On this episode of the Christian Business Advantage Podcast, I’m sharing three tips to avoid plagiarism when repurposing content. This will wrap up our series on working smarter, not harder when building your online presence, through the power of content repurposing.
We started this series on content repurposing with an episode on what content repurposing is and why it’s beneficial. Then I gave you twenty different content repurposing ideas to get your started. Next, we talked about five different types of tools to help you with content repurposing to make it even easier to achieve. If you missed any of these episodes, you might want to go back and catch them.
Today, we’re avoiding the pitfalls and temptation of plagiarism that can come along with content repurposing.
What is Plagiarism?
You might be wondering, if it’s my content, how am I plagiarizing?
Let’s consider what plagiarism is. Plagiarism is defined by Dictionary.com as an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language or thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as ones own as by not crediting the original author.
One of the things that I see a lot on social media is people sharing quotes or memes. People think, “if it’s out there on the internet, I can use it.” But that is not the case, you have to give credit back to the original author.
If you take someone’s report, blog post, or infographic and pass it off as your own without crediting the original author, that is plagiarism
Likewise, copying a couple of sentences or paragraphs from an article online and posting it as your own is also plagiarizing.
Plagiarism Isn’t Good for Anybody
Even in middle and high school levels, it’s a big no-no. I taught middle school for 3 years and I caught several kids plagiarizing and they didn’t even realize they were doing anything wrong. It’s something we really should educate people on.
Some business people have the misunderstanding that repurposing content means taking someone else’s content and rewriting or reconfiguring it so that it matches their own brand. But this is a grey area that needs careful consideration. The absolute best way to think of repurposing content is to think about repurposing ONLY the content that you created and how you can reuse it in different ways.
Plagiarism doesn’t just get kids in trouble at school. It can cause animosity in the business world, lead to legal troubles and fines, and Google may recognize your content as plagiarized material and hide it in search results which defeats the whole purpose of content repurposing.
How to Avoid Plagiarism When Content Repurposing
Here are 3 tips to help you avoid plagiarism when repurposing content:
1. Cite sources properly
Using a quote from a former President, famous author, or a movie is probably fine if you’re providing the proper citation. Generally, that means putting the quote in quotation marks and providing the person’s name or title of the movie. However, if you’re writing an academic piece, then a formal bibliography is necessary; providing more information. But a simple citation is fine if you’re on the internet writing a blog post.
2. Borrow Topics or Themes But Not the Person’s Exact Words
Mark Twain believed there’s no such thing as a new idea and others argue this point today. Whether you agree with this or not, you can certainly write content about why business owners need a business coach, for example, but you need to put your own spin on that perspective.
You are completely unique from other people out there and that needs to come across in your content. Uniqueness comes from having a different voice, personality, experiences, people in your life, roles you fill, and relationships. These differences will give you unique ways to write about a broad topic that thousands of people have written about before.
You have a unique take on the topic. So never think that you have to get someone else’s words in order to make a great blog post. You can use your own thoughts and experiences.
3. Focus on the Content that You Created Already to Repurpose
Look at old blog posts, webinars, and videos and create your repurposing strategies with only those pieces in mind. You can take bits and pieces of your content and weave it together to create a new blog post, a new video, or a new webinar. Since you created the content it’s even okay to copy and paste your words into a new format. So think about all the ways that you can use content repurposing in your business.
Content Repurposing Services
If you are overwhelmed with the idea, I have good news. Content repurposing is one of my favorite services that we offer at Alyssa Avant and Company. If you’re interested in content repurposing services, you can schedule a free consultation with me.
Thank you for following along in this series on content repurposing. Next week, I have a surprise topic in store for you! You won’t want to miss it!
STAY CONNECTED
I have a Facebook group for Christian authors, speakers, and coaches. It’s called The Christian Business Advantage, and each month I do a FREE training around the third Thursday of each month. Please come join our group, and you will learn tips and tricks for your business.
