Forum Moderators: not2easy
Their quote was, "I am interested in the process to get permission to include these materials in our manual."
I've never really dealt with anything like this before. I am happy to let them use the content as long as it is offline. What would you ask for in return for use of the content? A link on their website? Credit on the page?
Thanks for any ideas.
Deal with them the same as you would with any other business. NPO reflects their tax status and nothing more. They might like you to believe that they are deserving of special privilege, but they aren't. (I bet the person that contacted you has a very nice salary.)
What would you ask for in return for use of the content?
Fair compensation, as in $$$$. Oh, and specify that you are granting one time, non-exclusive use.
WBF
The value of your content? What will the market bear?
When deciding what to charge, I often look through it to see who buys the kind of stuff I'm selling, and what they pay, and then ask for the same or similar.
There is also an online version of Writer's Market that is available by subscription for, I think, 30 dollars US or so annually or 4 dollars US for a month. It might be worth the 4 bucks to browse around it.
JK
I'd ask for a link on their site!
Plus a 'nominal fee' and a citation of your business name and URL at the end of the article.
Nominal fee, assuming ten pages of content, and that I support the goals and methods of the NPO = $300.
Links from NPOs are good. Traffic from citations in print is good. The 'nominal fee' is to cover your costs of monitoring their use of your content, and to let them know to take you seriously, but without gouging them.
I'm more traffic- and SEO-oriented, and less hard-cash-now- oriented. YMMV.
If you can't get links and a full citation, then the cash price should go up.
Jim
That doesn't mean that they can use it without asking but it does mean that they didn't really have to either.
Do you want to make money off them or do you want to contribute to the betterment of society? I would say look into the group, if they are, in your eyes, a worthy cause, then why not give back? Maybe they can afford to give you something, but what would that mean to them? No toner for the fax machine or something like that?
It is a judgement call. Unless it is some shady operation I can't see why you wouldn't help out.
I find it curious that so many people who come to a forum seeking for free advise from professionals are so quick to ask for their credit card when someone from outside the community asks for knowlage.
It is very context dependent but think about what you studied in class, which works in literature did you study in class? Imagine if the schools had to dish out money to secure copyrights to those works. Not fair somethings belong in the public domain. Yes you should profit from your work but if this requires no additional effort from you then why ask for monitary compinsation?
I think the crediting links from their site would be nice but asking money to me seems wrong.
Since I don't know what work you have they are interested in or who they are it is a tough thing to give advise for but I am more on the social conscience end of the spectrum when it comes to this stuff.
There is also an online version of Writer's Market that is available by subscription...
Thanks for the resource. I checked it out and it's a great source of information, not only for getting an idea of what the market will bear for my niche but also as a learning tool for the industry itself. I find myself, the Webmaster/Search Marketer, in a postition where I am having to learn a whole new industry, publishing.
I'm more traffic- and SEO-oriented, and less hard-cash-now- oriented.
When all is said and done, I would really be happy just getting a good IBL and print citations. Both of these hold more value to me than a cash payment now. But I didn't want to start off by just asking them for a link. I may start off asking for a nominal fee, a link and a citation like you said. This way if they don't want to pay, I should be able to negotiate an IBL.
Do you want to make money off them or do you want to contribute to the betterment of society? I would say look into the group, if they are, in your eyes, a worthy cause, then why not give back? Maybe they can afford to give you something, but what would that mean to them? No toner for the fax machine or something like that?
Making cash now is not important. It is a good cause and the organization seems to be legit. I do not mind contributing content to help others. But, I do want the publicity for my site, whether it be in the form of and IBL or citation.
Is it possible to treat this as an in kind donation and use it as a tax deduction. If anyone is going to pay for this, I would prefer it be Uncle Sam. Has anyone ever done something like this?
Demaestro said: In the fair use clause in the United States it expicitly states fair use for non-profit educational purposes.
You can't say "I don't want to buy the textbook, so I'll make copies of the pages I need, and that's okay, because it's for an educational purpose." You can't say "I don't feel like writing my own online lessons, so I'll just scrape these online lessons from another web site instead."
"Fair Use" has to be limited (not web-viewable, for instance), immediate (no other way to obtain permission that quickly, and/or not a permanent part of the course), without negative financial impact (no bootlegging the disc to get around the license fees), and transformative (using a financial article to start an economics discussion is acceptable; using an economics web lesson to create "your own" economics web lesson is not).
Eliz.
Well, there you go. Let them use it offline. Ask your accountant (and/or lawyer) about the donation aspect.
