Helpful Online Marketer

Actionable strategies to help you grow your blog or business.

Do You Really Need a Privacy Policy for Your Blog?

Privacy policy for your blog, privacy policy for your website.

Do you really need a privacy policy for your blog? Will your blog be legal without it? The answer is yes you do need one. No, your blog will not be legal without one. 

Your readers have a right to know what you plan on doing with their private information. They have the right to know if you collect their personal information. Your visitors have the right to know how you run your blog. Do you make money? If so how do they fit into that equation?

The FTC requires that you have one. It’s the law. If you don’t have one you run the risk of getting fined. If you want to learn more about privacy policies, what they are, why they matter, how to get one of your own read the rest of my blog post. 

 *Disclaimer: Just letting you know that I’m not a lawyer by any means. Everything stated in this blog post is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be considered legal advice or counsel. Talk to a lawyer to get legal advice about your situation.

*Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.

Privacy policy for your blog

What is a privacy policy?

A privacy policy lets readers know what information you collect. It tells that what you will and won’t do with the information. If you collect personal information from your readers like names, emails, cookies, etc. then you need a privacy policy. 

Privacy policies aren’t just for blogs. If you have your own website for your online business and collect personal information you need one too. If you plan on promoting affiliates you need a privacy policy. If you plan on selling your own products directly from your website or blog you need one. 

Why you need a privacy policy for your blog

A privacy policy builds trust with your reader. It adds credibility to your blog or website. By being transparent with your visitors they’ll know they can trust you. They’ll know you aren’t going to do shady things with their info.
If you use Blogger aka Blogspot for your blog like I do you need a privacy policy too. If you use cookies for affiliate marketing you need one. 
Another big reason why you need is it’s the law. The FTC requires that you have one in place. If you don’t comply you could face heavy fines. They won’t have mercy on you just because you’re a new blogger.
Plus third-party tools, services, and affiliates might require you to have one in place. 

What needs to be included in your privacy policy

The law requires a lot of things to be in your privacy policy such as:
  • Personal information
  • Cookie policy
  • email marketing
  • third party policies
  • GDPR provisions
You can take a look at my privacy to get an idea of what’s included in it. But don’t copy it because it’s customized to my blog and readers. Plus it’s a violation of copyright infringement. That’s why you need one of your own. 
The privacy policy template I recommend tells you how to customize it.  I was able to understand how to use it. Believe me, I have no legal experience.

Where to place your privacy policy link

The best place to put a link to your privacy policy for your blog or website is in the footer or navigation menu. If you collect emails you can place a link there as well. The link has to be visible to your readers. It can’t be hidden or buried. They need to be able to find it easily. 

Why you can’t use a privacy policy generator

The problem with privacy policy generators is that you don’t know who wrote it. You don’t know if it’s written by a real lawyer. Plus you don’t know when it’s been updated. It’s important for your policy to update with any changes to the law.
The problem with most sites like this is they don’t explain what’s in the policy. You’re ignorant of what’s in it and why. Whereas if you get one from a lawyer you’ll have more knowledge. You know you’re getting one that’s updated. 

Where to find a professional privacy policy 

I recommend getting your privacy policy template plate from Lucrezia from the blog Blogging for New Bloggers and Tiny Love Bug. She also runs the Facebook group Blogging for New Bloggers. She is a lawyer and university lecturer. She has over 15 years of legal expertise. 
Her templates are easy-to-read and highly-effective. I use her legal templates to make my blog legally complaint. I was able to edit and install my template in under an hour. With her privacy policy template, you’ll receive a privacy policy workshop, a cookie policy template, and your privacy policy will be GDPR & CCPA complaint.

Grab your privacy policy template!

How to install your privacy policy page

Once you download your template all you have to do is copy and paste it onto a new page. The places you need to edit to customize it for your blog will be highlighted. The workshop explains how to edit and fill in your template. 

Then once your done hit publishes to publish your page. Then link to the footer or navigation menu. If I can do it you can too. 

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Conclusion

Having a privacy policy for your blog or business is important to be compliant with the FTC. It helps to build trust with your visitors. If you sell your own products, promote affiliates, collect email addresses or any personal information you need one.  

Is your blog legally compliant with the FTC? Are unsure as to whether you should use a free privacy policy or not? In my blog post you'll learn the answer to those questions. Plus I'll show how easy it is to add a privacy policy to your blog. Legal templates for bloggers, legal pages for bloggers. #beginnerbloggers #legaltips

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