There's so much public domain content available all over the internet, with Master Resale Rights available and sites springing up left and right with Private Label articles you can use to create your own products, but what do you need to bear in mind, what is the best way to use all this content and what can you create with it?
What to Look Out For:
Copyright - you absolutely must check on this - violating someone's copyright is not clever and can be a really expensive mistake not to mention seriously damaging your reputation. Is it really public domain? All those lawyers fees can really mount up when checking into all this but believe me, you really don't want to end up in court over it.
Public Domain Content - If you have the money to have a lawyer look at copyright for you then fine, go ahead and get started. Where can you find this type of content? It can be difficult to find content that is free to use but here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.gutenberg.org/
http://www.wikimedia.org/
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
Master Resale Rights - If you can't afford expensive lawyers what else can you do? One rather less pricey way is to buy Master Resale Rights to a product - this gives you the opportunity to name yourself as the author, use the content in another product, rewrite the whole thing - the possibilities are endless. Just be aware with this that you will need to look at the terms and conditions of what you are allowed to do with the product before you buy.
On a budget? - not to worry, there are still many ways you can find great content without spending a fortune or worrying about whether you can legally use it. Sites such as http://www.infogoround.com and http://www.thelostfiles.com provide guaranteed public domain or private label content for a monthly fee. You could also sign up to some of the well known internet marketer's newsletters. Why? Well if you're serious about internet marketing you should be checking out all the latest happenings anyway, but a lot of newsletter owners will have free ebooks, giveaways and articles to download - some of which you will be able to use as your own.
So you've got your content ready to go and you've checked your rights and permissions but there is one more thing to think about - sites such as http://www.copyscape.com can check for duplicate content on the internet and of course so can the search engines. This could mean anything from the search engines deciding they won't rate your site as highly because the exact same content is available elsewhere to some smarty pants asking you if you really did write that incredibly good article because they've seen someone else claiming that they wrote it too, so you do need to be aware of this when looking to use content you haven't personally created, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go ahead and make the most of all that wonderful information.
What Can You Do?
You could just read the information to learn from it yourself; you could read it to get ideas for businesses, more articles, content, the list is limited only by your imagination.
How about:
Ebooks
Print Books
Presentations
Membership Sites
Face to face courses
Mini courses
Teleclass content
Webcast content
Podcast content
Blog content
Content for your Autoresponder
Ezine content
Articles for your site to build AdSense income pages
Viral Reports
Tips Lists
When it comes to using all the content you have gathered, you need to look through it all and decide what you want to produce. If you plan to use content from more than one source, such as 2 or 3 articles by different authors to be combined into a report, you will need to go through and change the content into a similar style, check that it is all written in the same tense, make sure the formatting is the same throughout, check for spelling and grammar (for example - spelling for some words is different in the US than the UK) and look through all the articles to see if any of the points made are duplicated.
Once you've done this, make a list of points you want to make in your report, read the articles through again and start combining them together to fit what you want to say - cut and paste to copy sections into the right place.
Next, look at the way your draft reads now and see if it fits your style of writing, your personality and your business. Reword it to fit with this - there's no point in producing a very formally written, stiff sounding report for a hobby site.
At this point you could just tweak it, proof read it, and then go ahead and publish it but to take it a step further and make it really unique, why not look at how you might rewrite it so that all of the content is yours - now you've got the basic idea down and laid out, it shouldn't take you long to reword things, add in some of your own ideas and keywords that fit your site, and maybe a few quotes and suddenly you're looking at something that no-one else has got, that the search engines will love and that no-one can claim you copied.
Time to start creating!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Are Debt Collectors Harassing You? How to Make Them Stop!
If you've been a victim of job loss, medical emergency or other cause of income loss, you may be one of the millions of individuals facing a pile of debts that you cannot cover. Miss one or two payments and you can expect to get a call from a debt collector.
Calls from debt collectors trying to find you at your place of employment can be humiliating. You may already be screening your calls, your chest tightening as you realize it's them - again.
