Blog legally utilizing these lawyer approved templates
Let’s talk about the number one thing people get wrong when starting a blog. Doing it legally. To blog legally, you require 3 key templates: Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and a Disclaimer.
Hello Emma’s Diary,
Maybe you have been avoiding or even forgot about this side of the blogging industry, maybe you’ve already tried your own DIY approach, or maybe you were completely oblivious to it. Whatever the case may be, I feel a responsibility to share it with you before I tackle any other topics on this journey I’m taking you on.
What you’re risking by not having THESE legal protections
There are many horror stories out there of people losing their blog, facing legal charges, fines, and time lost by not taking the right steps in their blogging journey.
On paper, becoming a blogger is a breeze. 1) Decide your niche, 2) design your website, 3) write your first post, and 4) play around on social media. The dream job. But there’s a 5th VERY important step we must not forget. And that’s setting up your legal pages.
What you’re risking by not doing this:
- Getting sued by your viewers/customers
- Facing hundreds or thousands of dollars ($$$) in fines and penalties from the FTC, CCPA, and GDPR
- Loss of hours, days, months, YEARS of your life spent on your blog
- The entirely of your site and it’s content
- Your credibility and following
To protect your blog and online business from the unimaginable, I am recommending this legal bundle. It’s valued at just under $500 for just the starter bundle (Psst… That’s what some lawyers charge hourly), you can get it for almost half that. That doesn’t even include the 9+ bonuses valued at over $1000.
Why this legal bundle?
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably a bit of a perfectionist and thinking of all the ways your blog journey can go wrong. For this reason, I also am highly aware of everything I don’t know.
We all face endless anxieties when starting our own business. The biggest by far is: “Am I doing this legally?” The greatest consequence we can face when starting our blogging careers is legal ramifications. When juggling the never ending stream of anxieties that come with running the show, it was a no brainer for me which one I was going to put in more capable hands.
I’m just a girl, in this vast space we call the internet, trying to make a name for myself. But my skills and knowledge only extend so far. What I don’t have at my disposal is a legal degree. I’m assuming you don’t either.
Might I recommend someone who does have a legal degree and ready made templates to protect you and your business? Amira Irfan, aka, A Self Guru.
Why I trust Amira
- She herself is a licensed attorney, with real experience of the legal side of blogging. She witnessed her own father get sued for $90,000. (Can you imagine???)
- Amira’s blog brings in seemingly endless revenue (7 FIGURES!!!) as well as expansive traffic. She uses her own templates of course and thus far seems well supported by them.
- In 10+ years, Amira has helped over 50,000 entrepreneurs.
- She’s personally audited the free legal templates out there and found glaring holes that could expose you to financial implications. (More on this HERE).
Amira offers a direct solution to the number one problem bloggers face, with ready made templates created by a certified lawyer.
I myself have entrusted her with my livelihood and have had these templates on my blog for a few years now.
Think about it… What is the cost of a lawsuit vs. the cost of the legal bundle?
And before you back out on blogging altogether, does the value also outweigh the financial freedom you’d achieve from being your own boss? I’ll answer that for you: no.
Now, what exactly does this legal bundle offer you?
Great question, I’d be happy to tell you.
The Starter Legal Bundle offers you 3 primary templates for the most important legal pages you’ll need on your website: Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, and a Privacy Policy as well as 10+ extra freebies including but not limited to: Cookies policy, testimonials and product review disclaimer, affiliate links (including Amazon) disclaimer, return/refund policy, etc.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty. I’m sure you’re asking yourself what these templates are and why you’ll need them. Let me walk you through it one by one.
The Legal Bundle – Disclaimer
The Disclaimer is a legal statement that outlines what you are not responsible for. Think of it as a boundary between you, your audience, and your content. Specific parameters are set to clearly define how your content is meant to be used.
When providing your audience any type of advice, product, or information, you want to make sure you’re protecting yourself from claims of a result you never promised the users.
A real world example of this could be when you’re shopping at a store and injure yourself. That store likely has protections to ensure they are not liable.
Another more applicable example could be for health bloggers, or financial bloggers. You wouldn’t want someone to use something harmless you meant as informative to be used incorrectly and result in either A. a medical emergency, or B. financial hardship. As unfortunate as those scenarios may be, you wouldn’t think you could be held liable for damages when in reality, without proper disclaimers, you very much could be.
Note– The disclaimer also protects against inaccuracies or outdated information.
The FTC is one of many scary acronyms you’ll be hearing. They are the Federal Trade Commission, they ensure adequate labeling of ads, sponsorships, and affiliate disclosures.
TIP: Disclosures and Disclaimers are different. A “Disclosure” pertains to the products and services you may be promoting.
But, lucky for you, the disclosures fit nicely within the disclaimer and are included in these templates.
The Legal Bundle – Privacy Policy
Next, you have your Privacy Policy. In simple terms, the Privacy Policy explains exactly what data you collect, how it’s used, and how you’re protecting it. This would include data such as names, email addresses, cookies, even payment information.
