Online Copyright Ignorance

Over the past week or so I’ve worked with several clients who did not realize the impact of innocently taking others writings, photos or graphics and pasting them on their site or Blog.  Some even keeping the links for photos intact to the server/site the stole them from!  Yes, stole.  Copyright applies to the Web and everything on it.   E-mail is also copyright protected.

Copyright is a person’s exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original work of authorship. That means you need to ask if you want to use anything created by anyone else on your site or Blog.

With e-mail, this means you do not post publicly e-mail sent to you privately without permission of the Sender.  Period.

When it comes to your Blog or Web site, you cannot post content, photos or graphics without the original author/creator’s explicit permission to do so — even if you do link to their site.  They may not want to allow you to have their information or work on your site/Blog — that is their choice to make.   If you want good content for your site, be prepared to give credit (check out EzineArticles.com).

The Internet/Web is not a “public domain” environment as so many who freely use others works without asking permission prefer to believe. You may find that you get your site shutdown for that incorrect perception!

Read My Article: Online Copyright Myths

The official scoop on Copyright:

Copyrights are governed by the Copyright Act of 1976 contained in title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Act protects published or unpublished works that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression from which they can be perceived. The Act does not protect matters such as an idea, process, system, or discovery. Protection under the Act extends for the life of the creator of the work plus fifty years after his or her death. For works created before January 1, 1978, but not copyrighted or in the public domain, the copyright starts on January 1, 1978, and extends for the same period as for other works, but in any case will not expire before December 31, 2002.

Prior to the enactment of the Act, copyright protection was available for unpublished works only under common law. The Act abolishes the common-law rights, as well as any rights available under state statute, in favor of the rights available under the provisions of the Act. The Act provides for certain exceptions, however, including rights to protection for works not fixed in a tangible medium of expression, and rights regarding any cause of action arising from events occurring before January 1, 1978.

Due to the new online environment, there is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 [PDF] specifically to protect online copyrights. For more info on copyright and how to protect yourself, check out the Government’s site @ http://www.copyright.gov.

If you ever find your works have been stolen, find out where the site is hosted by doing a domain WHOIS search at any Domain Registrar.  Look at the Technical or Name Server information to determine where the site is hosted.  Then, go to that hosting company’s Web site and look for their TOS and Copyright, DMCA complaint process.  You will be required to follow that process to the “T” which includes making legally binding statements that what you state is true while providing information to support your claim and reflect your work was taken or plagiarized without your permission.

On a weekly basis I find sites and Blogs that post my work without my permission.  I then file a formal DMCA complaint with the company hosting the infringer or plagiarizer and they are swiftly shutdown, taken off line!  Hosting companies simply do not want to deal with the liabilities created by those who use their platform illegally.

So the moral of the story? If you did not write it or create it — ask the person who did for permission and respect their rights!

Inbound Links = Networking Opportunity

In a previous post I told you about how you can use Google Alerts to keep track of what those in your industry, competitors or even Bloggers are up to.

It’s a simple concept really. You set up alerts for your main keyword phrases and new posts, sites and pages that include those terms are sent to you in a nifty little e-mail for you to check out. Another neato way to use these alerts is to track new links to your site(s). The alert e-mails then deliver to you the golden opportunity to network and build relationships with folks who have linked to your site.

All you have to do is setup an alert; I use Google and you can read more at the link above (or below). I set up alerts for all my sites for new inbound links. So for this site, as an example, I setup a Google alert to look for “link:http://www.theistudio.com/”. When a new incoming link is indexed by Google, I get an e-mail with a link to the site linking to mine.

When I’ve been notified of a site that found value in my stuff and has linked to me, I always stop by the site and thank them. If it is a Blog post, I’ll contribute to the conversation and again thank them for their support. This little effort on your part can be the beginning of some great partnerships!

Search engines put allot of relevancy on one-way inbound links — sometimes too much so without enough discrimination. But for the time being that’s the way things work and if another site owner “out there” gives you that golden link that search engines rely on to rank you higher, it is well worth your time to thank them!

You will find, as have I, that you’ll meet allot of nice folks, establish new relationships and create networking opportunities that might otherwise not have come your way!

