Republishing Posts Without Ruffling Feathers

The Internet’s full of freely available blog posts and articles. And while this content may be free to read, it’s not necessarily free to repost on your website. In fact, it’s best to assume that it’s not free to repost.

And while some blog writers may be flattered that you consider their blog post worth sharing, it’s usually good to assume that permission from the publisher is required unless otherwise stated. It can also be considered rude

Generally, websites will have different policies on reposting content ranging from the very strict (and litigious), to those with an open policy on reuse of their work (often under a Creative Commons license). If you don’t know where a publisher stands, it’s alway best to ask.

We recently requested information on reposting articles from a local paper and were happy to get a quick response. Their policy is that they need to give their permission for something to be reposted. In this case, you simply send a quick email each time you want to reproduce the content is what we need.

The content must be reproduced in its original form, without alteration, and credit must be given to the source. In this case, a backlink to the newspaper was not required but it’s appreciated.

This process may be different for the blog or article you want to use.

You can, of course, use material from someone’s blog post in your own blog post if they’re properly attributed, and that you’re adding something new. In this case the article in question would just be a source for an original post.

Even if you suspect someone doesn’t mind you republishing their entire posts and articles, it’s often good form to ask for permission first, and give the originator credit. Not everyone will be happy to see their work on your website.