Whether you’re brand new to the world of blogging or have been blogging for a long time, there are a few legal guidelines for bloggers that you might not be aware of. This doesn’t mean the classic ‘rules’ for running a successful blog, like always posting regularly, and always including a call to action in your posts. This means the real legal rules and guidelines that you might not know about.
Many bloggers don’t know about these rules because you have to go out looking for a lot of this information, and most blogging platforms don’t warn people about these guidelines. There are even lots of popular bloggers who have been running for years that don’t know this information. If you’re really stuck, an influencer attorney will be able to give you advice.
1 – You Must Have A Privacy And Cookie Policy
As per the Data Protection Act, it is a legal requirement to have this. It applies to any website that has contact forms, subscription options, shopping carts, or any analytics software. If you run a blog, you probably have at least one of those on your website, if not several.
2 – Business And Freelancers Must Display Contact Details
If you are a registered business or are self-employed, then you need to display company information on your blog. This includes your business name, a registered office address, country of registration, and VAT/Trade membership numbers if you have them. You should also have an email address displayed clearly on your website. A contact form is not enough.
3 – Your Website Must Be Accessible For Audio Readers
Websites should be accessible to all users, including the visually impaired. To do this, make sure you do things like use proper alt-descriptions for any images to screen readers can understand what they are. Test your website yourself with an audio reader to find any issues or anything that isn’t picked up or doesn’t make sense.
4 – You Might Want A Terms Of Use Or Copyright Notice Too
This isn’t a compulsory thing, but it is a good idea to have this if you want to protect your content. This includes your written content as well as your photographs or any graphics you create. A notice like this might just be a simple copyright statement in your website’s footer, or you might want to include a full Terms Of Use page on your website that has some more detail. This is very important if you use a lot of your own photography on your blog that you want to prevent other people from using for themselves.
5 – You May Only Send Emails To People Who Have Opted In To Recieve Emails From You
Due to Anti Spam laws, your readers need to give you clear permission to receive any marketing emails from you. This includes any sort of newsletter, even if the intent isn’t sales. If you send a newsletter through software like Mailchimp, then any email you send counts as marketing. Ask people to opt-in before you send them anything.
If you enjoyed this post about legal guidelines for bloggers then please consider sharing it. If you would like to leave a comment use space below or contact me via the contact form.
[avatar user=”mike” size=”thumbnail” align=”” link=”file”]Mike Gaudreau is the owner of The Wealthy Boomers, a site devoted to helping seniors make money online. Mike resides in Montreal Canada.[/avatar]
You should assume the owner of this website probably has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection, to any suppliers of goods and services that may be discussed here and may be compensated for showing advertisements or recommending products or services, or linking to the supplier’s website.
