Use Public Domain for Super Content

So, what exactly is Public Domain and how can I use it? I will answer these questions below but first, a short disclaimer. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Be sure and consult with a legal professional before claiming Public Domain material as your own. There. Done. Now let's move on to the good stuff, shall we?

QUESTION #1 - What exactly is "Public Domain"? Public domain is quite simply material the public (that's you) can use (or exploit as the case may be ) anyway they want. Public domain falls into 4 main categories:

A. Generic information like facts, numbers, ideas, titles, blank forms, etc.

B. Works granted or donated to the public domain. (Yes, in some cases copyright holders will simply make their work available to anyone to use. Just one example is P.T. Barnum's autobiography.)

C. Works by the government or its agents. (This is an amazing archive by itself!)

D. Formerly copyrighted works that have fallen into public domain or lost their copyright due to a number of different situations. Usually, any work published before 1923 is considered Public Domain.

What this means is that when you add all of this up it comes a huge mountain of incredible information (maybe a bazillion pages) sitting out there --all free -- and yours or mine for the taking!

But how do I use public domain content.....

QUESTION #2 - What can I use public domain for?

That's the best part...

You can use it for just about anything limited to your imagination. You can chop it up, keep it together, create "derivative" works based on it, combine it with other material, etc. etc.

Here are 9 examples to jumpstart your thinking:

1. Digital Information Products - These are products like MP3's, Ebooks, etc. This has got to be one of the coolest uses. You can compile the material ‘as is' but I recomment making a few edits to the PD work, and turn it into an eBook that you could market, use as a freebie or just about anything.

2. Physical Information Products - Nothing screams "professional" and "real person" more than a physical product, like a book for instance. If you want to charge (and get) even more money for your information products you should consider making them into physical products and shipping them out to your customers. Another idea is to take the public domain material and just read it into a microphone and then record that onto a CD. Boom! Instant information product. Or take the material, logically break it up into sections and make a home study course out of it. Be sure and bind it someway even if just in a 3 ring binder.

3. Derivative Works - Here's where some real opporutnity exists. Take the material and use that as the basis for something like a DVD series, CD-rom, "e-class", etc.

4. Use as Upsells - It's so easy to do. You simply present your buyer with an additional opportunity to ‘upgrade' their order or add something to their order. Just like when the cashier at McDonald's asks you "Do you want fries with that?"

5. Sell on Ebay or Any other Auction Site - Once you do one of these things with the PD material, list it on Ebay.com or any other auction site and profit from it!

6. Bonuses - Here's another great way to utilize this material. Simply use the work as a bonus to any of your main products or offerings. People love bonuses and often the bonus will entice many people to buy your main product, especially if it's unique and not something they've seen all over the internet already.

7. Google AdSense - Use the material to create an information-rich website. Then simply place a tiny piece of code from Google to utilize their AdSense program on your site. You'll be partnered up with Google and you'll get paid a percentage for everyone that clicks on the ads Google places on your pages. If done right this can add up very quickly.

8. Articles or Mini Courses - People are starving for great content. You can ‘slice and dice' the material into little bite sized 500-800 word articles to distribute for free publicity and traffic to your sites. Editors of ezines and owners of web sites are always looking for hot, fresh content and in exchange they'll send you over targeted traffic. Remember, always tweak the material so you can make it your own.

9. Search Engine Content - Search engines, just like editors and web site owners, are also looking for quality content. The number one reason people go online is for information research, and by setting up your own network ‘content rich' web pages - the search engines should reward you with tons and tons of free visitors.

QUESTION #3 - How will this help me if I don't live in the U.S.? This material focuses on U.S. Public Domain laws. Of course there there are slight differences for each country and I can't possibly cover each one. However, it really shouldn't matter which country you live in - you can still use public domain material.

There are plenty of links at the top of the page on where to find good public domain content. If you want more info, I recommend the wiki page which goes into a lot of indepth background on Public Domain material.