What so many website owners don't Understand is that if you're collecting As little as an email address on a Contact form you could be collecting Regulated data because names emails IP Addresses are regulated pieces of data And you may be required by law to make Those disclosures [Music] Questions where we showcase awesome Marketers doing awesome marketing today I am excited to be joined by Hans Skillrude he's the co-founder of Termageddon which make website policies That automatically update as the laws Change Hans thanks so much for coming on The show thanks for having me Chase I no One ever wants to talk to me about Privacy policies so I'm really happy That you you know you gave me a platform To share my thoughts we're actually Continuing in this vein the the last Spotlight session we recorded was around Accessibility Uh so another topic that is often Overlooked but important is obviously Policies and you know I was excited to To bring you on the show to chat about This because right off the bat I before We even met I knew I was going to like You I feel like the name termageddon Just brings uh some much needed levity To the area of uh privacy policies so Let's start there where'd the name come
From Um so I run this company with my wife She she's the brain so she you know She's the attorney helping U.S Legislators write laws at the American Bar Association and stuff and um you Know she was charging 15 20K to draft Privacy policies for you know higher end Clients but clients nonetheless that Need to make disclosures I was running a 12-person web design agency and I was Copying and pasting privacy policies for My clients whenever they asked so he Felt like there was some middle room There and um we decided you know what Like we could be a like any other Company and have some sort of like cool Business related name but we're like you Know we we want to work with people that Can get along with us and we feel like a Good name that's funny but a little edgy Like can kind of siphon away people who Don't want to work with and kind of Bring people to us that we you know Could see ourselves getting a beer with So uh we were looking at terminator.com But that was already taken so we just Followed back with the termageddon.com Because it was shockingly available wow That's awesome that's a killer domain I Love the backstory Um you know this is uh This is something that I think is Actually going to be uh as exciting as
It can be for our audience It's a good way to put it you know I I May or may not have been guilty of the Same copying uh random privacy policy Templates off the internet for websites That I built uh over my career Um let's talk a little bit about that I Mean how how stupid of a move is it to Just copy and paste a random policy off The internet so Is someone who used to do that all the Time I always say I had to marry a Privacy attorney to figure this stuff Out so no one else had to and like I say That because like look we all know we're Not doing something smart there like and And I would say that It's just I think it's important for Agencies to understand this is a dying Concept this is a Dying Breed where We're copying and pasting legal Documents for clients and thinking this Is a good long-term strategy to protect My own agency Um you know we're you know we're we're Staring we're recording this call uh Just before 2023 you know we're three Weeks out until two new privacy laws go Into effect Um and then we have four other privacy Laws going into effect next year and What so many website owners don't Understand is that if you're collecting As little as an email address on a
Contact form you could be collecting Regulated data because names emails IP Addresses are regulated pieces of data And you may be required by law to make Those disclosures so really what I've Set out with termageddon is you know Obviously we give web agencies a free Set of our policies auto updating Policies for life in the hopes you like Our product and use our reseller program Our affiliate program but most Importantly what we offer agencies is Rather than copying and pasting Templates when clients ask you to you Actually have them sign a website Policies waiver so we have a free one You know if you don't want to join term Again but you want the waiver just email Me I'll give it to you like this is an Asset that I think is so critical for Web designers facing the future with all These incoming privacy laws and it Really is just a document stating the Facts which is hey I just built you a Website that's a lead generating awesome Secure tracking analytics based website That's going to produce you a lot of Business but you need to understand I Just built you a bunch of features that Collect regulated data I'm letting you Know that you may be required by a lot Of privacy policies and you can choose To do nothing that's fine you can sign Off say you're going to do nothing you
Can have your attorney provide me with Your policies or you can use a company Like termageddon but no matter what you Choose you need to acknowledge that just Because I'm your web designer does not Mean I am responsible for your website Policies and I think it's just as easy To have I think it's easier for a client To sign that waiver and and put the Responsibility into the right person's Hands which is the client's hands to Make that decision if they want to Comply with laws or not rather than the Agent agency feeling that they need to Go now find legal documents when I'd Imagine they don't even have a law Degree to do like it's just you know It's all bad but there never was really Like a thing in place to fix that so That's the funny part right you know I Used to run an agency that built Hundreds of maybe thousands of of Websites for clients and It's weird that we were looked to as the Ones who needed to provide that right It's like we're not a law firm what are You talking about but you know we would Grab the template or whatever allegedly Maybe uh and throw it on there and um So yeah this makes a ton of sense now The other reason I was really excited to Bring you on because I knew our Community would get excited about the Way that you guys are doing this the
