How Can I Prevent Someone from Taking Credit for My eBook?

29 replies
I just wrote an ebook which I'm hoping to get onto clickbank. I spent a crapload of time on this and would be devastated if someone else took credit for it.

What I mean is someone sees it, slaps their name on it, and starts selling it themselves or gets it on clickbank before me.

I'm probably being paranoid... I just really don't want that to happen. I'm planning on promoting it myself (or possible hiring someone to help generate leads to start making some money before I get it on clickbank) and don't want it to get stolen before it's on clickbank as mine officially.

Is this possible or am I just gonna have to hope that doesn't happen? Or am I being way too paranoid?
#ebook #prevent #stolen
  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    Impossible dream if you plan to sell it on clickbank or any other marketplace like that. You need to sell it on your own website with different approach, such as convert your ebook into a video platform where you are starring in the video. So then you let anyone steal your content, but they will help promote you indirectly that way.
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  • Profile picture of the author mikeyman120
    It probably will be stolen and probably not set up under someone else's name but it will be shared on the black hat sites so you need to expect at least hundreds of people if not a few thousand to download your ebook for free. It doesn't matter how much protection you have as someone will buy your ebook legitly and then share it on those sites so it will happen. Just accept it and know you can still make loads of money even though this is happening. It happens to most marketers who do a product launch if there is interest in your ebook or course then it will be stolen and shared. You can try to stop it but you will soon realize it's nearly impossible to stop it ecspecially if your product is downloadable like ebooks, software and videos etc. It's happened to me and I see it happeneing everyday to people. Maybe if you have a membership site with non-downloadable content such as a software service or similiar. But even then you will need to keep checking your sites stats and if you see a load of new members but no payments you can be sure someone shared your sign up page where they set up there membership account free and you'll have to keep deleting those non paying members.
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  • Profile picture of the author Regional Warrior
    Originally Posted by mkmossop View Post

    I just wrote an ebook which I'm hoping to get onto clickbank. I spent a crapload of time on this and would be devastated if someone else took credit for it.

    What I mean is someone sees it, slaps their name on it, and starts selling it themselves or gets it on clickbank before me.

    I'm probably being paranoid... I just really don't want that to happen. I'm planning on promoting it myself (or possible hiring someone to help generate leads to start making some money before I get it on clickbank) and don't want it to get stolen before it's on clickbank as mine officially.

    Is this possible or am I just gonna have to hope that doesn't happen? Or am I being way too paranoid?
    Way to Paranoid there mate, first up you have set up the click bank vendor first so you have not up loaded it ! also if this is not MMO niche related you have about a 10% chance it would be shared

    Also part of selling to the MMO people if it is a good product it will be shared it just comes with the territory

    One thing is DONT give away free copies no mater what and not until it is released online and people have to pay for it via CB

    Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author OaldDesign
    I am not sure about what are clickbank rules, but it's possible to add on each page of the ebook your website or your name (makes it a bit harder to steal). I already saw people who has copyright info on the bottom of each page or on the side of each page.
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    • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
      Originally Posted by OaldDesign View Post

      I am not sure about what are clickbank rules, but it's possible to add on each page of the ebook your website or your name (makes it a bit harder to steal). I already saw people who has copyright info on the bottom of each page or on the side of each page.
      Brand it 16 ways from Sunday! Thieves generally won't try to remove your branding or links. I look at it as free distribution.
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      • Profile picture of the author NetMan
        Originally Posted by Brent Stangel View Post

        Brand it 16 ways from Sunday! Thieves generally won't try to remove your branding or links. I look at it as free distribution.
        Moreover, I'd be willing to bet big that many have become known and famous, ironically, specifically thanks to the free distribution of their stuff.

        This is how it's worked in many cases, being in the IT field for more than 25y I've personally adopted and bought many software that I'd the occasion to try from a copy "borrowed" from a friend...

        Imho, it is somewhat a "necessary evil", sometimes, in some cases especially in the *software* products field, to split the crap from the real quality things.

        Personally, and I know very well how it all works believe me, I would not care at all if someone start to distribute my *software* -app, ebook, video, podcast courses, etc.- which is ALL based on KNOWLEDGE right?

        Knowing in advance that it's inevitable to be copied and distributed freely allows me to take advantage of this by creating, as a few suggested here, super TOP BRANDING of what I produce in all possible media and spread it like wildfire FIRST.

