Can I Republish My Own Bylined Article on My Blog or LinkedIn, and How Long Must I Wait?

Who Decides Whether You Can Republish Your Own Article?

The contract you accepted, not the byline. U.S. law starts with the writer: “Copyright in a work protected under this title vests initially in the author or authors of the work” (17 U.S.C. § 201(a)). But a “transfer of copyright ownership” includes “an assignment” or an “exclusive license,” though “not including a nonexclusive license” (17 U.S.C. § 101), and such a transfer is valid only if it is “in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed” (17 U.S.C. § 204(a)). Our reading: a nonexclusive license leaves the copyright with you, though the contract can still limit reuse.

Entrepreneur Leadership Network (ELN) is the clearest example. Its membership agreement says members “irrevocably transfer and assign to EMI” all rights “(including copyright)” in accepted articles, then licenses a limited right back (ELN Membership Agreement, §7.3–7.4). Our guide on who owns an article you contribute to a member program compares it with Forbes Councils. If you assigned copyright or granted an exclusive license, you need the publisher’s permission to republish, and its conditions apply. This is not legal advice.

Outlets also want the piece first. Entrepreneur says: “We cannot accept articles that were previously published, even if you’ve made some changes to them” (ELN Writer Guidelines). Search Engine Journal (SEJ) says columns “must be exclusive to Search Engine Journal and 100% original” (SEJ).

How Long Must You Wait at Each Outlet?

From 10 days to 90 among the outlets that publish a number. Entrepreneur: “You can repost your story on your website/blog 10 days after it is published on Entrepreneur” (ELN Writer Guidelines). SEJ: “we permit content to be republished 14 days after publishing on SEJ” (SEJ). Social Media Today allows it “After a two-week period has passed from the publication date” (Social Media Today). The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) says to “Wait two weeks” (CMI). Vision Systems Design requires contributed content to be “first-run by Vision Systems Design with 90 days of exclusivity beginning on the date of publication” (Vision Systems Design).

The chart shows windows from 10 days at Entrepreneur to 90 at Vision Systems Design, with three outlets at 14, so no single wait fits every outlet.

Other outlets set no clock at all. IndustryWeek requires “first-run” content and states no later repost window (IndustryWeek). Automotive Fleet’s publisher, Bobit Business Media, says contributed pieces will not be submitted to other publications, websites “and/or social media platforms after publication” (Automotive Fleet). Our guide to writing a contributed article for a trade publication covers their other rules.

Is It a Link Back or a Canonical Tag?

It depends on the outlet. Entrepreneur’s guidelines say “We require a link back to the original article on our site” (ELN Writer Guidelines), and its agreement also requires an Entrepreneur Media copyright notice linked to the original (§7.4). SEJ says it sets its window “In order to avoid duplicate content issues with Google” and that “You MUST use a canonical link” (SEJ). Social Media Today and CMI also require a canonical pointing to their original.

Google’s own advice differs. Its canonicalization page says: “The canonical link element is not recommended for those who want to avoid duplication by syndication partners, because the pages are often very different. The most effective solution is for partners to block indexing of your content” (Google Search Central). Google logged that change on May 2, 2023 (Google Search Central updates); its Publisher Center help gives the tag, <meta name="Googlebot" content="noindex"> (Google Publisher Center Help). Your blog copy is, in effect, the syndicated copy.

Our recommendation, not a rule: the outlet’s condition is part of your permission, so meet it. If you would rather keep the copy out of search with noindex, ask the editor in writing whether that satisfies the condition. Do not add both tags (see canonical tag vs noindex); what content syndication is covers Google’s advice in depth. Neither tag guarantees which copy Google shows.

Does the Permission Cover LinkedIn?

Only where the outlet says so. Entrepreneur’s guidelines name “your website/blog.” Its agreement adds “website(s) You own or operate,” your own publications and talks, and “any other media now known or hereafter developed, for which You are providing the only content” (§7.4). It does not say whether a LinkedIn article fits. SEJ, Social Media Today and CMI do not mention LinkedIn.

