Not long ago, I conducted a little online survey concerning finding, republishing, and profiting from Public Domain material.
I’ve been using material from the Public Domain in my own business for several years now to create and profit from information products.
Even though about 70% of my products are based on Public Domain material, I had never really spoken with many other online entrepreneurs about how they use Public Domain content in their businesses. I just stayed to myself, quietly using Public Domain content to build my business.
A few years ago, I began teaching others how to create information products quickly and easily from Public Domain material like I do. My students had been asking questions like – “How many other creative ways are people using Public Domain content?” and “How many other people actually know about this stuff?”.
I learned everything I know about copyright laws and the Public Domain from a dear copyright attorney friend of mine who has since passed on, so I had to admit I was extremely curious about these questions as well. To help my students get the answers to their questions, and to satisfy my own curiosity, I slapped up a short survey on the internet.
When I launched the survey I really didn’t know what to expect. I had only planned on gathering around 200 completed surveys, but what happened next surprised even me – after roughly two weeks, I ended up with just over 2000 surveys!
The results of this little survey and the answers that were submitted were thought provoking, enlightening, and even entertaining to say the least!
About 10% of the answers were unintelligible (some even down right offensive), another 10% were obviously answers given by seasoned online Public Domain veterans, but the last 80% of the participants had one definite thing in common – a strong desire to learn more about how to use Public Domain material but no clear understanding of how to go about it.
From the survey results, I gathered that many people had heard of this wondrous thing called the Public Domain, but very few actually knew how to use it to their advantage. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion of how copyright laws work and what the Public Domain actually is.
It would seem that to many folks, the Public Domain may as well be the Bermuda Triangle because it seems to be shrouded in just as much mystery…..
You see, when I conducted this survey I was expecting to get a lot of answers to my questions but quite honestly, most of what I actually got was more questions – hundreds and hundreds of them in fact, most centering on the same subjects with regard to the Public Domain.
Some of the most common questions were:
- How do I find really good public domain material that I can use to make money?
- How do I repackage my public domain material in order to sell it?
- How do I find out if a particular work is in the public domain?
- How can I ensure that my product will sell before I invest the time into creating it?
There were hundreds more, but most of the questions seemed to revolve around those four main themes.
Most people expressed frustration about the lack of good clear information regarding the legalities of using Public Domain material and the apparent lack of good resources available for finding quality Public Domain content.
To those of you that expressed these frustrations – just know, you are not alone, I hear you! The internet can be a vast wasteland when it comes to the subject of Public Domain and I feel your pain…there would seem to be very few good sources of information on the subject (yet there are tons of great sources for quality Public Domain content – IF you know how to find them).
It’s for you guys and gals that Debra and I decided to create this blog and it’s accompanying magazine, “Public Domain Treasure Hunter”. I couldn’t just leave all of these questions unanswered. Rather than try to respond to your questions individually, I decided that it would be much smarter to compile the questions and answers into one source of information that everyone can benefit from…
And so this blog was born! The information you will find here is the direct result of that survey and I promise that I will strive to provide answers to all of the most common questions that you have asked about Public Domain.
Think of the info you’ll find here as your “Public Domain Primer” or “Public Domain 101″ if you will. My sincerest hope is that it will finally answer some of your questions and give you at least a general road map that you can follow for successfully using Public Domain material in your business.
In this blog you are sure to find something that you can use to help your business grow. You may learn a few new tricks while some of it may be old hat.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for taking part in my survey, my little online experiment. Your answers have touched me, enlightened me, and enriched me in ways that I’ll probably never be able to fully express.
For those of you that put heart into participating in my survey and weren’t afraid to ask questions in return, this blog is for you!
About The Author:
 Logan Andrew is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2001. He is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Logan, click here. |
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