Business model I think it's genius it's Kind of in line with with the way we Think about things which is it's the Agencies that control all this stuff Online and actually know what's going on And so let's work with agencies and so First of all You already kind of spilled the beans You guys give away uh you give away the Product for agencies for free for life So if I'm an agency listening to this I Can go to term and get it and I can get A free Um policy that I put on my agency site It auto updates and I'm good And then uh very smartly you guys hope That I think that is so cool that I Start recommending it to my clients now You the way that you describe it sounds Like it's an affiliate program but I I Think I also saw on your site that you Have a reseller program right like do You have both of those things we do yeah And you absolutely nailed our business Model I mean that's I just built term Again because I I was a web designer Very stressed out about these things That these documents I was copying Pasting for clients so I just built it To be agency and client friendly and I Knew that as an agency who I'll be Honest I kind of downplayed policies a Little bit like I had enough on my plate To think about I knew that I had to we
Had to give something for free forever Because why else who else is going to Take the time to figure this stuff out So that's kind of our trade-off which is Like Hey we're gonna give you a 99 a Year policy so it's a set of policies For free forever cookie consent cookie Policy terms all that stuff and we do it In the hopes that you're like you know What this is pretty awesome and it's Probably time for me to grow up with my My agency and probably get the Documentation from clients you know Letting them know hey things like names And emails are regulated you should Probably get protections but you can Make that decision you're the website Owner you're responsible not me and I Think that's just a much better Long-term strategy to protect an agency Not to mention protect their clients and Also obviously generate a new recurring Revenue stream for your agency as well So let me ask you a question you Mentioned 99 or that was my uh my next Question was gonna be what is the price Of this if I'm just a business showing Up at term again and I want to buy it And then what what is it what's the uh What's the margin look like for an Agency partner yeah so it's 99 a year For a full set of policies we don't have Any upselling nothing it's it's Literally 99 a year canceling time
Um it's you know we try to keep that as Simple as possible Um for agencies so when they apply we we Actually do manually approve we manually Reject as well Um but if you if you're from high level You're going to get approved for the Record but um just mention high level You'll get approved Um but uh we then send a custom welcome Email message and basically that's when We release the uh wholesale rates so as An agency partner they can buy a 38.40 Per year and the key component too is That I didn't want to lock agencies and You gotta have to you have to buy 20 of These licenses to get the wholesale Rates nope because we manually approve You we know you're an agency so we want To do business with you for the long run So you actually get access to wholesale Rates that you can buy one at a time uh Right out the gate what was that Wholesale rate 38 dollars and 40 cents Per year and you can then sell it at the Full 99 bucks per year plus a setup fee We recommend at least you charge a setup Fee so that's an interesting number with The sense there included is that a Percentage I'm guessing So I don't think I've ever shared this Publicly before but Um well all actually so termageddon it Wasn't just terminator.com it was
Another company called email on acid.com Um I used to use it back in the day they Were like yeah basically you send them a Test email and they report back like 50 Different layouts on different browsers And it's a QA thing anyways I was like I Love that name I want to name it term Again but um Um but it was WP engines pricing of Their um hosting plans for agencies Where I did the math of like how they Discount for agencies and I just copied That that math they did because they Seem like a bunch of smart people so I'm Just gonna you know copy the ratios they Did so 38 dollars and 40 cents is what I Came out to and then you can sell them 99 bucks a year plus a setup fee genius And we are we have both plans too but That's where it's so funny when a price Has cents on it right because Immediately you start thinking man like That's there for a reason like well There's been a lot of thought that went Into that number what's going on here no It was like a calculation from six years Ago that looked at once so that 40 cents Has added up though that's for sure That's hilarious Okay so my next question is on behalf of Uh our community members who are not in The U.S how does this apply to them is This a us-based product Um does it can you get different
Versions for around the world what's That look like yeah so currently turmer Got into servicing businesses in the or Website owners in America or the United States Canada the United Kingdom Ireland And Australia um we are actively working On offering multi-language support which Is going to have us moving into uh Europe Um probably like in tandem maybe even With that uh we'll be deploying New Zealand and South Africa as well Um and then we'll likely head into the Latin Americas uh because we have a lot Of agency partners pre-registering in That area so that's kind of a really Great you know hey we're gonna launch in All these countries but that that's a Rough idea of our plan um for the future So uh but yeah the five countries we Service currently Uh we have a little over 5000 agency Partners that we've manually approved to Our program Um and yeah you know the good portion of Them have resold or referred at least a Couple clients some some hundreds Um which has been nice that's great so I Know you're not the lawyer of the group But can you just give me a quick Breakdown because I've always been kind Of confused it's like you you typically See a privacy policy and terms of Conditions in a footer sure is that
