Protect Your Articles and Increase Your Exposure
Frustrated by scoundrels taking your work and then having to prove you are the original author?
Before you break out the pitchforks and call for the paddy wagon, consider this: Many of these "scoundrels" are not copy-cats looking for an easy article to prey on. Many are just misinformed and others may have made a simple mistake.
Either way, here are some measures you can take to protect your articles and maintain your credibility easily.
Preventive Action: Branding
Branding yourself as an Expert Author in any niche requires consistency in the quality and quantity of the articles you produce, as well as a solid byline or author name. Your author name creates strength, confidence, and credibility in your brand. So why wouldn't you use it to your full advantage?
Think of it as using a branding iron to stamp your author name on each and every one of your articles. Wherever your article goes, no matter the platform, your name goes with it.
If you write under different pen names (or alternate author names), ensure these names are consistent with your articles by staying organized. Keep a database of your author names, the articles attributed to those names, and where the articles are published. This ensures you won't publish an article under the wrong brand. Also, should your articles appear elsewhere without proper credit to you, you can legitimately prove the article is yours without confusing one of your author names with another.
Preventive Action: Resource Box
Ensure your article's byline matches the signature line or Resource Box of the article. Publishers are required to include the author's full Resource Box or author's signature line at the end of the article, so it is advantageous to have a strong Resource Box. Here are 4 items we recommend to include in your Resource Box:
1. Your Name
2. Your Unique Selling Proposition
3. Your Call-to-Action
4. Your Website Address
Not only do these four items increase brand-awareness, they create an impression and help readers find you wherever your article goes on the Internet!
If Action Is Needed: Communicate
Should you find your articles elsewhere and there has been no attempt to cite you as the original author:
1. Open a line of communication by contacting the owner/webmaster of the site and ask them to fix the oversight. This will normally accomplish the end result you are looking for as most webmasters just need to be informed - it might have been an oversight or mistake.
2. If after you contact them and no action has been taken within 48 hours, contact the site's ISP/Host. Ask them to enforce their AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). This information can usually be found by doing a WHOIS lookup on the domain name.
We expect publisher(s) to follow our reprint rules as stated in our Terms of Service for Publishers. However, it is up to you to take action against those who abuse your copyright or mistakenly published your article on their site without providing due credit. Check out your Reprint Rights in our Terms of Service for Authors.
Don't be afraid of publishers picking up your articles! If you create articles publishers find valuable, they will distribute your content to their ezine subscribers, which in turn provides you with great exposure and additional backlinks! Remember: Take preventive action with proper branding and if action is needed, give them the benefit of the doubt before jumping to any conclusions. Who knows? You may even build a new working relationship!
Share your favorite branding technique here!
To Your Article Writing Success & Passion!
Penny, Managing Editor
http://Blog.EzineArticles.com/
http://EzineArticles.com/
PS: Discover how you can create massive exposure for yourself and your articles here!
