5 WAYS TO STOP COACHES FROM STEALING YOUR CONTENT
Here’s something they definitely don’t teach you in your Cert Three! What on earth do you do if another coach is infringing upon your copyright? (AKA: stealing your shit)
How we present our brand to the world says everything about who we are and what we’re trying to achieve. Smart fitness coaches are constantly looking for innovative ways to offer something new, fresh and exciting to the world. That means spending hours (days, months, maybe even years) creating and building our service offerings.
It’s so god damn exciting when we hit that ‘SEND’ button and see our ideas go live. Finally, our clients can actually engage with us and get involved! Over time, your ideas will get bigger and better, your following will grow, and your impact will be felt across the industry.
Unfortunatelyyyyy, this can sometimes mean that some asshole wants to copy your work. They think, “if it works for them then it can work for me!” and instead of coming up with their own ideas, they decide to just use yours.
No matter what your style of coaching is, authenticity is the key to success. Customers are smart. They can smell bullshit.
You’re allowed to be inspired by others while you work on figuring out who you are and how you’re going to make yourself stand out amongst the thousands of other coaches out there. But there’s a difference between being inspired by someone in the industry that you admire, and straight-up copying their content and/or their service offerings.
I’m not just talking about other coaches offering the same style of fitness as you (strength training, health and nutrition, boxing - whatever it is.) I’m talking about your ACTUAL CONTENT. Your services, your prices, your branding, your execution - your whole god damn business.
I see coaches stealing from other people all the damn time. It’s happened to me more than once. It sucks, it hurts, and it’s hard to know what to do about it.
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t offer legal advice. But I CAN speak from experience. If someone in the industry has infringed upon your copyright or ripped off your service offerings, here’s what you can consider doing before taking legal action:
KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS - screenshots last forever. Gather as much evidence as you can so that you can back yourself up.
SLIDE INTO THEIR DM’S - This is the most important, and hopefully most effective step. Before declaring war in the comments, give your copycat a chance to own up to their mistake. Send them a polite message (preferably over email so it can’t be deleted, or if it’s over messenger SCREENSHOT EVERYTHING) and let them know that you’ve noticed a striking similarity between their content and yours.
At this point, there are a few ways that they are likely to respond. that It could be that they fkn love your approach to business and in the process of trying to emulate you they ended up totally ripping you off without realizing. Maybe they’ve never heard of you and it’s a total coincidence. Or maybe they’re guilty AF and you’ve caught them out.Regardless, ask them to take it down. Don’t be too harsh, but also don’t be too nice about it. You’re not a pushover, and you’re being really bloody fair by approaching them in the first place.
Best case scenario? They apologize, gush over how much of a fan of your work they are, and work on creating their own shit. But if they don’t…
TAKE IT TO THE COMMENTS: So it’s been a few days, and the posts are still live. It’s time to let people know that you’re not messing around. Leave a comment on their page that’s polite, but firm, and be sure to acknowledge that you’ve reached out privately.
At this point, you can also consider making a public statement on your own page, but make sure you consider this from all angles - how might it impact your own clients? It is worth dragging your brand into ‘drama’? Don’t take this decision lightly. Protect your brand as much as you possibly can.
4. HELLO, ZUCKERBERG? If they still haven’t removed the content then it’s time to report them using the relevant social media network's built-in abuse reporting tools. Reporting on Instagram is simple and you should receive an outcome within 72 hours - if you’re successful, the post will be removed and the copycat will be notified of Instagram’s decision without naming you specifically.
5. TAKEDOWN: If the social network doesn’t remove the content, it’s time to consider legal action. A ‘DMCA takedown notice’ can be sent without a lawyer, but if you’ve reached this stage of the process then you should probably seek legal advice.
Copyright law is confusing and time-consuming and lawyers cost money that we’d rather be investing in other aspects of our business. But you need to protect your business, so if you’ve exhausted every other avenue and you still haven’t achieved the result that you want, then it’s time to speak to a lawyer.
More helpful resources:
https://www.artslaw.com.au/information-sheet/takedown-notice-copyright/