While not every debt collector is unsympathetic and berating they likely do have to steel themselves for many of the sad stories given to them as explanations for past due debts. They are also frequently rewarded for their efforts in collecting the debt with a commission based on the amount obtained. It is easy to see why it is not uncommon for individuals who are already in a desperate state to fear encounters with the more aggressive collectors who are determined to get their fees.
"What Are They Allowed to Do?"
Debt collectors are allowed to contact you by in person, by mail, by telegram, by fax and by phone; at home or at work - unless they know your employer would disapprove. They may also not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you have agreed to the contact at that time.
They must contact your attorney unless you don't have one. They may then contact other people to find out your telephone number, work place or address, but in most cases they are not allowed to inform them that you owe money or contact them more than once.
"What If I Don't Want to be Contacted?"
Whether or not you actually owe a debt you can write a letter to the collector telling them to stop contact. They may then contact you only once to inform you that they will make no further contact or to tell you what action may be taken against you.
Stopping contact will not clear the debt. If you do not believe you owe the debt make that clear in your letter.
"What Can I Do If I Am Harassed?"
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has a Fair Debt Collection policy to protect consumers. Knowing your rights will put off even the most determined collector since they already know the law and are pressing you on the assumption that you don't.
Debt collectors are NOT allowed to harass, abuse or oppress you or other individuals on your behalf - that includes obscene language, threats of violence or repeated calling in an effort to annoy.
They are not allowed to misrepresent themselves as government agents, attorneys or representing a credit bureau if they are not. They cannot imply they are sending legal documents if they aren't or that you've committed a crime, if you haven't.
They cannot imply legal action, including seizing property or garnishing wages unless they are legally allowed and intend to do so.
You can find out more about your rights from the FTC. If you want to report an agent you can do so by contacting the FTC or your Attorney General. If they are breaking the law you have the right to sue.
Calls from debt collectors trying to find you at your place of employment can be humiliating. You may already be screening your calls, your chest tightening as you realize it's them - again.
While not every debt collector is unsympathetic and berating they likely do have to steel themselves for many of the sad stories given to them as explanations for past due debts. They are also frequently rewarded for their efforts in collecting the debt with a commission based on the amount obtained. It is easy to see why it is not uncommon for individuals who are already in a desperate state to fear encounters with the more aggressive collectors who are determined to get their fees.
"What Are They Allowed to Do?"
Debt collectors are allowed to contact you by in person, by mail, by telegram, by fax and by phone; at home or at work - unless they know your employer would disapprove. They may also not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you have agreed to the contact at that time.
They must contact your attorney unless you don't have one. They may then contact other people to find out your telephone number, work place or address, but in most cases they are not allowed to inform them that you owe money or contact them more than once.
"What If I Don't Want to be Contacted?"
Whether or not you actually owe a debt you can write a letter to the collector telling them to stop contact. They may then contact you only once to inform you that they will make no further contact or to tell you what action may be taken against you.
Stopping contact will not clear the debt. If you do not believe you owe the debt make that clear in your letter.
"What Can I Do If I Am Harassed?"
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has a Fair Debt Collection policy to protect consumers. Knowing your rights will put off even the most determined collector since they already know the law and are pressing you on the assumption that you don't.
Debt collectors are NOT allowed to harass, abuse or oppress you or other individuals on your behalf - that includes obscene language, threats of violence or repeated calling in an effort to annoy.
They are not allowed to misrepresent themselves as government agents, attorneys or representing a credit bureau if they are not. They cannot imply they are sending legal documents if they aren't or that you've committed a crime, if you haven't.
They cannot imply legal action, including seizing property or garnishing wages unless they are legally allowed and intend to do so.
You can find out more about your rights from the FTC. If you want to report an agent you can do so by contacting the FTC or your Attorney General. If they are breaking the law you have the right to sue.
Avoiding Legal Problems in Your Internet Business
If you own and/or operate an Internet business, you are required by law to comply with established laws, codes, and regulations. Being unaware of any of these laws is not considered a satisfactory alibi. In the eyes of the government, just because you didn't purposely break any laws doesn't mean you are innocent.