Still the norm like we need both of Those things uh has that changed is uh Termageddon just the privacy policy is It both Give us a little insight there yeah Absolutely so 99 a year includes a set Of policies so it's like every policy Any typical business owner would need to Make I just had my cash show up that's The tickets on this side there oh here She comes all right that's great just Anytime I do a video Um So Um so let's let's start with the privacy Policy so people have a privacy policy To comply with privacy laws it is that Simple now that's the high level simple Part it obviously gets a little bit more Complex but a privacy policy exists to Comply with laws and not get find or Suit for Privacy Law non-compliance so If you and what need what website owners Need to understand is privacy laws don't Care about where your business is Located what they care about is Protecting the data who who live in the Country in which they created the Privacy laws or the state or the Territory Um so so what you have to do as a Website owner if you have a website that Can get inquiries from across state Lines country lines or even continent
Lines you need to find out what laws Apply to you whose information are you Collecting because only after you find Out the laws that apply to you can you Identify the disclosures you're required To make so obviously termageddon's tool Helps you figure that out and that's Something I think is just a critical Missing factor in this space which is Like the moment you hear it it makes Sense but like no one is operating that Way everyone's like oh I want to a gdpr Privacy policy because that's the most Extensive privacy policy and that is Just not accurate on so many levels Um and I'll spare you the details on That but um you first need to find out What laws apply to you you only then can You find out the laws or the disclosures You're required to make under each Applicable law so privacy policies to Comply with privacy laws okay to not get Fined or sued for Privacy Law Non-compliance then comes the terms of Service so the terms of service is about Setting the rules to using the website And I love a terms of service for Virtually any website for little Disclosures like my cat's not allowed to Use my table while I do webinars that Would be a great rule Um so uh a great rule a great reason why I like a terms of service for virtually Any website is the third party links
Disclosure hey this website offers links To third parties I can't believe it That's just Dora I'm gonna have to bring you outside Hey this website offers links to third Parties we don't control those Third-party websites so we're not Responsible when you click one of those Links and get taken to that page like That one simple disclosure could prevent You from being fined or being sued if You if someone clicks a link on your Website that site gets attacked you get Hacked and you lose all your data or Something like that so Um that's a broad one that applies to Anyone because everyone has links to Like their social media Pages or Resources or purchase Pages or donation Pages whatever Um a terms of service can also set the Rules for like e-commerce websites so What happens when I buy a product what's Your cancellation policy your refunds Your shipping all of that stuff Subscription rules use uh for Subscription-based websites Um dmca disclosures Um which stands for the Digital Millennium Copyright ads which is more Or less a statement that says hey I'm Not trying to use images illegally so if I'm using any content or copy that's not My right to do so rather than suing me
Just let me know and I'll remove it from My site Um it's certainly not like a get out of Jail free you can just start stealing Images from people but it has proven to Prevent people from being sued so Um a terms of service all is all about Just limiting the liability of the Website owner by stating the rules like What we're not responsible for when You're visiting our website and and you Know here's answers to some common Questions A disclaimer is um a document that Further limits your liability if you Provide anything on your website that Can be seen as offering Health advice or Fitness tips like if you blog about like Hey eat four pineapples a day and you Lose 50 pounds yeah you're going to want A disclaimer for that I tried it didn't Work Um If you offer anything that could be seen As legal advice um if you participate in Affiliate programs or you display ads From third-party companies on your Website or you sell Health Products like Diet pills or essential oils or things Like that a disclaimer can help further Limit your liability by basically Disclaiming things it's kind of like Those commercials you see the Super Bowl Where it's like a medical prescription
And it's like you know people walking Down the beach or something and then at The end for like 10 seconds someone is Talking like a hundred miles an hour Just super fast like don't take this Medicine if you're pregnant like if you Have heart palpitations call 9-1-1 Immediately like that's a disclaimer and And that's uh valuable for website Owners that need it last but not least And then I promise we'll be done with Part of is the cookie policy so cookies The cookie policy part of this because This is the new thing that like is oh Yeah yeah absolutely so a cookie policy Explains the cookies that you place on Your users browsers when they're Navigating through your website and we All know and I'm sure we all absolutely Love cookie banners Um so a cookie Banner exists to collect Consent prior to placing non-essential Cookies on a user's browser Um so a lot of website owners are like I Don't know if I need a cookie consent or Not and a cool thing about termageddon Is when you go through that Questionnaire find out the laws that Apply to you it will tell you if you Need a cookie policy or consent tool Based on the laws that apply to you Because only some not all privacy laws Require you to collect consent for the Use of non-essential cookies so