Two member programs do name it. A Forbes Councils guide, last updated March 25, 2026, suggests republishing “with a link to the original on your personal website, Medium, or LinkedIn” and adds: “Just remember to wait until the exclusivity period expires. (Ask your member concierge for details.)” (Forbes Councils). A Fast Company Executive Board guide says to republish “when the FastCompany.com exclusivity period is up ... on your own blog, LinkedIn, Medium, or any other content-sharing service” (Fast Company Executive Board). Neither page states how long the period is. See also Forbes Councils vs earned coverage.

LinkedIn itself raises two issues. First, LinkedIn’s help page lists the article settings as creating “an Article URL,” an “SEO title” and an “SEO description” (LinkedIn Help), and its SEO settings page lists only the title and description (LinkedIn Help). The help pages we read document no canonical or noindex option, so a full LinkedIn copy cannot meet an SEJ, Social Media Today or CMI canonical condition by any documented means.

Second, the license. LinkedIn’s User Agreement, effective November 3, 2025, grants LinkedIn “a non-exclusive license” that is “worldwide, transferable and sublicensable,” and members “promise to only provide content and other information that you have the right to share” (LinkedIn User Agreement, §3.1). An author who has assigned copyright, as ELN members do, may not hold the right to grant that. This is not legal advice.

Our recommendation: post a summary with a link to the original unless the editor confirms in writing that a full copy is allowed.

When Does the Clock Start, and Do Images Count?

From publication, not submission. Entrepreneur’s agreement requires that it has published the piece “for a continuous period of not less than ten (10) days” (§7.4). No page says whether publication day counts. For a column live on Monday, November 2, 2026, 10 days later is November 12, 14 days later is November 16, and 90 days later is January 31, 2027. Our recommendation, not a rule: add one day to be safe.

Images are a separate permission. Entrepreneur says: “We cannot publish images we don’t have rights to. Please leave all imagery to us” (ELN Writer Guidelines). A 2019 TechCrunch page, written for its Extra Crunch guest columns, said only the text could be redistributed “Because photos and images are licensed by TechCrunch,” and allowed republishing “anywhere one week after we run it” (TechCrunch, 2019). We found no current TechCrunch statement, so we do not chart it. Our reading: repost your text and use images you own. Putting the outlet’s logo beside the repost is a further, licensed use; see whether a company can use a publication’s logo as “As Seen In”.

What This Means for Anyone Buying a Placement

A paid article or sponsored post is advertising, must be labeled as such, and its reuse rights come from the insertion order or agreement you sign; do not assume a contributor window applies. Our recommendations, not outlet rules:

• Ask four questions before submitting: who owns the text, how many days before you may repost, whether the repost needs a canonical tag or a link, and whether LinkedIn and images are covered.
• Get undefined windows in writing. Forbes Councils and Fast Company Executive Board point members to staff for the exclusivity period.
• Know when the outlet licenses the article itself. Some publishers let others republish; see whether another outlet can republish an article you wrote for The Conversation.

Methodology and Limitations

Four limits apply. First, we read public guideline pages and two published agreements on October 12, 2026, not the signed contributor agreements; SEJ says all contributors “digitally sign a basic contributor agreement,” which we have not seen. Second, the pages are of different ages, SEJ’s marked “Last updated November 2023” and TechCrunch’s from 2019; any could change. Third, no page says how it counts days, so our dates are illustrations; we did not test posting on LinkedIn, and Medium’s help pages blocked our requests, so we make no claim about Medium. Fourth, the copyright points read statute text and contract wording; they are not legal analysis.

