I’ve become a bit of a Private Label Rights (PLR) junkie.

In fact, I’ve become so enamored with PLR content that I am about to launch two sites devoted to this topic: FinancialPLR.com and PLRConnection.com.

As a professional writer, I am really excited to offer high-quality content to my customers at an affordable price. More importantly, as a Content Marketing enthusiast, I look forward to sharing ideas on how to convert this content into truly customized value-added material.

After all, unique and original content is the life blood of driving targeted, organic search engine traffic to your blog or web site. Although Private Label Rights content isn’t exactly one-of-a-kind material, it can be an extremely powerful way to build and grow your online business.

Without question, Private Label Rights content is one heck of a tool in your Content Marketing arsenal – if you know how to use it correctly.

When you buy Private Label Rights content, what you are really doing is leveraging another individual’s time and energy to build your business. You can take that writer’s research and thoughts and convert them into something entirely unique with very minimal effort.

In other words, opening a well-written PLR article is the equivalent of a mental jump start that can kick your content creation efforts into overdrive.

Here Are 7 Ways to Get The Most Mileage Out of Your PLR Content:

1. Rewrite it. This should be a complete no-brainer. Posting an article that has been sold to hundreds or thousands of other online publishers “as is” won’t do much for you from a search engine optimization standpoint. Also, don’t even think about submitting a PLR article to an article directory without a COMPLETE rewrite first. Odds are, you’ll get busted and risk having your account shut down. (Ezinearticles.com will take 2 or 3 complex sentences from your articles and run them through a Google search to see if that exact string of words pops up elsewhere).

2. Hire a Ghostwriter. Too busy to rewrite your PLR articles yourself? Hire someone else to do it for you. You can normally get a rewrite done for a lot less than ordering custom content from a talented writer.

4. Deconstruct One PLR Article into Several Unique Pieces. This is a great way to get the most bang for your buck from your PLR purchase. This approach works great with articles that feature a numbered list of action items For example, an article titled “7 Ways To Save Money When You Sell Your House” can be broken down into multiple articles or blog posts by taking each point (or several related ones) and expanding upon them.

5. Bundle Several PLR Articles Into a Short Report or eBook. This takes a little extra effort, but you can easily take several related articles, add your own insights and create a longer value-added report that you can then use as a free bonus or as a product to sell. Have a custom eBook cover created and – viola – you have a new information product ready to go!

6. Add Your Own Flair. Stock photos, screen shots and other graphics can take your PLR content to another level. (See the banner ad following this post for my personal stock photo recommendation – images start at just .14 each, but I typically pay in the $1 range because I prefer to purchase in smaller amounts).

7. Change Formats. Tweak your PLR articles, then convert them into either audio or videos to add to your site. Switching up the format is a great way to convert something plain into something really engaging.

Remember, most of your competitors will take the easy way out and either post their PLR content “as is” – or never use it all. (Really. Who doesn’t have a few unused PLR articles sitting around on their hard drive?? ) Taking these extra steps can – and will – ensure that your minimal investment generates a maximum return!

Til Next Time,

PS I have some finishing touches to add to both PLRConnection.com and FinancialPLR.com- but plan to officially launch both by next Monday, May 10th. Stay tuned – I’ll be offering readers of WebCopyResults.com a 20% discount on all PLR purchases from either site.

Perhaps you’ve seen the old Seinfield episode where George once again finds himself out of work – and rather than pouring his time and energy into securing gainful employment, he instead directs his efforts toward gaming the unemployment compensation system.

After observing the lengths he was going to in order to keep collecting that unemployment check, Elaine finally asks…

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just get a job?”

If you are spending your time trying to rewrite or rework poorly written or overused Private Label Rights (PLR) content (or ghostwritten material) into something worthwhile – you just might be a George.

(You might be a Kramer if you even think about posting it to your site or elsewhere online “as is” ).

Truth is, not all PLR content is created equal. In fact, there is a very broad spectrum of available content out there – some of it is quite good and some of it is… not.  Rewriting weak and poorly structured content will almost always take as long (or longer) than starting from scratch and doing it yourself. Considering that the content you use to promote your online business will continue to work for you long after the initial investment of time and/or money put into it -  you will want to evaluate your options carefully.

Here are a few things to consider before purchasing PLR articles:

1. How is the quality? This seems like a no-brainer, but if you are thinking about buying PLR content, be sure to evaluate the accuracy, sentence structure and overall flow of the material. Is there enough “meat” to each article for you to rework it into something fresh and uniquely yours? Or will it take a ton of time for you to figure out how in the heck to make it work?
2. How many other people will have access to that exact article? Some sites offer their articles to an unlimited number of buyers for an extended period of time – while others offer them to a limited number of customers for a short period of time. Obviously, less is more when it comes to how many times a PLR article is resold.
3. Are the articles evergreen? If not, are they updated frequently? Some topics (and the content built around them) stand the test of time better than others. If your topic is in a rapidly changing niche or field, you will want to select content that is fresh off the presses.

