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Q –
I just finished my new book and I’m going to be creating how-to videos to post online (and to promote my book). Should I post these on my own website or should I use YouTube. I know YouTube gets a lot more traffic than I ever will.
B.H.
A –
Kudos to you for using videos to promote your book! Having how-to videos that provide even more information for your readers is a fantastic idea!!
I have previously written about not giving control of your business to other companies. For example, Facebook is removing accounts left and right. You could lose all of your followers and friends in one fell swoop. Instagram (owned by Facebook), Twitter, LinkedIn…all of them have the power to kill your online presence on their platforms.
How do I know? I lost my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts last year after I posted the cover for our managing editor’s book. The book is called Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge. It contains numerous stories from Brian Whiddon’s days as a cop, including the story of how he lost his entire police career after standing up to his department after he watched the wrongful arrest of a black man.
Of course, Facebook and Instagram didn’t read the book to get the real story. They didn’t even read the back cover. They simply didn’t like the title. I lost more than 15 years worth of photos and correspondence with friends and family – with no warning whatsoever. I appealed over and over again and they ignored me.
Likewise, if you use a third-party hosting website for your blog or your website, if they go out of business, or if they decide they simply don’t like your content some day, you could lose all of your hard work with the click of a button.
So, first, make sure YOU own your URL outright. That means you need to BUY YOUR DOMAIN NAME. Do NOT use something like yourname.freewebsitehost.com. You will NOT own that URL.
Second, never, ever use a free hosting service, even for your blog. That makes you far more susceptible to censorship. Only work with a reputable, fee-based website/blog hosting service.
Third, while posting your videos on YouTube is fine, also post them to your own website, and direct people to that link first. It’s okay to use YouTube in the hopes that you’ll get some business from their viewers, but never count on YouTube as your sole source for online video publishing.
Like Facebook, YouTube has a reputation for tearing down videos, and even entire channels, if they don’t like your beliefs, opinions, politics, or advice.
Remember to NEVER give another company the power to put you out of business.
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- How I Outwitted Government Censors to Publish My Book – by Leonard A. Slutsky
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In 2000, I won an all paid website from a fortune 500 company. I create licensed characters for children. In 2001, a friend alerted me to the fact that this company was using my characters to promote pornography. I took them to court. I lost the case because my 31 year-old son had put up an email account in my name and the company had linked that pornographic website to it. The judge ignored the fact that I was not legally responsible for the actions of my 31 year-old emancipated son. The only recourse I had was to take the website down in order to protect the integrity of the copyrighted characters I created for children.