        IF your stuff is REALLY GOOD, I'm willing to bet this "distribution method" on the side will increase your sales and make you even more famous...

        And WHO owns the knowledge first? Where do one get the KNOWLEDGE to write a book, a program, a video, a software, a course... ???

        Someone writing a book about marketing, for example, did not take the knowledge out of thin air right? One has to take that from someone else, obviously...

        imho Copyright is BS. period...
        Andy
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  • Profile picture of the author fratt55
    hey there

    great question

    To prevent your ebook from being copied, you can use niches like Digital Rights Management (DRM)

    software such as Protectedpdf.

    Protectedpdf allows you to better manage your readers.

    The software allows you to set passwords usage limits expiration and watermarks.

    You're also able to restrict printing and copy/paste functions

    ok

    talk soon
    sam f
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    Hey thanks for all the replies everyone.

    Just to be clear I'm not worried about people getting free copies of my ebook. I'm worried about them taking credit for writing the book and selling it themselves. I can brand it by putting my website at the bottom, but that would be fairly easy to change no?

    Also this is an ebook in the health niche if that matters... not IM.
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    • If it's in the health niche, there's always going to be the possibility that you'll see variations of the information in your ebook (if not the exact text) would appear in other places. Another way you can protect yourself is :

      1. Update the information whenever possible. The great thing about this is it gives you another income stream.
      2. Present your information as visual elements and brand/watermark it. Include your website/brand in the image's meta information. Most people won't bother removing it and when when people see the meta data, it would still lead back to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    It has happened to many others and it can happen to you.

    It is really sad to know that it is happening all the time and there is no law in place where you can do something about it.

    I had videos that I made stolen and someone added their own link.

    They may not copy you word for word but some take EVERYTHING you wrote and copy it word for word.
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  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    First up you're going to have to start selling it because if it is something no-one wants you have very little risk of being copied.

    If people do want it then you should build out your backend so you have revenue coming in from what comes after they buy the ebook.

    If you take some of the precautions as advised by others in this thread and your content does get shared as long as you've built out a backend to it and made sure you've linked things up you will do OK.

    Not too many people get rich on selling front end products.

    The money is really in how you build out your funnel.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Filing for copyright protection may help prove you are the author.

    Other than that, be prolific. Be the source for tons of new ideas, new thinking, new ways to look at the main problem your product addresses. Thieves won't be able to keep up with that. Write a whole series of books on the topic. Have a bunch of YT videos and keep adding. Become a true known and respected expert.

    Have a built-in mechanism for readers to get ongoing help and support. Build it into the price. If the thief just copies and pastes (many do), they likely won't take out your links for free coaching/updates/etc. So their customers will be coming to you for your ongoing email tips, your monthly teleseminar, etc.

    But most of all, is don't let this stop you. Hollywood can't keep people from stealing movies or music. Copyright lawsuits happen all day every day. So if it is going to happen, it's going to happen. Move forward anyway. Hollywood and others do.

    Mark

    Added: Speed works too. If you are hoping to get it on Clickbank someday, that's too long. I don't know your situation but get it up tomorrow. Problem partially solved.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    I have many amazon affiliate links within the ebook, but not much of a back end other than that. I will be building a list though so I'll think of ideas.

    Good advice Mark. That would be the best way to go for sure... not sure I have time for that right now though. I'll try to add a few of those links into the book.

    As for speed I'll be applying for clickbank very soon. Just waiting on a couple things to get done first.

    Oh and one other thing. If I'm marketing the ebook and hosting it myself how can I make sure that only people who have paid can download it? Is that possible?

    For example if I have the download on site.com/download, anyone could just go to that page and download it (if they were able to figure out what the download page is, which I'm sure isn't that hard).

    Is it possible to have a page only accessible if someone comes directly from a certain link, i.e. clickbank? Or other methods I can use? Or should I just put it up and assume that most people won't bother to try to figure out how to get it for free?
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    • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
      Originally Posted by mkmossop View Post

      Oh and one other thing. If I'm marketing the ebook and hosting it myself how can I make sure that only people who have paid can download it? Is that possible?

      For example if I have the download on site.com/download, anyone could just go to that page and download it (if they were able to figure out what the download page is, which I'm sure isn't that hard).

      Is it possible to have a page only accessible if someone comes directly from a certain link, i.e. clickbank? Or other methods I can use? Or should I just put it up and assume that most people won't bother to try to figure out how to get it for free?
      You want to have that part worked out before trying to list on CB.

