Greetings!

In the past week, I’ve heard from two different remodeling firms about legal issues with their websites. One pertains to photo licensing issues, and the other concerns ADA compliance.

Let me share more details about both situations and then offer some advice.

Photo Licensing Issue

I was contacted by a remodeling firm I'd worked with years ago. They had received an email that threatened an Overdue License Payment was needed (several thousand dollars) for a few photos used in one of their blog articles published in 2016.

The article was not one I wrote. They’d already taken the article down and were looking for any insight or help I could provide. Here’s the research I conducted.

First, I Googled it, and several Reddit threads came up high in search results. This quote stuck out.

Here’s that particular Reddit thread, but there were several that I suggested the client look into further.

Next, I did a reverse search of the image (did you know Google can do this?)

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I found that both images in question were being used by national companies, and since one of the client’s questions was, “Where did this image come from?” a reverse look-up provided a little more insight as to where those images originated.

From there, I emailed all the details to the client. They were extremely appreciative.

Here’s the thing: Using images you do not have the right to is a serious issue. Images are stolen all the time, so you’ll need to make sure that the images you use in marketing are those you have the right to.

💡 Pro Tip: Review your images. Earmark those that aren’t yours, and if possible, replace those images with those from your personal collection. If you cannot, consider removing them entirely. Doing this will eliminate any issues with licensing.

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ADA Requirements for Websites

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From another client, I learned that a company recently contacted one of their peer group members about their website not being in ADA compliance. In this case, it happened to be a scam, but ADA requirements for website content are real.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) outline what’s needed for website accessibility. However, I’ve been searching for guidelines specific to small businesses, and honestly, I’m having trouble finding an answer. Google’s AI produced this (see image below), but as much as I like AI for some things, I want to READ and verify the details myself!

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(Google’s AI overview has provided me with some “bad" information since rolling out … err, perhaps not bad, but old, which is why I still prefer to read the details myself.)

💡 Pro Tip: If concerned about WCAG and ADA compliance, subscribe to a tool like AccessiBe. These requirements are always changing (and may differ from state to state), and these tools are designed to stay up to date on the latest requirements.

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Have you had photo licensing or ADA compliance issues?

I'd love to hear about them.

Do you have a newsletter you publish near the first of the month? If so, depending on who your audience is, you may consider postponing yours next week.

B2B - Postpone as July 1-5 are poor performance dates.

B2C - Only July 4 is considered a poor performance date. July 1-3 and 5 are all rated top-performing dates.

If you are unsure - but want to keep the cadence, write a short "tip" type newsletter to send out next week and resume your regularly scheduled newsletter the following week.

Source: Outcome Media

Earlier this month, Jason and I had the privilege of vacationing in Manzanillo, Mexico, with three other couples.

On a Tuesday, we took a food-and-driving tour that took us through Colima (the state capital) to the towns of Suchitlan (for breakfast) and Comala (for a mid-afternoon lunch). We cannot thank our house manager, Alan, enough for designing the perfect excursion for us.

Besides being completely unplugged (my cellphone stayed in my room most days), talking with the others in our group was one of my highlights from the trip. Three are fully retired, two are closing in on near-term retirement, and one is probably 5 or so years away (she still enjoys working). Meanwhile, Jason and I are probably 12-15 years away.

However, because we are still a decade+ away, it gives us a great opportunity to learn from others. I took this trip to learn from the others of what made retirement possible for them. They all naturally said a "healthy portfolio," but what I really wanted to know was how they knew they were ready and what plans did they have in place (before retiring).

From those conversations, I learned new insights about some of the things Jason and I should think about (or consider) as we formulate our plan for retirement (or semi-retirement).

🎬TAKE AWAY: I've found that most people are willing to share their experiences with you. You just need to ask the questions on your mind ... and listen.

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Until next time,

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