Hiring an Amateur Could Mean a Potential Lawsuit for Your Business


These days, everyone's looking to save a buck. But if you plan to cut corners by using a fledgling copywriter or marketer, expect to put the money you just saved towards a really good lawyer. Because you may just find yourself in court.

Lawsuits abound in today's world. Lots of people are more than willing to sue at the drop of a hat. No one wants to think that they "know" anyone like this, but the truth is, this planet is crawling with lawsuit-happy consumers who can make your life a living hell. You may think, "Oh, I'm just a small start-up; no one would bother trying to get money out of me!" But do you know this for a fact? Even if you're miniscule now, you want to grow your business. With any luck, one day you'll be earning more than just a comfortable living. The best way to ensure your legal protection in the future is to start practicing caution today.

How does this relate to your advertising, and who you hire to work for you? Every bit of written material put out by your company is a statement issued by you. If you hire someone who has little to no experience in the real world, you'd better be on top of them at all times. You'd better make sure that what they're creating for your company doesn't contain any legal "loopholes" or claims you can't fulfill. Because as soon as your advertising makes a statement about anything, someone will try and hold you responsible. They might even seek legal counsel on the matter. Yes, what you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.

I worked for the "R"Us family of stores for seven years, writing and editing everything from catalog copy to sales promotions to coupons to informative marketing mailers. Nearly everything said in our ads was supported by a legal disclaimer that prevented the company from being held responsible for any "unforseen events" that might occur as an indirect result of our statements. At the time, these legalities posed a great annoyance to our department, slowing down progress and hampering creativity. But today, I'm incredibly grateful for the "extensive legal training" I received while working there.

What are some examples of loose-lipped writing that can land you in legal hot water? What situations might you get yourself into in today's fast-paced, maximum-output world of marketers?

E-books are hot right now. Everyone wants one, and they want it yesterday. But beware the trouble of an untrained eye taking control of your e-book content! Last year, I worked for a small start-up company. They wanted an e-book written fast, so they hired an unpaid intern. Although the e-book served its purpose well, it was riddled with statements that could get us in trouble! Why? Our e-book was for children. In it, we had included a long list of ways kids could spread holiday cheer. One entry was something to the effect of, "Offer to help your neighbor carry in the groceries." Innocuous as it may seem, the end result of this remark could be some parent taking us to court because their child went out and tried to assist some unsavory character, and was abducted in the process! Heaven forbid, but nothing's impossible. In our e-book, we took care to state "Never do anything without first asking permission from your parents" - many times, and in many ways.

Article content: seems like everyone wants it in mass quantities. But how smart is it to hire a wet-behind-the-ears intern to write pages and pages of information and then publish it under your company name? One little slip-up, and guess who's getting a subpoena in the mail. Not the intern! I recently wrote an article on credit card debt elimination. As I was crafting my copy, I kept stumbling over "red flag" statements that could prove troublesome. "Some debt consolidation companies may even be able to erase the interest fees you've accrued." Was that true?? If it wasn't, somebody might be getting an earful down the road. It's difficult to know what information found on the internet is accurate, or just somebody's assertion. If you're not sure - disclaim! Or, simply avoid commenting.

Coupons and limited time offers that aren't properly disclaimed can cost you money. Say you run a sale on your website, but you forget to include start and end dates. If the sale prices are valid in January but you don't tell your customers, someone could very well come along and demand a discount in May! Or what if you post an ad for your business offering 50% off all design jobs but you forget to exclude the really high-end projects? You could find yourself working on an extensive web-design job that's only bringing in five hundred dollars when it could have made you a thousand!

What about your return policy? You want to be known as a company with its customers' best interest in mind - but what if your return policy is so open-ended, it leaves you vulnerable to excessive returns, when in fact there is really nothing wrong with what you offer? I worked for an e-greeting company this summer. How is an e-greeting company supposed to guarantee "customer satisfaction?" It's not possible! So, in such a case, a statement like this has to go. Would a newborn to the industry have the foresight to make such decisions? My guess is no.

Do you sell products via the web? Anything that poses a safety threat should be disclaimed to avoid future legal headaches and thousands of dollars lost. Everything from over-the-counter drugs to children's products to baby clothes to automobile parts to finances must be shielded from potential legal action. Never thought about legal ramifications? Best to get an expert's advice before going forward with your business plan.