Um so yeah cookie policy and the consent Tool is to comply with laws and avoid Fines or lawsuits Um and which obviously you know they're Increasing we have more privacy laws More enforcements being made and you Know we have bills here in the United States we have 36 privacy bills in the U.S New York alone has three privacy Bills in New York's where all the Accessibility lawsuits came from New York has three privacy bills if any one Of them passes it's going to enable a New Yorkers not disabled New Yorker New Yorkers just any New Yorker to sue any Website owner located anywhere for Collecting as little as an email address On a contact form without proper New York Privacy Law disclosures so Um so yeah I think the time is now I Call this the kind of the proactive Phase like yeah there's privacy laws That are required it's kind of best Practice to get it it is legally Required but like what's coming I think It's just a no-brainer agencies need to Get the documentation in place to Protect themselves when building Websites for clients that hopefully will Be around for a few years so yeah wow That's a lot so I didn't even really Think of that like the policy your Policies have areas Specific to every state too I'm assuming
You get traffic of course you're going To get traffic from every state right It's gnarly it's gnarly like you know if There was one Global Privacy Law like Turbogen would be out of business like And honestly though I support that Because that makes way more sense like I Have one Privacy Law we all abide to but Instead we have We don't even have a federal Privacy Law For General websites I mean we have HIPAA and and culpa and stuff but not a Just general lead generating website we Have individual states proposing their Own unique bills and their own unique Laws with their own unique disclosure Requirements and it's just a must and And that's you know I love the fact that People are getting a right to their Privacy like that's something we're Fighting for I just think it's an Absolute joke that a small business Owner that just wants to have a website Up now needs to comply with a multitude Of ever-growing ever complex privacy Laws and and you know so long as that Keeps happening term again is going to Be around and we're going to be trying To help out small business owners as Much as possible so yeah it is a really Weird I mean the whole thing is strange To me it's kind of like I feel like it Should be like Chrome like you accept their policies
And it applies to like any website the Browser and then their browser or Something right it's just crazy to me That every website is left to know and Disclose all of this themselves but um But in comes term again and to make it All easy for us so Bravo and kudos to What you guys have built that sounds Like an incredibly useful tool at a very Accessible price and um you've enabled Agencies to make money off of it which Is my favorite part Um so that was really informative so Basically you need privacy policy you Need terms and then often we need a Disclosure document which is disclaimer Disclaimer okay great and then you've Got the uh the the of course the cookie Policy now which is only necessary if You are required to comply with the laws That require it Interesting very cool so and that sounds Like a lot but you know it is it really Is no don't get me wrong like it is Um but you know the good news is is There's affordable Alternatives you know Obviously if you can afford an attorney To draft all this and monitor these laws And update your policies whenever the Laws change awesome like go with that Like nothing's gonna be having your Attorney do this for you it's just no One has that type of money laying around For just a website policy yeah not many
People do so you know companies like Earnings would kind of half-ass it too If they're not like this right I think Every attorney I've taken through Termageddon has said whoa this is way More comprehensive than I've ever Thought and I've had a lot of attorneys Say I need to call my clients who I Built privacy policies for and tell them They need to get it updated so Um so yeah you know attorneys that don't Specialize in privacy they come to us With the same exact messaging any small Business comes to us with I know it's Important I have no idea what to do show Me what you got so makes sense Well Hans uh the website is Termageddon.com and I believe if uh uh The agencies that are watching want to Take you up on that free lifetime offer For their own business uh it's Termageddon.com agency Dash Partners is That right that's right and then the Form at the bottom if you mentioned Chase uh we'll give you two free Licenses forever instead of one so it's Recorded it's in the books That is awesome thank you so much Hans I Mean I really appreciate you coming on Sharing the knowledge but even more so Hook in our agency audience up for sure For sure and for those of you who don't Want to use term again I'm serious when I say send me a message like fill out
Our contact form you will have to agree To our privacy policy Um but fill out that form just say hey Can you send me the waiver because That's an asset like I don't I'm not Trying to like Stonewall like you have To become a term again partner that's Just something that I just feel like is Absolutely necessary in the space Because the demands from clients are to Build lead generating websites and now We're sitting down the barrel of yet Another set of regulations we already Have accessibility now we have privacy Coming in like just protect your agency Because you're building the websites of The future you know so just that's my Final piece of advice I guess just Protect your agency waivers can help you Do that awesome well thank you again so Much for coming on of course Chase Thanks so much Thanks for watching guys we will see you In the next one [Music]