Sucking for Years; Wants New for Nada

What is a muse to do with site owners who have sites that are 6,7,8 years old because they have ignored most of what folks like me advise? Some actually having the attitude that they somehow know better — which gives them the excuse to ignore all prudent recommendations.

Marketing isn’t necessary, keeping updated in both information and looks hasn’t been important either. Things should just happen as they want with no action or expense on their part. They chose over the years to not spend money on their Web program with a multitude of excuses that only serve to reflect their lack of understanding in regard to the potential they are blatantly disregarding.

One in particular had form scripts that had been deactivated by their hosting company — years ago!! When advised that they needed to change to a more secure recommended form — they did nothing because they didn’t want to incur the expense. Imagine all the lost inquiries and opportunities because one didn’t want to spend any money to have their contact form updated and secured? Personally, I can’t even fathom that train of thought! Leave a non-functioning form in place? What does that say about your business, priorities, attention to detail?

Then out of the clear blue sky….Stop the presses — we now want a new look! “It should be easy since I already have a site, right?” (That’s cheapskate site owner code for I want a new look but I don’t want to pay for it.) Wrong; new look = new code, new graphics — update everything — not “easy.” They also let you know it needs to be perfection — down to the pixel (this coming from those not having a working form for years!) and it needs to be up in just a few days — for hardly any cost none the less! Sheesh!

What is a muse to do? With some, those red flags hitting me right up side the head guide me to advise they find a new consultant more in line with their methodology. Why even take on a client that I know will disregard my advice and have me eating Tums within hours of starting their project?

For those I think I can muse to the other side, what I do is calmly explain what is involved and do the best I can. If they get too demanding or unrealistic, I let them know the truth whether they like it or not. If their expectations come from a lack of desire to learn and apply, spend and do — then, I let them know they most likely are throwing good money after bad unless they take my advice to heart and accept the challenge ahead of them.

And what if they don’t like that approach? For every , there are 100, more like 1,000 unscrupulous developers who will be more than willing to take their money and tell them want they want to hear. If ignorance is bliss; then working with me is not.

Can You Build and Maintain Your Own Site?

This week alone I received 4 calls from folks who wanted to build or at the very least maintain their own Web site. No problem! That’s what I do — empower folks with the reality of knowledge and skills that are required to succeed online (whether you choose to hire me as your consultant or not).

When I started to explain what they would have to learn and embrace (and we’re talking the bare minimums here — like learning how to use WordPress or eStore software), silence on the other end of the phone line…. Then, one gentleman in particular commented “I don’t have to learn all that — just like you I have FrontPage!” That’s when I went silent to gather my words carefully. I simply responded that I had never owned or used FrontPage and if that is all that was required to have a successful Web site, he wouldn’t be calling me for assistance, right?

3 of the 4 folks didn’t want to have to learn anything. They just wanted to be able to “do it.” One showed me the site he already created and was quite proud of. Everything centered down the middle, no consistent navigation or look throughout the site. Crummy graphic quality, poor written content, I could go on…. The site was clearly created by someone with zero knowledge or skills in regard to creating a professional and polished presentation. The site was sooo 1990s!

Now understand, I am not trying to insult those who build their own sites. I’ve seen some great sites created by those who made the effort to understand the basics and hone their skills. However, just because you build your own site , in FrontPage or otherwise, does not mean by virtue of that alone that it is a good site. When your little boy or girl comes home from grade school with a drawing that is a hodge-podge of clashing colors and scribbles — you tell them how great it is. The one and only reason that drawing is great is because your child drew it. Is that how adults are supposed to act? They made it, so it is good enough and no one should tell them otherwise? Believe me, from my experience if you are less than complimentary of their efforts, you are the bad guy.

Yes, you can DIY. But you have to be realistic, if you want to succeed, about the work and skills that are involved. Folks like me who have been doing this gig for over 10 years, many times 10 hours a day, know intuitively what looks good, what works and how to do it quickly and efficiently because that’s what we do! We have the skills, experience and the knowledge to be good at what we do because we’ve worked at it — for years. We’ve polished our skills and it is our profession. That’s why folks hire me — to handle what they don’t want to learn while they run their businesses.

In this rabidly competitive environment each business owner has to decide if they want that initial perception of their business to be compromised by lack of skills, design and marketing experience or if they want to be taken seriously and viewed as a credible legitimate enterprise. Folks visit more than one Web site when on a quest for products, services or information and if your competitors “get it” and have partnered with a professional who knows what they don’t so they can succeed, they will get the contact, order, business.

