How to Avoid Exclusive Content Being Stolen by Bloggers

Regardless of selling your content with exclusive rights, non-exclusive rights or display-only content, if you are a web writer (or a print writer), you still have every right to protect your content. While some bloggers and online columnists are honest and make sure to write their own content, others profit from someone else's work. Reading an article online and slowly finding out that it's your article to begin with is not fun to see.

While it may seem like a form of flattery that a blogger is using your content, the problem with this is if you sold your content to an outside site, that particular site should be the only one with that particular article on it. If another blogger sees your work and thinks it's a good reference tool, of course you want that person to spread the word. But if the blogger copies and pastes the entire article, there's no point in the reader visiting your site even if your name is linked and you're given credit for the entry.

Considering this has happened to me at least 10 times in 2010 and I've had to go to each individual site and explain the legal ramifications of copying and pasting content without permission, Google Alerts are mandatory in my freelance writing profession. You must know where all of your content is at all times, especially if this information is for pay. Here are tips on what to do when a blogger takes your content without asking and how to keep track of your work by setting up Google alerts.

Contacting the Blogger

Step One: Online courtesy is to use no more than a 4- to 5-sentence excerpt from your entry and then link the rest of the entry back to you. If you see that a blogger has gone way over that limit or copied and pasted the entire article, look for a Contact Us e-mail address to notify the blogger. Although the blogger is wrong for copying and pasting your content, some novice bloggers don't know the reprint right rules and didn't violate the terms on purpose. Other bloggers simply don't care. Be cordial regardless because if you send a message with a nasty tone, you may run into a blogger who will give you a hard time about taking this work down.

Step Two: If there is no contact e-mail address, leave a blog comment so the blogger can read what you have to say. Be cordial here, too, because other readers will be able to see this. If you come off hostile, you may turn off potential readers from reading your work as well.

Step Three: If there's no blog comment field or a visible e-mail address, contact the Web site administrator by visiting the Privacy Policy or Legal Use links at the bottom of the page. If the blogger writes for a larger site, then the owners need to be aware of the reprint violation.

Step Four: Make sure to cc: your client in the e-mail sent to the blogger so your client will be aware that you didn't sell this work without their permission. You are held just as responsible for making sure that that content stays on your client's Web site. While your client may be monitoring hundreds of writers, you are responsible for your own work. Keep your reputation and relationship with your client in good standing by holding up your end of the deal. Don't sell exclusive content to another Web site, and make sure exclusive content is not put on another person's site, too. Your client will probably not look up non-exclusive or display-only content since you keep the primary rights to that, but exclusive content is theirs to keep.

Step Five: Give the blogger time to respond. Within 3 to 4 days, that blog should be deleted or shortened. Although I haven't had many problems with bloggers removing my content from their pages, if you run into this issue, make sure to notify your client to see how they'd like to proceed. Remember, every visit you don't get for an entry that goes to another site is money and credit that blogger site gets. It's equal to bootlegging your work. If you really feel strongly about this reprint violation, contact a lawyer who works in the publishing and/or creative field.

Setting up a Google Alert

1. Visit Google Alerts.

2. Type in "Search Terms." Do not get too detailed with this field. Treat it the same way you would with a Google search, vague enough to find many selections but not so focused that Google may look over a few. I always set up an alert using "Shamontiel," "Maroonsista" (an alias I've used for over 10 years), "Message from Montie" (a blog name I have with ChicagoNow.com), "Shamontiel black hair," "Shamontiel Chicago news," "Shamontiel relationships" and "Shamontiel fragrance" because I write several regular columns about these topics.

3. Choose what type of alert you want to get and from what category: News, blogs, Web, comprehensive, video, groups. I choose "Comprehensive" to see anything that has my name on it no matter what it is.

4. Select how often you want these alerts to be sent to your email address. I get mine on a weekly basis on the same day so I can review them at once.

5. Choose how many alerts you want in one email. You can have up to 50 results. If you're like me and tend to comment on blogs or articles regularly, you may find more of your comments than you will find results about outside content.

6. Insert an email address that you regularly check, but make sure your spam filter is not on so you miss the alerts.