Ever done something that came back to haunt you years later?
I have and it just cost me a fair bit of cash.
It was totally accidental and happened in 2014.
In fact, it is why this newsletter is a day late.
Normally I know what I will be writing about on here a few days before I put finger to keyboard but I was thrown a curveball this week when I got a demand letter for payment due to image rights infringement.
Now I was instantly suspicious as it sounds like a very clever way to extort cash from unsuspecting marketers but on further investigation, it appears I have indeed erred.
The post that caused it was about when Sarah Ferguson was caught out in a News of the World sting, offering an undercover reporter posing as a businessman access to her former husband, the Duke of York, who was then a trade ambassador for Britain, for £500,000.
How times change eh?!
It appears one of the images I used was protected, ironic given how unprotected their professional images have been over the years.
Fergie duly apologised at the time – that was probably the smartest PR move she’d made for years!
I have also duly apologised and paid my fine.
They are obviously on the lookout for this at the moment and for someone who blogs every week, this has been a real eye opener. I am now going back through ALL of my posts to check I’ve not erred anywhere else.
You might be wise to do the same to avoid your own royal disaster!