Borrow, rework.
Borrow, rework.
Borrow, rework.
This methodology of a creative-based work life is familiar to so many people that it's astonishing.
Rock and roll guitar players adapting old blues songs for their repertoire; writers examining the paragraphs of everything from pulp fiction to Greek tragedy; the painter who stays in the gallery 'til close with a magnifying glass...
The list goes on and on.
As an info marketer, you are part of this.
You are taking information from other sources, absorbing it like a sponge, and putting it back into the public forum with your own personal brand.
A lot of people have asked about this particular step -- where you take a source and adapt it as your own.
They have the content creation and writing skills down pat, but they are unsure about how to get over that hump of adapting other sources as your own.
I had the benefit -- or misfortune, depending on who you ask -- of being a university student.
You had to hand in a well- researched essay about every two weeks, and adapting other reference sources became almost second nature.
Now this might not be the case for you, but don't worry.
The tricks to adapting outside sources for your information marketing business are easy.
You just have to do some work and be wary of certain laws in the process.
Whether you're adapting digital files, books, or any outside source for your information marketing business, be sure to do the following: - Just use what you need: Remember that you are providing information.
"Just the facts and only the facts...
" or whatever expression the police use.
When you are doing your research, omit the sections that are irrelevant to the content you are creating.
That's it.
Don't include extra information that isn't relevant to the information itself.
This will save time and effort.
- Never Plagiarize: I once did an article on plagiarism -- stealing content that isn't yours and claiming it as your own.
Not only is this not well regarded by any of your info peers, but you can also get sued.
Even in university, we risked complete expulsion if we got caught plagiarizing and one of my fellow students actually had to defend a thesis once over some content that was alleged not to be his own.
In the end, it's always the same: you cannot claim an idea to be yours even if you paraphrase.
Never fall off this path no matter what temptations exist.
Believe me, if you don't, the problems that arise will not have been worth it.
- Citations and References: You might be taking info from a close colleague or business associate.
Or you are an info marketer who exchanges content with another marketer; e.
g.
you use his stuff on your web site and he does the same with you, and both of you have links to one another's site.
Or you are adapting content from another foreign source.
Either way, don't forget to include citations.
In high school essays, we used endnotes or footnotes listing the reference source.
Remember, you are taking someone else's work and using it as your own.
For legal reasons, you need to show the source.
As a bit of advice, I would suggest contacting the source.
You might work out a content-exchange deal or partnership with little to no cost involved.
- Be mindful of trademarks: Think you can just copy and paste stuff off a blog onto your own web site? Well, probably not.
That stuff has probably been trademarked by its creator.
If it has their name on it or a reference to their info marketing business or even if it hasn't, it's best to back off.
That said, once you are done all of your content create, trademark your stuff as well.
You've been good enough not to steal others' work, so don't let someone else do the same to you.
Adapting, researching, and utilizing pre-existing knowledge is a tough job.
But, in info marketing, it's almost a necessity.
As long as you play things straight and professionally, you can use content and knowledge that is already out there as the templates to help you see your info marketing business take off!
Borrow, rework.
Borrow, rework.
This methodology of a creative-based work life is familiar to so many people that it's astonishing.
Rock and roll guitar players adapting old blues songs for their repertoire; writers examining the paragraphs of everything from pulp fiction to Greek tragedy; the painter who stays in the gallery 'til close with a magnifying glass...
The list goes on and on.
As an info marketer, you are part of this.
You are taking information from other sources, absorbing it like a sponge, and putting it back into the public forum with your own personal brand.
A lot of people have asked about this particular step -- where you take a source and adapt it as your own.
They have the content creation and writing skills down pat, but they are unsure about how to get over that hump of adapting other sources as your own.
I had the benefit -- or misfortune, depending on who you ask -- of being a university student.
You had to hand in a well- researched essay about every two weeks, and adapting other reference sources became almost second nature.
Now this might not be the case for you, but don't worry.
The tricks to adapting outside sources for your information marketing business are easy.
You just have to do some work and be wary of certain laws in the process.
Whether you're adapting digital files, books, or any outside source for your information marketing business, be sure to do the following: - Just use what you need: Remember that you are providing information.
"Just the facts and only the facts...
" or whatever expression the police use.
When you are doing your research, omit the sections that are irrelevant to the content you are creating.
That's it.
Don't include extra information that isn't relevant to the information itself.
This will save time and effort.
- Never Plagiarize: I once did an article on plagiarism -- stealing content that isn't yours and claiming it as your own.
Not only is this not well regarded by any of your info peers, but you can also get sued.
Even in university, we risked complete expulsion if we got caught plagiarizing and one of my fellow students actually had to defend a thesis once over some content that was alleged not to be his own.
In the end, it's always the same: you cannot claim an idea to be yours even if you paraphrase.
Never fall off this path no matter what temptations exist.
Believe me, if you don't, the problems that arise will not have been worth it.
- Citations and References: You might be taking info from a close colleague or business associate.
Or you are an info marketer who exchanges content with another marketer; e.
g.
you use his stuff on your web site and he does the same with you, and both of you have links to one another's site.
Or you are adapting content from another foreign source.
Either way, don't forget to include citations.
In high school essays, we used endnotes or footnotes listing the reference source.
Remember, you are taking someone else's work and using it as your own.
For legal reasons, you need to show the source.
As a bit of advice, I would suggest contacting the source.
You might work out a content-exchange deal or partnership with little to no cost involved.
- Be mindful of trademarks: Think you can just copy and paste stuff off a blog onto your own web site? Well, probably not.
That stuff has probably been trademarked by its creator.
If it has their name on it or a reference to their info marketing business or even if it hasn't, it's best to back off.
That said, once you are done all of your content create, trademark your stuff as well.
You've been good enough not to steal others' work, so don't let someone else do the same to you.
Adapting, researching, and utilizing pre-existing knowledge is a tough job.
But, in info marketing, it's almost a necessity.
As long as you play things straight and professionally, you can use content and knowledge that is already out there as the templates to help you see your info marketing business take off!
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