Things You Might Like to Know about Copyrights

You may be under false impression that before you can get your text published, you must "get copyright" to your own written material. You might also think that in order to get copyright, you must "apply" for it. This is just not so. In following few paragraphs, I'll give you some simple facts about copyrights that may help you in your quest to get published. First, it is important to understand that you cannot "copyright" an idea; you can only copyright what you have written. That is, you might have just written greatest self-help manual on how to breed guppies. And you did, indeed, file for your copyright with Library of Congress. Three weeks after completing formal copyrighting process, you find out that manager of your neighborhood pet store (where you've been buying your guppies) has just sold TV rights to a new hit show "Breeding Guppies" and he is using many of same principles that you've outlined in your manual on how to go about guppy breeding. So, naturally, since this is 21st Century and you live in America, you want to sue guy. You think you have a sure thing, and you are dreaming of million-dollar award that jury is sure to give you. But…you'd better not put a down payment on that Guppy Farm in Iowa just yet. The manual you wrote, exact words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that you wrote, belong to you. It is illegal for anyone to reproduce or use any of that text, in part or in whole, for profit without your permission. However, you must be able to prove that your exact words have been stolen before you can get an award for copyright infringement. So, you know that guy with his hit TV series? Well, unless he's reading from your manual word-for-word, or attempting to sell your manual as a supplemental text that he's written, then he's probably doing nothing illegal. He's just using idea of breeding guppies. You do "own" copyright to your text, all its words and clever phrases. And you don't even have to file with Library of Congress in order to have copyright on your text. The copyright is conferred upon you minute you write your New York Times Bestseller. All you have to do is be able to prove, beyond any doubt, date that you wrote material. For your protection, then, it is wise to print and date your material, and establish with a third party through a written communication that you have just finished your text. At that time, you can legally affix copyright symbol (the letter c inside a circle) to your work. Now here's where a formal copyright comes in. By filing with Library of Congress (and paying them their required application fee), you can establish definitively a date of copyright that will stand up in any court of law. Any judge or jury will defer to your date over someone else who can merely claim by word of mouth that his text came

Back to the copywriting basics

You've probably read lots on effective copywriting strategies, how to utilise keywords, and various tricks of trade for making sure your copywriting is as effective as possible. This is good stuff ... anything that results in a better website is worth reading and absorbing.

However, before you learn to walk, you need to learn to crawl. Before you begin focusing on technical aspects of copywriting, it's a good idea to get a handle on basics.

With that in mind, here are a few things to keep in mind when you're pecking away at your keyboard, trying to come up with effective copy for your site.

* Catch your visitor's attention right away. They'll be gone in two seconds otherwise. * Keep it short. Keep it simple. Keep it to point. * Along same lines, focus. Don't try to do too much with one article or one page of copy. You're not a novelist - you're selling your services or product. * Use active tense ... don't say "the product can be bought by clicking on this link", say "click on this link to buy product". * Don't use jargon. You're writing to inform, to convince and to sell, not to confuse. * If you have a choice between a small word and a big word, use small word. * Keep a dictionary at hand, and use it. * Know your audience. If you're targeting university professors, you won't write same kind of copy you'd aim at skateboarders (unless your target audience is skateboarding university professors - in which case you've got problems). * Keep tone consistent. If you're writing using an informal, conversational style, don't switch in midstream to a formal legalistic style. It'll throw your readers off.