Vickie asked a great question about permissions... [Become A Better Blogger]

Published: Tue, 09/29/15

I love answering your questions. After being in this business for so many years, it sincerely feels good to be able to help other bloggers.

Today I want to thank Vickie Ceccato for replying to last week’s email with a specific question for me to address.

Vicki asked, 

"I’m wondering if you could touch on the use of outside videos and graphics in a blog. Asking permission, linking back to the original, what exactly is required? If I'm not making any money off my blog, do I still need to be cautious? Should I use a disclaimer to be safe?"

This is a great question which will get different answers depending whom you ask. 

In my opinion, the answer doesn’t change whether or not you personally are making money on your blog. 

Even from its first day, a blog should follow good linking etiquette and always provide credit for quotes, graphics and videos. 

I believe that before you embed a graphic in a post, you should ask permission to use the image and then also provide credit and a link back to the original website.
 
Many blogs do not ask for permission to include photos or other images, because they think that a link back with credit is sufficient. While, it may be true that many websites are so grateful for the link that they might not mind you using the image, I’d say that it is important NOT to assume so. Always ask permission first. 

And especially NEVER use a personal photo or video without asking for permission.

When we do round-up posts at 5MinutesForMom.com, we ask for permission to include photos from the original bloggers. 

Quoting someone or embedding a video is different than using a photo. You can quote a couple of sentences and then give credit to the source and link back to their websites. And you can embed a YouTube video (or another sharing platform) as long as that video is set to allow embedding. 

If you are embedding a blogger's video, it may also be nice to link back to the blog post where the video originates.

Another important point to consider when you are sharing videos is that Google does not give much love to short blog posts that only include one or more video embed codes.

If you’re embedding a video, you should also write a few sentences of original content to go along with it. You want to offer some commentary, opinion, or additional information. Your readers will appreciate the post more and it will rank better in search engines.


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Talk soon,

Susan (and Janice)
5 Minutes For Mom

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