an online marketer.
Mastercard/Visa Slap – This slap will suck the air out of your business faster than MMA fighter George St. Pierre can take you down. While not unrecoverable, once MasterCard or Visa determine that you are a bad guy, they can make it very difficult (and expensive) to ever process another credit card in your life. Once you’ve been put on the TMF (Terminated Merchant File), it’s like having a Scarlet Letter (for those of you who still read books) tattooed across your chest. This is most definitely a slap you do not want to get; it can take down an online business very quickly.
The FTC Slap – Let’s get one thing clear. The FTC doesn’t slap. They donkey punch. The FTC punches harder than Brock Lesnar raining down hammer fists on his ring victims. Let’s be clear, this is the one slap above all others you don’t want to get. The FTC rarely loses, and they don’t just shut down your account, they take your entire business, your personal assets (oh, and I’ll take ALL of last years revenues too, thank you very much), and can be a gateway towards more serious criminal charges.
It really is next to impossible to be completely slap proof yourself when you are an online marketer. Online marketers face a litany of random rules, spotty enforcement, and a landscape that changes overnight. Make no mistake about it, online marketers have become a glutton for punishment as we are attacked on a variety of fronts. Here are a few tips to help you from being on the receiving end of a slap
Read The Rules- I know, this is often times hard one for us online marketers but take the time to learn the game you are playing before you start playing it. If Google tells you not to do something…don’t do it. Easy right? Hahaha.
Gut Feeling – If you are doing something that doesn’t feel right…it probably isn’t, and the likelihood is that someone else (doing the slapping) probably feels that way too. Go ask your mother. She is often times a good read as to whether something is right or wrong.
Get A Lawyer – My least favorite option for a variety of reasons that I won’t go into. However make sure it’s a Lawyer with specific online experience; someone who can help you navigate around the obvious landmines.
Having been on the receiving end of three out of four of the above listed slaps; I can tell you that being hit isn’t fun. Goodness knows how much time and effort we spend just trying to compete in this space that the last thing we need is for something or someone to take away our business. Do yourself a huge favor and try to play by the rules (even if they are unfair and you don’t like them). You’ll end up keeping your money and you’ll stay alive longer in this space.
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