A key trait of a successful business owner is one who is brutally honest about their own skill set, ability, experience and knowledge — they know what they don’t know. They also reflect the professionalism to not devalue or minimize others who do have the skills and experience they desire but would take years to acquire.   Online my friends, that’s what separates the men from the boys….

Does Your Landing Page Hook ‘em?

If you have Pay Per Click campaigns you are most likely frustrated by your lack of ROI or conversions. You aren’t getting the contacts, orders or results you desire. I hear this daily from folks just like you who contact me. While each site and site owner is different, for the most part, their frustrations all boil down to the same core issues. Campaign quality, testing and tuning and… landing pages — or lack thereof.

Most site owners who delve into setting up their own PPC campaigns dive in head first without thought our knowledge as to what best practices are to ensure, for the money spent, that they are actually benefiting.

Benefiting is also subjective. Some site owners only want to build mind-share or visibility, while some want folks to contact them and others want site visitors to place a order while on the site. Being most onliners have the attention span of a gnat and many are “shopping around” without thought as to what that click just cost you, that’s where having relevant effective landing pages are crucial to any level of measured success.

Landing pages are the page folks land at after clicking on your PPC ad. Once they land there, you had better have the info they are seeking, great copy and a call to action — because if they click that back button, not only can your ad quality score be affected, but that visitor may never come back — that’s called lost opportunity.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve clicked on an ad to end up on a page — the landing page — that in no way matches the ad I clicked on or what I am looking for. The landing page is either the home page, where the item or topic I am seeking isn’t mentioned relegating me to have to search the site, or I land at some corporate blah-blah-blah sales pitchey page that just has me jumping for the back button. That site just paid for a click that hand no chance of converting — all because the landing page was not considered.

Check out this great article: 5 Copywriting Keys to Landing Page Credibility. Each “key” is required to having effective landing pages and in turn productive PPC campaigns. Read, learn and then apply. (Also click on the link below to review the Landing Page Checklist I discussed earlier!)

And, one last bit of advice… you may want to suspend your PPC campaigns until you get these keys in place on your landing pages so you are not throwing more good money after bad.

Can New Sites Generate Income?

The short answer: Yes, they sure can!

The long answer….

Now, most who want to put up a new site do not have the luxury sites in the 90s once had.  In the beginning, a basic site was easy to do and that site was relatively easy to get found.  And, being the “market” was not as tech savvy, the site owner didn’t have a high bar to reach to gain their attention.

Now, instead of a hundred thousand sites online, you have billions with hundreds of thousands of pages going live every day.  No, those pages are not your direct competitors, but they are noise none the less.  And it is this massivity of noise that makes search engines have to tweak how they rank sites on a regular basis to try and offer the most relevant results (and keep up with those who abuse their algorithm).

Now, instead of a lame attempt at DIY Web design, you have to have a polished credibility building presentation.  If you are doing eCommerce — even more so.  Onliners are going to base your legitimacy and their trust on your ability to look and sound credible.  The bar has been raised; very high.

Now, instead of most ideas being good ones, most ideas have been-there-done-that.  While niche has always been important, niche now is one of the best ways to get found, get attention, attract an audience and build a community using social networking media to the benefit of what you want to commercially gain from.

Now, the “build it and they will come” mentally is the kiss of death.  Once your site is live, you have to go and find your market so that they even know you exist!

Now, online business is just as serious, just as complicated, just as costly as having an off-line store front would entail.  No business experience? You’ll have allot more to learn. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that standard and customary business principles do not apply online. They do and are even more important due to the über competitive market online.

Now, the no brick-and-mortar theory of saving money is moot. What you may save by not having a physical location, you’ll have to spend on Pay Per Click and advertising campaigns.  So it’s basically a wash.

Now, for true Nentrepreneurs, who realize that business success requires planning, analyzing, education and ongoing commitment to see your project through — the sky is still the limit! And that’s not hype folks. That’s the reality of why having a viable business model before you even think of putting a site up is so important to producing income — on or off-line.

For those who approach their new Web site project as a serious business to be reckoned with, yes, you can still produce an income because that is how you’ve started and what you’ve plotted and planned from the start.

To your success!

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