Fortunately, you can test out the content from many PLR sites for a relatively small investment. (Each site has different policies re: this, so be sure to check around before trying one out for the first time). One I have personally reviewed and like is EasyPLR.com. This site offers articles, special reports and eCourses on a wide range of topics with prices starting at $5 for a 5 article bundle.  Each bundle is sold to a limited number of users (75) and new bundles are added on an ongoing basis.  Plus, the quality of the content is high – which makes them a much better source of ideas and inspiration.

If you’ve been thinking of adding PLR content to your Content Marketing arsenal, why not pick up a small bundle for $5 – $10 and give it a try?  Be sure to let me know what you think!

Til Next Time,

PS The best way to use PLR is to rewrite and rework it into something fresh and new. (Remember, search engines and human visitors love fresh, unique content!)  Be sure to infuse it with your own personal perspective – you know, the one gained from a lifetime of experience?  Ultimately, this is what will separate your site from all the “online clutter” out there – and will help you build a long-term business that rises above your competition.

Yesterday, I talked about creating a “MONETIZE THIS!” folder to hold Private Label Rights (PLR) articles and other info products I’ve accumulated. Prior to this, these files were randomly stashed all over the place and I had no idea how much useful information I had tucked away. Not that I could have found a lot of it if I had known.

After I got all this material filed under the appropriate sub-folders, I decided to organize the various affiliate products/programs I represent, as well. (Before I go into more detail, let me stress that I am not an affiliate marketing guru, nor do I pretend to be. I am not a Super Affiliate and am not trying to position myself as a teacher or guide on the subject).

However, I have been studying affiliate marketing for about a year and a half and have made a respectable amount of money at it.  Not a lot, mind you.  But enough to have me really excited about it. So, I guess I prefer to think of myself as a  “soon-to-be” successful affiliate, rather than a “wanna-be” affiliate marketer.

At any rate, I needed a better way of organizing the various affiliate programs I promote. I figured if the theme of this project was “MONETIZE THIS!” – it made sense to connect these products and programs to the new folders I had just created. So I made a master Excel spreadsheet to capture all pertinent details related to each affiliate product or program (i.e. name of program, program manager (Commission Junction, ClickBank, LinkShare.com, etc…), username, password, basic affiliate links, and important notes).

Within that spreadsheet, each program is grouped according to where I am most likely to use it (i.e. Beyond-the-Bank.com or a niche affiliate site). Some programs may fall under more than one category – and that is fine. Simply copy and paste each row of information wherever it might fit.

It took a bit of time to pull all this together, but it was an investment of time that should yield dividends for a long time. For example, let’s say I am working on an article about creative ways business owners can access working capital for their business – and I want to talk about person-t0-person lending.  Thanks to this master spreadsheet, I can easily find information relating to LendingClub.com without having to stop writing to go find it.

Now, everything I need to continue building my online businesses through content – and the tools I need to effectively monetize that content – is all in one easily accessible place. So far, this project has been really helpful to me – and I hope it helps you, too!

Til Next Time,

PS If you are interested in Affiliate Marketing, the two experts I trust the most (because they live it and are very transparent with everything they do) are Rosalind Gardner and Lynn Terry. Rosalind’s Super Affiliate Handbook is the very first information product I ever purchased and as I’ve said before – is still among the very best money I have ever spent online. What I learned and applied from that book has covered the $47 purchase price many times over at this point.

Lynn’s Elite Mastermind Group is a monthly membership site that offers a backstage pass to the best practices in the world of affiliate and online marketing. There is so much great information openly shared by both Lynn and many, many other successful marketers within that protected forum – I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Sigh…

I knew it was time to clean up my hard drive when I found myself signing up for the same newsletter twice because I really wanted the free eBooks being offered – and I couldn’t remember where I had saved them to the first time.

Everyone has a different way of organizing things on their computer and believe it or not, I actually had a system in place before I started this project. I keep everything under one file titled “Trish’s Documents” (stealthy, I know).  Then, within that file I have a number of other files pertaining to both personal and business matters – and each of them is broken down into various sub-files and so on…

So far, so good.

However, like many online entrepreneurs – I have a couple of live web sites (and ideas for several more), plus client projects, off-line business interests, hobbies, etc… Somewhere along the way I ended up stashing PLR articles, eCourses and a plethora of other information products wherever seemed logical at the time -  always with the intention of doing something with them… eventually.

Rather than completely re-inventing the wheel, I decided to stick with the same basic organization system with a few tweaks. Under “Trish’s Documents,” I created a new folder aptly named “MONETIZE THIS!” (Yes, in all caps as I thought yelling at myself would be a great call-to-action should my motivation fade). Sub-folders within that file include one for each of my main sites (WebCopyResults.com and Beyond-the-Bank.com), eBooks to Review, Products to Review, one for potential niche sites, eNewsletter ideas, and one for eBooks/reports I plan to write.

