Will Adding Legalese to Websites Hurt Sales?

Because the Internet is known as the “unknown” wild west at times when it comes to determining legal obligations and potential for lawsuits and legal trouble, it is strongly recommended that every website have legal terms and conditions governing privacy, the use of information, the use of the site and the sale of any services and products.

Many online entrepreneurs balk at having “legalese” on their sites in fear that it will reduce sales on their site.  This is definitely a legitimate concern.  In marketing, you do not want to add anything in your sales process that will cause a prospect to be confused, feel overwhelmed and “legalese” can overwhelm most anyone.

However, is it worth risking potentially significant liability?  I can tell you that after representing many clients in dealing with potential lawsuits and problems, the stress, uncertainty and the amount you can lose makes it most certainly not work it.

Plus, if you speak to any successful online entrepreneur (ones doing over a million dollars in annual sales) you will likely hear a story or two about some legal problems faced in their businesses.  And, they will likely emphasize to you the importance of having your legal agreements in place. In other words, if you plan on running an online business for the long term, you MUST have legal and risk planning as part of your business.  Do not wait until you are making hundreds of thousands of dollars to be shocked by risks and problems that could have been avoided.

When it comes to legal protection v. sales and marketing- there is a balance.  Keep your legal terms on a separate page and just link to them in the sales process. One really effective method used is to start your legal terms with a statement like “There are the terms that our attorneys require we include. . . ”

In your terms and conditions, avoid using unknown and legalese terms- have you lawyer write them so that they are easy to read and understand.

In your regular marketing copy, you can use the persuasive techniques taught by successful copywriters but be sure you are truthful and never deceptive.

Short URL: http://www.intelligentbizplanning.com/?p=127

Posted by Amyli McDaniel on Aug 14 2009. Filed under Business Planning, Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.