The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) on Thursday released for public comment a draft of the WOMMA Ethical Blogger-Contact Guidelines, aimed at marketers.

WOMMA's blog ethics guideline for marketers consists of a 10-item checklist for ensuring appropriate and ethical behavior on the part of marketers when communicating with bloggers. WOMMA is asking for feedback and revision from the blogging community and all other interested parties.

"It is vital that marketers understand the rules of the road when communicating with bloggers," said WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz. "Our goal: prevention through education. Many companies are just learning to join the blog conversation, and we want to make sure they do it right."

The Ethical Blogger Contact Guidelines document applies specifically to marketers. It does not cover "how to blog" or rules for internal blogs. "This isn't about setting rules for bloggers, or about how to blog," Sernovitz said. "It's giving companies the tools they need to properly instruct their team on appropriate behavior."

This is the second of three elements in the WOMMA Practical Ethics program. The first was our 20 Questions Ethics Assessment Tool for preventing unethical word-of-mouth campaigns.