You should place links to your business and legal notices on every one of your web pages. You business notices would be comprised of your Contact Information and About Us data. You may also wish to include a link to a FAQ page and another to your Affiliate Program if you have one. Your legal notices should consist of your Copyright information, your Privacy Policy, your Terms of Service, your Disclaimer, and if applicable, an Earnings Disclaimer. Visit Big-Legal for more information.
To get an idea of how to word these notices, look over the legal data on several of your competitor's websites. Do not copy any of these verbatim as this would be considered copyright infringement. You may want to purchase a software package that will generate the required notices. Also available are free online generators for some of these notices.
BUSINESS NOTICES
ABOUT US: Create a page about you and/ or your company. Include your name, the name of your company, your picture, and a short biography. If you have any partners, add the same for each of them. If appropriate, include a likeness of your company's building. This could be a drawing or a photograph.
CONTACT US: You need to include a page with your contact information. The minimum data this should have is a contact email address. If your business is physically located somewhere other than your home, include the address and your business phone number. If you work out of you home, you may not want to include your physical address or personal phone number for safety reasons.
FAQ: Include a link to a FAQ page. You may be able to lower the number of emails sent to you if you have a FAQ page readily accessible. Encourage your visitors to check your FAQs before sending you an email.
AFFILIATE: If you have an affiliate program, include a page where potential partners can get more information. Describe your program, state what an affiliate can expect in terms of support, explain your payment terms and include any other relative details. Your affiliate page should also state your Anti-Spam policy and what actions you will take if this policy is violated.
LEGAL NOTICES
COPYRIGHT: Include your copyright information at the bottom of each page of your website. Your copyright statement should include the word Copyright as well as the copyright symbol. You should also include the clause: All Right Reserved. If you sell products or services worldwide, use the clause: All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
DISCLAIMER: A disclaimer should state the extent to which individuals may use the data on your website. It should state your lack of liability for any damages sustained by a visitor using or downloading any data on your website. Include a cautionary statement concerning potential viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, etc. that may be present in any material downloaded from the Internet. You might also want to state that your visitor should consult an attorney, accountant and/ or a medical authority before using any information on or downloaded from your site.
EARNINGS DISCLAIMER: If you've included statements about potential earnings achievable by using the information on your website, include an earnings disclaimer. This should say something to the effect that you can't guarantee results, that the statements made were used primarily as examples, and that not everyone will get the same results. NEVER state that a person WILL make X amount of dollars in X amount of time as you may encounter legal problems if you do so.
PRIVACY POLICY: Include a privacy policy if you gather any information from your visitor even if it's only your visitor's name and email address for a newsletter subscription. This policy should spell out exactly why you are gathering certain information and how you will use that information. Always tell your visitor if the information will be shared with a third party or not.
TERMS OF SERVICE: A Terms of Service notice should advise your visitor of the terms for using your site and state who is legally allowed to use your site. You should always include an age statement. In the US, anyone under 13 years of age needs parental consent to use any website while in other countries, the minimum age is 18. If you include any adult information and/ or images be sure to state so and also state the the site is not usable by anyone under the age of 18 no matter what country they reside in.
In order to protect your business and all the effort you've put into building it, you need to be aware of the rules and regulations that control advertising. If you conduct any Internet business in the US, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/dotcom/index.html for FTC (Federal Trade Commission) requirements. Failure to follow these requirements may result in fines and/ or incarceration.
If you use email marketing in your Internet business, in every email you send out you must include your physical address as well as some way for your subscriber to opt out of your list. You can find links to rules and acts as well as press releases and public comments about spam at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/rules.htm.
If you would like an overview of the Can-Spam Act and the requirements for commercial emailers, go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/business.htm. You will find information and requirements concerning unsubscribe options on the same page.
To help prevent legal problems, include the required legal notices on your website, don't make any dishonest, deceitful or false statements about your product or service and follow the Can-Spam Act. While there is no guarantee that you'll never have any legal problems, incorporating these in your Internet marketing will significantly reduce your chances of ever encountering any.