Still thinking of hiring a novice to help you run your business? Think again. A little extra money spent now can mean a ton of money saved later. Hire a copywriter or marketer with corporate experience, who will exercise legal caution in your business writing and provide financial security for your future. Who knows... you may never even need that lawyer.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is a New-Jersey based Copywriting Consultant with nine years' industry experience. Her current focus is web content and web marketing for a multitude of products and services although the bulk of her experience lies in retail for big-name companies like Toys"R"Us. Visit http://www.wordfeeder.com for rates and samples.


More Resources

How Much Money Do I Need to Spend on Advertising?
Q: I've never really done much advertising for my business; I've always relied on networking and word-of-mouth. Now I'd like to launch a small campaign, but I'm frightened it will cost a lot of money.
Promote yourself on radio for free
Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question.
How To Write Really Good Ads
All sales begin with some form of advertising. To build sales,this advertising must be seen or heard by potential buyers, andcause them to react to the advertising in some way.
Dont Put All Your Eggs in The Same Basket
Solution: You can protect yourself by partnering with other lead sources because it is unlikely that they will all have a problem or technical issue at the same time.Other alternative: It doesn't hurt either to use a few marketing tools to generate leads for your business.
Raising Funds For Your Nonprofit Using An Annual Direct Mail Program
A good annual direct mail solicitation program can produce unrestrictive operating funds for your nonprofit organization year after year. And such an annual direct mail program, if done right, should produce more funding for your organization each year.
7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise
Most business owners and managers keep a fairly close eye on their marketing budgets.And nothing throws a budget out of whack faster than advertising.
The First UK Man To Become a Human Billboard an Interview
Advertising on humans using tattoos is rapidly kind of freak niche that is definitely growing. It all started about two years ago (to the best of my knowledge) when a guy ran an ad on eBay offer his forehead as a billboard.
Do Your Adverts Get You More Sales?
Philadelphia retailer and US Postmaster General, John Wanamaker, once said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."If you're spending $10,000 a month on advertising $5,000 is going straight down the tubes.
Magnetic Business Cards: Make Your Marketing Message Stick
What is it about magnets that draw people to leave them on fridges and file cabinets for years at a time?Many people like to have the contact information handy for common service providers without flipping through a bulky phone book. Magnets are the perfect solution for being seen in this situation.
3 Simple But Powerful Off-Line Advertising Strategies
There are several ways to advertise and get the word out about your business online and the best of them include f-ree search engines, pay per click search engines, writing articles, utilizing press releases, doing joint ventures/ad co-ops, and posting to message boards and forums related to your target market.But one advertising method that's neglected by most online marketers is off-line advertising.
Custom LED Display
Custom LED Display, as the name specifies, facilitate control anything with any message that you can think of, from hours of operation to daily specials. These are used by almost all industries like factory, banks, airports, universities, libraries, and many others.
Advertising Costs Getting Too High?
Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business. One problem that small business owners have always faced is the high cost of marketing.
Avoid Being Vague
We are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages daily?on television and the radio, on the internet, in magazines and newspapers, on billboards and other signs, and even at the bottoms and on the backs of receipts. The world is, indeed, a very noisy place.
Moving Message Display
Moving message display are designed to be installed into environments where vast amounts of information need to be conveyed to large audiences both quickly and efficiently, also in the world of indoor and outdoor displays. This gives you enormous flexibility for creating interesting text message on Moving message display.
6 Must-Have Elements of a Powerful Brochure
Most brochures that businesses put out today end up doing little to impact the sales of that business. By applying the 6 must-have elements listed below you will transform you brochure from trash can lining into a powerful sales tool.
How To Write Super-Effective Ads and Sales Letters!
"The more things change, the more they stay the same". That saying couldn't be more true, especially when it comes to writing ads and sales letters.
How to Breathe New Life into Your Advertising Campaign
If you haven't made many sales or perhaps none at all, don't be discouraged. Use this 10-point checklist to breathe new life into your advertising campaigns and improve your response rate.
What the Newspaper Ad Person Won't Tell You
Newspapers are considered the PRIMARY advertisingmedium by 99.4% of all retailers.
How To Tell If An Advertisement Costs Too Much
People say it all the time: "This advertising costs too much!" They practically go into cardiac arrest when they see how much the advertising for certain media in certain markets is going to cost them. It is pretty easy to get sticker shock when you see that a sixty-second radio commercial on a popular Los Angeles station could cost you a thousand bucks.
Make Your Business Cards Work
What's the cheapest, most under-used marketing tool you have?The answer's no secret ..

