2 Simple Ways to Protect Yourself and Your Blog

If you spend any time populating your blog with value-packed, original content…

— OR —

If you earn money in any way through your blog — affiliate programs, your own products, Google AdWords, etc…

— OR —

If you do both…

Then pay close attention because this post is written especially for you.

Hey, Who Stole My Content??!

In the offline world, taking someone’s writing and calling it your own is called plagiarism. It is an offense that isn’t taken lightly — for example, students who are caught plagiarizing face penalties as mild as a failing grade for that particular assignment to as severe a punishment as expulsion from school.

Unfortunately, the Internet has made plagiarism as common as cat videos on YouTube. Just recently I learned that some of my peers in the blogging community have had their posts stolen and blatantly used by other people on other blogs. It is unfortunate that this is happening, but it is hard to police.

The bottom line is, in academia as well as online, stealing someone’s writing and claiming it is your own isn’t right. Nothing feels worse than discovering someone has taken your post and put it on their blog with their name on it.

The good news is, there is a way those of us who blog can protect ourselves from content thieves and perhaps, scare off potential plagiarizers from taking our original content.

It’s as simple as creating a disclaimer page.

Before you become too worried about knowing how to write legal mumbo-jumbo, relax.

A free site called PriorityDigital.com has made creating custom disclaimers as easy as 1-2-3.

When you go to this site, you will see a box that has four fields to fill. Simply enter your particular information, click the “make my disclaimer” button, and voila! You will be taken to a new page which you can then copy and paste into a new page on your blog.

To see what my disclaimer page looks like, click this link here.

While having a disclaimer page won’t stop everyone from stealing content, it is a deterrent, like having a security system installed in your home. Potential thieves are more likely to go after content that hasn’t been protected with a copyright disclaimer.

Conflict of Interest??!

The second part of this post is for anyone who earns money through your blog. I have always subscribed the “CYA” Policy of doing business, and with the FTC putting its nose deeper and deeper into online marketers’ business, we all might as well be safe than sorry.

Disclosing to your readers that you may earn commissions, stipends, rewards, etc. from certain parts of your blog is the responsible thing to do. Not only does it elevate you to the professional level, but it shows that you respect your readers and aren’t out to trick anyone through slick tactics or underhanded maneuvers in the name of earning a fast buck.

(I imagine many of you reading this post are very familiar with the underhanded tactics used by some online marketers. And last I checked, we don’t like it when we get tricked or used.)

Rising above those strategies sets us in a class by ourselves, earning respect and a solid reputation for being on the up and up.

So where can you create a custom disclosure policy?

Like the disclaimer policy site I found, the second free resource I discovered recently is also simple and straight forward. It is called DisclosurePolicy.org and takes less than 5 minutes to generate a custom disclosure policy to put on your blog.

When you visit DisclosurePolicy.org, click on the blue button on the bottom left hand side of the screen. You will be asked a series of 6 sets of multiple choice questions. Make sure you read each answer thoroughly so that you select the right answer for your blog’s particular circumstances. At the end of the six questions, you click a button that generates your custom disclosure, which you can then copy and paste into a new page for your blog.

To see what my disclosure policy looks like, click this link here.

I have also placed an “I Disclose” Badge that links to my disclosure page on the right sidebar of my blog where readers can easily see it.

Where you decide to put your disclaimer and disclosure pages is a matter of personal preference. I chose to nest mine under my “Resources” tab as that is where I promote some affiliate products and programs from which I earn commissions.

Taking the time to do this will put you in a class above many online marketers. It will demonstrate your commitment to best online marketing and blogging practices. It will also give you peace of mind, knowing you have protected your hard-earned work from unsavory folks who are too lazy to create their own.

Let me know if you use these sites to create your own policies. Or, if you know of other free online resources that can help bloggers protect our work, please share! As always, I appreciate your comments and syndication! 🙂