Do I need to post a disclaimer on my blog?

[Katie]

I recently created a free blog and I need to know what i;m doing is legal. My blog consists of posting freebies around them web (Which includes links to the freebies), ways to make money online, money saving tips, sweepstakes/coupons/contests(Includes posting links to sweepstakes,coupons, and contests), etc. Do I need to post a disclaimer that I am not being paid to advertise products, freebies, contests, sweepstakes, etc? I come across a lot of these kind of blogs and I just want to make sure i'm not breaking any laws. Can you give me any advice as to still manage my blog legally? Thanks!

[Laura]

You may want to post a disclaimer that you are not affiliated with the companies who are doing the promotions and you cannot guarantee their validity.

If your site starts making a profit (by running ads perhaps) you should invest in a lawyer to review your website's legal terms. Until then, look at some similar sites to yours and see what their terms are. You can use them as a reference to write yours.

[Peter Nikolow]

No, no need to run such disclaimer. This is granted in First Amendment to the United States Constitution as "freedom of speech".

[Oscar Austin]

You can if you want to, but unless you are directly writing a review about a specific product or service, then you really don't have to as far as I understand.