More Advertising Information:

Related Articles

Top 9 Reasons To Advertise
Advertising is not for every company. But some require it because their market is big and constantly changing and evolving.
Do Your Business Cards Say Who You REALLY Are?
Here are a couple of tips for creating an eye catching card:Use some color - not too much - just enough to grab someone's attention and make them want to read the card.
Media, the Internet, Yellow Pages, and Your Business
If you are reading this article, chances are you could use a little extra money. With the advent of the internet and the migration of advertising dollars from print to electronic (and this time, it's the real thing, I swear! Not one of those 1999 tech busts!.
Secrets And Top-Tips Of Mail Order Advertising
Good Advertising creates more production, thus greater consumption, faster turnover and lower sales price per unit. To a great extent it determines the success or failure of the mail order operator! When working up an advertising program remember that what is genuinely desirable to you may or may not appeal to the majority of your prospects! Different types of merchandise or services demand completely different advertising media.
Crazy Ads? Maybe Youre Just Out of The Demo!
My father called me to complain, again. He's 82 and he's angry.
In Advertising Bigger isn't Always Better
If you have been following the recent advertising news you will notice that more and more major advertisers are looking to smaller ad agencies to handle their campaigns.Is it because they feel bad? Is it because they are cheaper? Or is it because they see the level of creative talent of smaller agencies?Lets take a quick look at why this is happening and how this is good for the consumers and the advertisers.
If You Lost 70% of Your New Customers, Would You Notice?
Buyers Don't Rely on the Yellow Pages Like They Used toCustomers' buying behavior has changed - for good. If your business depends on most categories in the Yellow Pages to attract new customers, you've probably seen a decline.
Super Secret Tip For Using PPC Search Engine Advertising Successfully
It's not about traffic; it's about generating leads.That's right.
How To Make Your Resource Box Sell
Ezine Articles - they're everywhere!And little wonder. They're one of the fastestways of building traffic to your website.
How to Save Money by Making Your Own Sign
In the sign industry we commonly refer to the material that the sign is made out of as the substrate. Examples include, wood, vinyl banners, aluminum, coroplast, etc.
Giorgio Armani: A Persuasive Campaign
Lets examine the use of Giorgio Armani Company's advertisements for a persuasive campaign. My reasoning is because the company is separated into several different divisions, while each tries to sell their product, the advertisements must maintain an overall company image.
Buying Radio? Read This and Dont Waste Your Money
Pay close attention and make it work the best for you.No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from your local radio stations.
How Can All the Radio Stations Be #1?
Are you confused by all the information you receive from various radio stations? Do they all tell you they are #1 and you don't know who to believe? Most of them probably are #1 so believe it or not, they aren't lying to you. The question is, "What are they #1 in and is it a group of ears you want to reach?"Quite often a radio "Account Manager" or "Account Executive" which are pseudonyms for radio sales person, receives a call from someone who states they are gathering information for someone else, the real decision maker, someone who is looking at radio as a possible advertising medium.
How To Track Your Advertising Like A Hawk
Tired of pouring endless money into advertising? Do you wonder which ads are "REALLY" working for the business you manage? Would you like a bullet-proof system for capturing the results from your advertising and marketing? Below are three concepts that will enable you to track your advertising and marketing like a hawk! Really, it's that simple!Developing a tracking system: As a business owner/executive/manager, you need an efficient way to record and evaluate the results from your advertising and marketing programs. To get started, you will need a "prospect card" which includes a list of ALL the places you advertise and market your company.
Heard A Good Radio Ad Lately? Neither Have We
To many ad agencies, radio is considered advertising's ugly stepchild. It's not sexy like television and is treated as a necessary evil with little effort put into it.
What Makes A Winning Online Ad?
Most people who have been involved with sales & marketing for any length of time have heard the axiom, "Sell them what they want. Then sell them what they need".
A Lesson In Advertising From The Eighteenth Century
Back in the 1760s, the great Dr Samuel Johnson delivered himself of the dictum that 'promise, large promise is the soul of advertising'. It's a good thought, a great thought; and I contend that what was true then is equally true today.
What Colors Make Your Services Most Attractive?
This information is based on the principles of Laws of Attraction, Law of Allowing and Law of Deliberate Creation. And the Universal Laws of Energy (like attract likes) proven by Quantum Physics.
How You Can Create Advertising That Sells
A well-planned and properly executed marketing program should include a sufficient commitment of capital resources to an on-going, well executed advertising program. Yes, this includes your business.
Why Most Advertisements Stink!
Question: What do you think the most important part of any ad is? Your company name? Your telephone number? Your offer? Look at your own advertising. What stands out? What is in the largest print? If it's your company name or logo hold out your wrist so I can whack it with a stick.