Conclusion

You can usually republish your own bylined article, but on the outlet’s terms: 10 days at Entrepreneur, 14 at SEJ, Social Media Today and CMI, 90 at Vision Systems Design, an unstated period at Forbes Councils and Fast Company Executive Board, and never at Automotive Fleet. The uncomfortable part is that the permission may not be yours to give: Entrepreneur takes the copyright, and LinkedIn’s help pages document no way to add the canonical tag three outlets require. Ask before you post.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Built from the contributor guidelines and agreements of Entrepreneur Leadership Network, Search Engine Journal, Social Media Today, the Content Marketing Institute, Vision Systems Design, IndustryWeek, Automotive Fleet, Forbes Councils, Fast Company Executive Board and TechCrunch (a 2019 page), LinkedIn's help pages and User Agreement, Google Search Central documentation and the U.S. Copyright Act, all read on October 12, 2026. Counting days, choosing between tags and the LinkedIn advice are our recommendations, not outlet rules. We did not test posting on LinkedIn. This is not legal advice.

1. official Entrepreneur Media, ELN: Writer Guidelines, page modified October 1, 2026. 10-day repost rule, link-back requirement, no previously published material, images rule and the compensation clause. Read October 12, 2026.
2. official Entrepreneur Media, ELN: Membership Agreement, no revision date shown. Copyright assignment (§7.3); 10-day license back, venues, copyright notice and link (§7.4). Read October 12, 2026.
3. official Search Engine Journal, Rules for Guest Contributors, last updated November 2023. 14-day rule, mandatory canonical link, exclusivity and the contributor agreement. Read October 12, 2026.
4. official Social Media Today, SMT Contributor Guidelines, no date shown. Two-week rule, canonical URL and attribution. Read October 12, 2026.
5. official Content Marketing Institute, Guidelines for Sharing and Republishing Content, no date shown. Two-week wait and canonical tag for authors reusing their articles. Read October 12, 2026.
6. official Vision Systems Design, Content Submission Guidelines. First-run requirement and 90 days of exclusivity from publication. Read October 12, 2026.
7. official IndustryWeek, IndustryWeek Contributors' Guidelines. First-run requirement. Read October 12, 2026.
8. official Bobit Business Media / Automotive Fleet, BBM Contributed Content Guidelines. Exclusivity and no posting elsewhere after publication. Read October 12, 2026.
9. official Forbes Councils, How to Promote Your Article, last updated March 25, 2026. Republishing on a personal site, Medium or LinkedIn after an unstated exclusivity period. Read October 12, 2026.
10. official Fast Company Executive Board, How to Promote Your Content: 23 Ways to Spread the Word About Your Article, page modified August 27, 2025. Republishing on a blog, LinkedIn or Medium after the exclusivity period. Read October 12, 2026.
11. official TechCrunch, Submit a guest column to Extra Crunch (and TechCrunch), November 20, 2019. One-week republishing rule and text-only note; not charted because we found no current statement. Read October 12, 2026.
12. platform documentation Google Search Central, Fix canonicalization issues, last updated August 21, 2026. Canonical not recommended for syndication partners; blocking indexing most effective. Read October 12, 2026.
13. platform documentation Google Search Central, Google Search Central documentation updates. May 2, 2023 entry adding syndicated-content recommendations. Read October 12, 2026.
14. platform documentation Google Publisher Center Help, Avoid article duplication in Google News. Noindex robots meta tags for syndicated copies. Read October 12, 2026.
15. platform documentation LinkedIn Help, Write and publish articles on LinkedIn. Article settings: Article URL, SEO title, SEO description. Read October 12, 2026.
16. platform documentation LinkedIn Help, SEO settings for articles or Newsletters published on LinkedIn. SEO title and description are the only SEO settings listed. Read October 12, 2026.
17. official LinkedIn, User Agreement, effective November 3, 2025. Non-exclusive, sublicensable license to LinkedIn and promise to share only content you have the right to share (§3.1). Read October 12, 2026.
18. statute Legal Information Institute (Cornell), 17 U.S.C. § 201. Copyright vests initially in the author. Read October 12, 2026.
19. statute Legal Information Institute (Cornell), 17 U.S.C. § 101. Definition of transfer of copyright ownership, including exclusive licenses but not nonexclusive ones. Read October 12, 2026.
20. statute Legal Information Institute (Cornell), 17 U.S.C. § 204. Transfers must be in writing and signed. Read October 12, 2026.