Your Article is Being Used Without a Resource Box - What Can You
Do?
Your Article is Being Used Without a Resource Box - What can
you do?
Sooner or later, no matter how much you hate it, some Webmaster
is going to use your article and won't include your resource
box. Another common practice is that of replacing your HTML link
with a text link. Funny thing, when you submitted the article,
it had a HTML link!
Before jumping the gun and coming down hard on the offending
Webmaster, take time to think. There are many reasons for
somebody to do that. It could be lack of experience or
ignorance; the feeling the Web is so big they'll never get
caught. Maybe there was something in your resource box they
didn't like.
Some Webmasters might feel that your resource box is more of an
advertisement than an "About the Author" box. It still doesn't
make it right and they should contact you to make modifications.
I know most Authors would find a way to accommodate such a
request; all you got to do is ask! Thanks to Janet Attard of
www.businessknowhow.com for pointing that out.
Of course, there are plenty of slick reasons experienced
Webmasters won't post your resource box or include a real HTML
link. Some feel that giving you a real HTML link will "dilute"
their Google Page Rank.
The irony is that most articles are usually placed on a web page
with zero ranking! Like the song says: "Nothing from nothing
leaves nothing." I wish one of those Webmasters would explain
the steps taken to arrive at such obviously faulty logic ...it
sure does escape me! All the same, how should you deal with it?
Anybody can make a mistake. Is there a sensible course of action
that will get the best results? At what point should the varied
responses escalate to the next level; what is the criteria?
The considerations to resolve your next step are these:
(a) How much damage has the unauthorized use of your content
done to you? For example, if a Webmaster took the content of
your index page, that could be considered an action of great
damage and require swift and unequivocal action on your part.
Should they take non-essential content, such as your privacy and
contact statement, don't sweat it! The content and language used
is so generic and commonplace that it will never dilute your
Page Ranking on account of duplicate content.
Another thing to consider is the amount of time wasted in
dealing with the matter. Some article writers expect a certain
amount of their work pilfered and misused. They consider it a
cost of doing business.
(b) Are the offending Webmasters willing to fix the problem? Are
they easy to contact or are they hiding and ignoring you? What
degree of communication have you received since your initial
contact? Are they blatantly stonewalling you?
A sure sign of their strong-arm attitude is the lack of a
privacy and contact statement. It leaves you no choice but to
use Whois and do a domain search. Of course, they may never read
your email. When was the last time you looked for any email
coming from your domain contact info?
Another contact option would be to join their Forum and send
them a private message about your concerns. Your initial contact
with them should be businesslike and presented in a respectful
way. Very important since you don't want to inflame any
passions; remember, this is business.
All the above should be taken into account before you decide the
level of response. A lawsuit should be your absolute last
consideration. The obvious damage should be great and all other
avenues exhausted before you take such action.
Please consider these better options:
(a) If it's not a big deal, ignore it. Why waste your time?
(b) A strong and resolute email will do wonders. Contact their
hosting provider and have them enforce your DMCA rights. It's
best to deal with stonewalling Webmasters through a third party.
Thanks to Armando B. Silva of http://profits.cc and Philip Liu
of www.web-marketing-blog.com for that one.
(c) Publish all your articles in an eBook format and give
reprint rights with free registration. Sell the branding rights
to Webmasters and let them place their affiliate links. Viral
marketing at its best and folks pay you to become your
affiliate. I love it! It's win/win/win/win ... Steve Yakim of
www.ezasmagic.com gave me that creative tip.Thank you, Steve!
Great tip!
(d) Publish your article as a Javascript (.js) file and only
give Webmasters a line of code that links to it. In that way,
you have control and your resource box info will be available. I
want to thank Sherice Jacob of www.ielectrify.com for that great
tip.
(e) Call your article "Sticky Shareware" and let folks know they
can give it away for free but only with the included resource
box. It's a way of demonstrating how strongly you feel about
your article usage; meaning: don't you dare remove my resource
box! Thanks to Claire Koch of www.lazyliving.com for that tip.
(f) My personal favorite: Ridicule! Have writers come together
and create a website dedicated to showing those individuals as
they really are: Unethical drones utterly lacking any creative
ability. Create and present awards to the most blatant
offenders. In a few words: Laugh them out of town! The options
to deal with unauthorized content use are many. I hope this
helps you find your favorite way of dealing with that dreadful
problem.
by Francisco Aloy
(C)Francisco Aloy
=============================================== Agreement
reminder, not part of the article: Please include my working
hyperlink in the resource box. Remove paragraph before posting.