You should place links to your business and legal notices on every one of your web pages. You business notices would be comprised of your Contact Information and About Us data. You may also wish to include a link to a FAQ page and another to your Affiliate Program if you have one. Your legal notices should consist of your Copyright information, your Privacy Policy, your Terms of Service, your Disclaimer, and if applicable, an Earnings Disclaimer. Visit Big-Legal for more information.
To get an idea of how to word these notices, look over the legal data on several of your competitor's websites. Do not copy any of these verbatim as this would be considered copyright infringement. You may want to purchase a software package that will generate the required notices. Also available are free online generators for some of these notices.
BUSINESS NOTICES
ABOUT US: Create a page about you and/ or your company. Include your name, the name of your company, your picture, and a short biography. If you have any partners, add the same for each of them. If appropriate, include a likeness of your company's building. This could be a drawing or a photograph.
CONTACT US: You need to include a page with your contact information. The minimum data this should have is a contact email address. If your business is physically located somewhere other than your home, include the address and your business phone number. If you work out of you home, you may not want to include your physical address or personal phone number for safety reasons.
FAQ: Include a link to a FAQ page. You may be able to lower the number of emails sent to you if you have a FAQ page readily accessible. Encourage your visitors to check your FAQs before sending you an email.
AFFILIATE: If you have an affiliate program, include a page where potential partners can get more information. Describe your program, state what an affiliate can expect in terms of support, explain your payment terms and include any other relative details. Your affiliate page should also state your Anti-Spam policy and what actions you will take if this policy is violated.
LEGAL NOTICES
COPYRIGHT: Include your copyright information at the bottom of each page of your website. Your copyright statement should include the word Copyright as well as the copyright symbol. You should also include the clause: All Right Reserved. If you sell products or services worldwide, use the clause: All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
DISCLAIMER: A disclaimer should state the extent to which individuals may use the data on your website. It should state your lack of liability for any damages sustained by a visitor using or downloading any data on your website. Include a cautionary statement concerning potential viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, etc. that may be present in any material downloaded from the Internet. You might also want to state that your visitor should consult an attorney, accountant and/ or a medical authority before using any information on or downloaded from your site.
EARNINGS DISCLAIMER: If you've included statements about potential earnings achievable by using the information on your website, include an earnings disclaimer. This should say something to the effect that you can't guarantee results, that the statements made were used primarily as examples, and that not everyone will get the same results. NEVER state that a person WILL make X amount of dollars in X amount of time as you may encounter legal problems if you do so.
PRIVACY POLICY: Include a privacy policy if you gather any information from your visitor even if it's only your visitor's name and email address for a newsletter subscription. This policy should spell out exactly why you are gathering certain information and how you will use that information. Always tell your visitor if the information will be shared with a third party or not.
TERMS OF SERVICE: A Terms of Service notice should advise your visitor of the terms for using your site and state who is legally allowed to use your site. You should always include an age statement. In the US, anyone under 13 years of age needs parental consent to use any website while in other countries, the minimum age is 18. If you include any adult information and/ or images be sure to state so and also state the the site is not usable by anyone under the age of 18 no matter what country they reside in.
In order to protect your business and all the effort you've put into building it, you need to be aware of the rules and regulations that control advertising. If you conduct any Internet business in the US, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/dotcom/index.html for FTC (Federal Trade Commission) requirements. Failure to follow these requirements may result in fines and/ or incarceration.
If you use email marketing in your Internet business, in every email you send out you must include your physical address as well as some way for your subscriber to opt out of your list. You can find links to rules and acts as well as press releases and public comments about spam at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/rules.htm.
If you would like an overview of the Can-Spam Act and the requirements for commercial emailers, go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/business.htm. You will find information and requirements concerning unsubscribe options on the same page.
To help prevent legal problems, include the required legal notices on your website, don't make any dishonest, deceitful or false statements about your product or service and follow the Can-Spam Act. While there is no guarantee that you'll never have any legal problems, incorporating these in your Internet marketing will significantly reduce your chances of ever encountering any.
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