      I'm not sure how favourably they would look at a product filled with affiliate links either but maybe I'm wrong.

      As for protection you can do it in several ways and everyone will have a different solution and opinion about how to do things.

      You can use expiring download links so people get a link that is valid for a short time or you can put it inside a membership site. It all depends on how technical you want to go and how much you want to spend on things. - time - money or both.

      I've used many different solutions over the years and I have my favourites more to manage members rather than to protect content but I still protect the content anyway.

      The one thing is my stuff is usually so niche and everything has my ugly mug all through the videos and any printed material that no-one would want to rip it off anyway but I do expect to be paid for the content so I keep certain things more protected than others and I'm always putting out new content a couple of times a month.

      Being prolific is a great deterrent as most others just can't be bothered.

      The information isn't really as valuable as you might believe. What is valuable is the perception by others that you know what you are doing. Your reputation and the following you have. If you put out good content the people who like you will pay for that and the more they like you the higher the amount they are willing to pay.

      Although there are people that might rip you off they are not the ones who will take your customers away. Only you can neglect them and lose them so concentrate more on attracting the right crowd and usually they will respect your content because they respect you.

      I have stuff on Clickbank but why do you think it is the right place for your product?

      Have you tried to sell it yourself elsewhere first?

      It's not like they magically make money rain from the sky when you list a product. You've actually got to do a bit of work to get things moving yourself.

      Best regards,

      Ozi
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      • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        You want to have that part worked out before trying to list on CB.
        On the product submit page for clickbank it says: "In most cases, the product is delivered immediately via download or instant access from Thank You Page."

        So I guess I'll just do that for now.

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        I'm not sure how favourably they would look at a product filled with affiliate links either but maybe I'm wrong.
        Ya I'm a bit concerned about that. Will chat with someone at clickbank to see if this is allowed before submitting. They're all links to amazon for related and useful products. If it's not allowed then I'll just remove them.

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        As for protection you can do it in several ways and everyone will have a different solution and opinion about how to do things.

        You can use expiring download links so people get a link that is valid for a short time or you can put it inside a membership site. It all depends on how technical you want to go and how much you want to spend on things. - time - money or both.

        I've used many different solutions over the years and I have my favourites more to manage members rather than to protect content but I still protect the content anyway.
        Hmm ok thanks for the suggestions.

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        The information isn't really as valuable as you might believe. What is valuable is the perception by others that you know what you are doing. Your reputation and the following you have. If you put out good content the people who like you will pay for that and the more they like you the higher the amount they are willing to pay.
        I will be blogging and sending out relevant/informative emails. As of now I don't really have any other products to sell (other than the stuff linked to in my ebook) and I don't want to sell people crap just for the sake of it.

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        I have stuff on Clickbank but why do you think it is the right place for your product?
        1) I think it's a really good product that can actually help people
        2) It comes at the problem from a different perspective than any other ebook on clickbank

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        Have you tried to sell it yourself elsewhere first
        No but I will be doing that as soon as I submit it to clickbank.

        Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

        It's not like they magically make money rain from the sky when you list a product. You've actually got to do a bit of work to get things moving yourself.
        Well this is a whole other issue... not sure what to do about this. It's in the health niche, so I was thinking of trying to contact some high powered affiliates in the niche, although I'm not sure how. Was also considering placing an ad on clickbank.

        But ya I'll also be marketing it myself while I figure this out.

        Thanks for your help
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        • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
          Originally Posted by mkmossop View Post

          On the product submit page for clickbank it says: "In most cases, the product is delivered immediately via download or instant access from Thank You Page."

          So I guess I'll just do that for now.
          Clickbank will expect you to have that set up yourself.

          Your sales page needs to be set up with the correct parameters to transfer the affiliate details to click bank and then you need to pass those parameters along throughout any funnel you have set up.

          Clickbank will not provide you a place to upload your content. You will have to get that working fully before you submit to Clickbank otherwise you will get an immediate rejection.

          Originally Posted by mkmossop View Post

          I will be blogging and sending out relevant/informative emails. As of now I don't really have any other products to sell (other than the stuff linked to in my ebook) and I don't want to sell people crap just for the sake of it.
          You might be better off pulling out the affiliate referrals from the product and sending them over a number of sequential emails or by listing them inside a members area where they can access the book and the additional recommendations.