Your site, your niche, your business model all likely lead to data collection in some form or another and it’s incredibly important you have a Privacy Policy to speak to it.
If you have…
- A website (I’m assuming you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t)
- An email list
- A storefront
- Analytics tool
- Affiliate links or ads
- Etc.
Then you are legally required to have a privacy policy. Chances are, you won’t get far before you run into at least one of the above scenarios.
Now for the scary legal jargon– You will likely hear terms like GDPR, CCPA, and other data-protection regulations as these are the laws that protect users personal information. Amira’s template specifically takes these into consideration so you don’t have to.
GDPR is General Data Protection Regulation. Regardless of where you reside in the world, GDPR is applicable to everyone, protecting site visitors who are from the European Union. At any point in time an EU resident can hop onto your site, join your email list, or purchase your products and put you at risk for serious legal implications.
CCPA is California Consumer Privacy Act. Much like the GDPR is a protection for the European Union, the CCPA is a protection for residents of California. It allows them to request what data you may be collecting and even make decisions around how you’re managing it.
These are not optional.
The Legal Bundle – Terms and Conditions
Lastly, you have the Terms and Conditions (or, the Terms of Service/Terms of Use), which specifically outline the rules around your site and how your content is meant to be used so they remain compliant and you aren’t made liable. Think of it as the legal agreement between you and those visiting your website.
This actually defends your business and enforces the boundaries established in your Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
Your intellectual property will be protected, liability limited, and legal backing offered should these rules be violated.
BONUS: Amira’s Terms and Conditions acts as a two-for-one for both your blog and any products you sell. I.e., you don’t have to make or purchase a secondary one to satisfy both.
My personal experience: A Review
Before I overwhelm you to the point of abandoning your blog altogether, let me reassure you. I myself, a 20-something year old (at the time) who knew minimal of the world around her and next to nothing of the digital space HAVE purchased these templates and can tell you with absolute confidence that they not only work, but are easy to use.
Now, we all know starting a blog can be a whirlwind for the first few days, even up to the first few years depending on how you’re pacing yourself (I’ve been working on getting my blog off the ground since 2021, believe it or not). I wanted to quit when it got hard, as I’m sure you have at some point too.
I’ve heard many people have wanted to throw in the towel the second they run into the legal stuff. For good reason. REALITY CHECK: We are not lawyers, we don’t know the first thing about writing legally compliant pages.
This is why we should leave it to the professionals. Don’t DIY and take the risk, and DEFINITELY don’t copy someone else’s legal pages. That’s a copyright violation, in case you didn’t know. It’s tempting, but if we care about keeping things legal then maybe we shouldn’t start by breaking the law.
The risk of free templates
Amira has personally audited the free templates out there.
Here’s what she found:
- They lack key verbiage; leaving you exposed.
- They’re often missing the most important aspects (Such as the GDPR and CCPA compliance) and might even end up charging you extra for those qualifications. Invalidating the “Free” aspect entirely.
- They’re NOT filtered through a real, certified lawyer.
So I have to ask you, why take the risk when you can take the leap?
It didn’t take me more than a day to sit down, fill out the templates, and post them to my site.
The affiliate program
On top of this, and possibly the most exciting part, is I also got value out of my purchase. Amira cares about her Customers. She offers one of the best affiliate programs I’ve encountered, to date. Purchasing her legal bundle will be a momentary business cost before it immediately turns around and pays off itself.
In summary…
Let’s leave the heavy lifting to the professionals and not risk our business in an attempt at DIYing our legal pages, ultimately risking hefty consequences. Trust me, I’ve been there and it’s not much easier.
I already refer to us bloggers as a “Jack of all trades,” there’s no need to devote the time to doing the research, narrowly avoiding copyright strikes, filling in the gaps with endless cross checks, risking hidden costs, etc.
Our work is never done and is constantly evolving. I get frustrated with never being able to fully check anything off my lists. Take this opportunity to check this one very important and daunting task off your list permanently.
Spare yourself the anxiety of the unknown. As much as I’d like to say you can start a blog today with ZERO cost to you, this one is a non-negotiable in my book.
Pros and Cons
- PRO It’s a time saver
- PRO You’re not risking the vast legal implications
- PRO Peace of mind and instant gratification
- PRO Immediate value
- PRO 95% done for you, just fill in the blanks
- PRO Headache free
- CON It’s an investment
Take the leap, purchase your legal bundle today.
What legal bundles are available to you?
There are 3 legal bundles available for purchase depending on your budget and need:
1) Starter Bundle
Covers the basics and includes the 3 templates covered in this post plus 9+ bonuses!
2) Premium Bundle
Contains 6* legal templates and 13+ bonuses!
*Includes everything from the starter bundle.
3) VIP Bundle
Bigger, better, brighter. Now with 16* legal templates and 16+ bonuses!
*Includes everything from the starter and premium bundles.
If you’re just starting your online business, I encourage you to follow along! I’m incredibly transparent about all the behind the scenes others might not be showing you. The good, the bad, the messy.
