WordPress plugin to stamp and securely sell your PDF files
If you are offering a free PDF file download via WP eStore’s squeeze form feature, then you can use the stamper plugin to stamp that PDF file.
Edit the product in question then enable PDF stamping for it. Then use the following standard squeeze form shortcode.
[wp_eStore_free_download_squeeze_form id=1]
1 is the product ID in this example.
When visitors submit their name and email address, it will stamp that value then send the stamped copy of the PDF file to them.
If you offer PDF files to your eMember members then this feature may be helpful for you.
The PDF Stamper plugin lets you create a download now button for your eMember members. A logged in eMember user can use that button to download the PDF file. The plugin will stamp the file with the eMember user’s details (name and email address) at the time of download.
Use the following shortcode to place a PDF download now button for eMember members:
[stamper_download_button_for_emember file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_text="Download Now"]
You can use a custom button image for the download now button instead of the text. Use the “button_image” parameter in the shortcode to use your custom button image for the button. Below is an example:
[stamper_download_button_for_emember file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_image="example.com/custom-image-url"]
Use the “new_window” parameter in the shortcode to open the download in a new window. Example shortcode usage below:
[stamper_download_button_for_emember file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_text="Download Now" new_window="1"]
This shortcode can only stamp the following variables.
If you offer PDF files to your WP Users then this feature may be helpful for you.
The PDF Stamper plugin lets you create a download now button for your WP Users. A logged in WP User can use that button to download the PDF file. The plugin will stamp the file with the WP User’s details (name and email address) at the time of download.
It will also keep the source PDF file’s URL hidden.
Use the following shortcode to place a PDF download now button for WP Users.
[stamper_download_button_for_wp_user file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_text="Download Now"]
You can use a custom button image for the download now button instead of the text. Use the “button_image” parameter in the shortcode to use your custom button image for the button. Below is an example:
[stamper_download_button_for_wp_user file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_image="example.com/custom-image-url"]
Use the “new_window” parameter in the shortcode to open the download in a new window. Example shortcode usage below:
[stamper_download_button_for_wp_user file_url="example.com/url-to-your-file.pdf" button_text="Download Now" new_window="1"]
This shortcode can only stamp the following variables.
User’s address and phone number are not standard fields of WP User record. This shortcode can only stamp values that will be available on all standard WordPress installs.
You can do the following things to easily add extra protection to your PDF file URLs that you are selling.
For example, you could store your original PDF files in teh following directory of your site which will make it really hard for anyone to guess the location:
http://www.your-domain.com/my-pdf-files/IYqmiy76Hqa/
You can also add an empty/blank index.html file in the folder that has your PDF files. This will make it so no one can browse and see the content of that folder.
Download a blank index.html (right click and choose save as)
Lets say you are keeping your source/original PDF files in the following folder/directory of your site:
..../wp-content/uploads/my-pdf-files/
Simply add a .htaccess file to the “my-pdf-files” folder with the following content:
deny from all
This will prevent anyone from being able to access the PDF files from that folder.
The FileZilla FTP client tutorial will be very helpful for you (if you don’t know how to use FileZilla already).
The WP PDF Stamper can be used in many ways; the main usage of the PDF Stamper is to help secure your PDF eBooks from being shared on file sharing sites. Here are some other ways you can use the WP PDF Stamper:
If you have any creative ways to use the PDF Stamper or suggestions please feel free to leave a comment below.
The WP PDF Stamper plugin requires the following installed on your server
Branding your eBooks is very important. Making a name for yourself in the eBook industry is very hard if you do not brand your books. With the PDF Stamper you can easily brand your PDF eBooks with just a few simple steps. When you use the PDF Stamper your eBooks will be automatically branded with your specified text information and the buyer’s personal details.
This plugin is also very useful when using Private Label Rights (PLR) eBook. You can easily re-brand these eBooks with your own company information. One unique feature of the PDF Stamper is that it does not change the file format of the PDF file when it stamps. Most PDF stamper on the market changes the file format of the stamped PDF file to a windows based file, making it so the file can only be viewed on a windows based PC.
Branding your eBooks also secure them from being resold. This way someone can not take your eBook and resell it as their own. It is very important that you create a brand for your company and your eBooks.
Summary of why you should brand your eBooks
It all comes down to securing your hard work and making a name for your company that is trusted and recognized.
After you activate the WordPress PDF Stamper plugin, the settings/options menu can be found on the left hand side menu similar to the following screenshot.
This is where you specify all the general settings for this plugin.
This manual stamping page allows you to manually stamp a PDF file a given text.
You can see all your stamped files from this page. It allows you to search for a file or delete a single file. You can also bulk delete all stamped files that is older than a specified time to clean it up.
There are many reasons to stamp your PDF eBooks, but the main one would be to protect your eBook from being shared. The WP PDF Stamper is a unique product. It allows you to dynamically stamp a PDF file with the customer’s details (e.g name, email, address etc.) in the footer. The PDF Stamper can be integrated with a 3rd party payment system or shopping cart (e.g WP eStore). The shopping cart will automatically provide the verified personal information of the customer from the payment gateway to the PDF Stamper which will be used for stamping the footer. This way the true personal details of the customer will be stamped on the PDF eBook as opposed to some fake details.
It is a proven fact that PDF eBooks stamped with personal information such as name, address, email address, phone number are less likely to be uploaded to file sharing sites. Would you upload a file that has your personal information to a file sharing site? Probably not!
Stamping a PDF file also allows you to track down the source of the shared file. If you come accross a shared file then you will be able to track down the person who shared it as the contact information of the original buyer will be stamped in the file.
Here is a quick list of some reasons why you may want to stamp your PDF eBook:
It all comes down to protecting your assets. Your eBook is your hard work and invested time, which you do not want to go to waste because some people decided to share your eBook on a file sharing site. When you do not protect your asset it’s a lot like leaving your back door unlocked when you go on vacation, anyone can come in and steal your property.