          Originally Posted by mkmossop View Post

          Well this is a whole other issue... not sure what to do about this. It's in the health niche, so I was thinking of trying to contact some high powered affiliates in the niche, although I'm not sure how. Was also considering placing an ad on clickbank.
          Before you contact other affiliates you want to have data to show them so they can decide whether to promote. They are going to want to know EPC and average cart values amongst other things.

          It is best for you to have some solid sales from your own efforts and have done a few split tests on sales pages to some volume of traffic and run those tests until you have a reasonable number of conversions. Usually 100 conversions is a good target to aim for.

          I would suggest you get all your sales page set up and make sure you meet all the click bank requirements on that first and make sure you have the fulfilment part worked out before you submit your product to CB. It will help you avoid issues when submitting.

          You will want to use a CB test credit card and run several tests to make sure everything is working otherwise you will be spending time fixing things up when it doesn't get immediately approved.

          Best regards,

          Ozi
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    Hey thanks so much for your help. I didn't know about that giant list of clickbank requirements, which I'll now be sure to follow!

    Thanks for the tips on conversions... I'll be sure to keep that in mind.
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    Thanks for your reply.

    Something I just tried was to get the business version of Foxit PDF reader so I could secure the ebook. I used the secure settings and set all options to "not allowed". This is supposedly supposed to stop it from being edited in any way or being converted to word.

    I couldn't edit it, but a couple free conversion tools had no problem converting it to word. So that didn't work.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    You are spending far too much time worrying about "security" for a book.

    There are two things that will cause me to immediately request a refund for an ebook.

    1. if it is loaded with affiliate links to other products (I'm not paying you to advertise to me).

    2. If a seller has disabled normal functions in the ebook - such as my ability to copy/paste sentences or bullet points to make my own 'cliff notes'.

    If you are listing your ebook on Clickbank - it doesn't matter. Any buyer can request a refund and get it...part of clickbank's terms. My advice is to make your book as easy to use and accessible as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author Risktaker89
    I am not too sure about the requirements for Clickbank to list a product...

    But if you are able to put up a related offer which will further add value to your customers directed to your website/blog or lead capture page, you will still be able to capitalise on that viral effect to bring more visitors to your website.

    Don't spend too much time worrying over the security and just get your product out there...at least that's what I feel.

    All the best in making your product a best seller
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    You are being paranoid
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    Thanks again for the replies. I made an alternate version without affiliate links which I'll submit to clickbank.

    Need to work on follow up offers... no ideas there at the moment.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheMentorGuy
    Banned
    Copy right your E-book that clearly states your name etc. This is the only measure you can take. If you have done this then it means the only way anyone can copy your content would be to type it out manually into a word document. That is highly unlikely though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
      Originally Posted by TheMentorGuy View Post

      Copy right your E-book that clearly states your name etc. This is the only measure you can take. If you have done this then it means the only way anyone can copy your content would be to type it out manually into a word document. That is highly unlikely though.
      I'm not sure where you are getting your information from, but you are wrong.

      Filing for copyright is fine.

      But to say that means the only way they can steal your ebook is to type it out manually because of this copyright, is one of the silliest things I've seen here lately. It's just not true.

      Do you even know what copyright is?

      Mark
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      • Profile picture of the author TheMentorGuy
        Banned
        I am not saying that nothing can be done if his E-book was copied and sold. I was simply stating that putting your name at the bottom of every page acts a deterrent.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    OP, your bigger problem is blackhat

    To protect your intellectual property, you need to patrol BH dump sites and send out DMCA notices to their hosts

    You should also patrol BH forums
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    • Profile picture of the author TheMentorGuy
      Banned
      Sounds a bit far fetched to me. Filing for copyright would be my option.
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    • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
      I put the name of the ebook, website, and my name in the footer as well as copyright symbol.

      Originally Posted by writeaway View Post

      OP, your bigger problem is blackhat

      To protect your intellectual property, you need to patrol BH dump sites and send out DMCA notices to their hosts

      You should also patrol BH forums
      What are some BH dump sites?
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  • Profile picture of the author mkmossop
    Got my product approved on Clickbank . Also selling it myself through ejunkie. Thanks everyone for all the advice.

    Is there anywhere on WF I can promote it or see if other people want to promote it? I don't see any specific forums where I might do that.
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