Once I got this in place, I went through each existing folder and moved all PLR articles and information products to the appropriate newly created one under “MONETIZE THIS!”

The benefit I gained from this exercise is threefold:

1. All my original files now contain ONLY projects that have been completed – while “MONETIZE THIS!” has all the stuff I still need to do. Going forward, moving files from one to the other will be the electronic equivalent of crossing an item off my “to-do” list. Motivating and gratifying!
2. I can now clearly see what I have to work with AND have it organized in a way that makes it easy to get started – rather than losing time searching for what I need.
3. This process was actually a great brainstorming activity – revisiting what I already have kicked up a lot of ideas that should keep me busy for quite a while.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk more about how this refined organization system also helped me get my arms around the various affiliate products and programs I represent.

Til Next Time,

PS Since setting up this revised system, I have rewritten/reworked 3 PLR articles into completely original pieces. When complete, I rename each PLR article by adding “- USED” at the end of the original title. That way, I can quickly see which articles within a pack have already been “handled.” This is really helpful because the new article I create looks nothing like the inspiration piece (or pieces) and it is easy to forget which ones I have already used.

If you like this tip, be sure to sign up for the newly renamed (and relaunched) WebCopyResults.com Tuesday Tips, which includes a Tip of the Week and a special Keyword Bonus, along with featured blog posts and new articles recently added to the site. (For those of you already signed up (and confirmed) – it should be in your in box around 9 am ET this morning).

Whew. What a relief.

I spent a couple hours over the weekend organizing and cleaning up my hard drive.  No, I wasn’t bored or choosing busy work over being productive. Instead, this was time very well spent and I have to say – I’m pretty darn excited about what I found in there!

You see, I’m determined to stick to my commitment to NOT buy one more information product, eCourse or packet of PLR articles until I’ve FULLY utilized (or discarded) everything I already have.  I’m really excited because I found A LOT of great information that has been hiding out in there … just waiting to see the light of day.

What does this mean to you?

Two things, actually:

1. I am going to go through every info product and PLR article I have and share the best of the best with you in the form of blog posts, product/eBook reviews, articles for the Content Marketing Toolbox and maybe even a multi-part email series or two.
2. I’m going to share how I went about organizing and reworking all that material into fresh, new informative content. My goal in doing this is to inspire you to do the same. Unless you are the rare individual who immediately puts 100% of what you learn into action, I would bet you also have some material taking up space on your hard drive – doing nothing for you or anyone else.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about how I organzied the materials – and how I started capturing my ideas and plans to incorporate each of them into overall business strategy.

Til Next Time,

PS Disclaimer: Althought I am VERY committed to NOT spending any more money online until I get through what I already have – I have to announce one very important exception.  I will continue my monthly membership in Lynn Terry’s Elite Mastermind Group. I get far more value from the group in terms of valuable contacts, new ideas and support than the small amount I pay each month. If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend you sign up for one month to see what its like first hand. You can cancel at any time – but I am willing to bet you won’t after you experience it for yourself!

The inspiration for today’s post comes from a comment I received on my recent post about ghostwriters.  The reader commented on the concept of “getting what you pay for” when you hire a writing service and there is a lot of validity to that. Not all writers are created equal and it pays to invest some time to find a writer/writing service that meshes with your own quality standards, business goals AND budget.

Here is an excerpt from my reply:

I’m glad you brought this up, because it probably seems odd that as a writer, I write about (and recommend) writing services other than my own.

As a writer, I understand where you are coming from with the $5/article thing.  It takes me a long time to research and write a great article that I would be comfortable sending to a client.  I could never make it on $5 an article, because I would end up making about $2.00 an hour on my original work!

But, as an online business owner – I am happy that lower-cost options exist.  Perhaps because I have the writing skills (and enjoy writing) – I find I can transform a lower cost article from a decent ghostwriter (not all of them are “decent” – and a lot of the $5 stuff is not well written – at all) into something I can actually use.  It takes me a lot less time to do this than starting from scratch – and using a ghostwriter in some cases (rather than PLR) allows me to submit these articles to directories – which means projects for my own web sites get DONE… (because AGAIN I would NEVER do this with projects for paying customers. They hired ME – so they deserve to get my original work).

At any rate, I am finding that there is a place for everything in the world of online content – from your own work to reworked PLR content to ghostwriters to higher-end, more specialized writing firms…

The key take away from this (at least for me) is that there is an entire spectrum of options available to online business owners when it comes to obtaining content for their readers. None is any better or worse than the other – there are pluses and minuses to each, but they all have their place. Each is simply a tool that can be used to build a solid online arsenal of amazing and valuable content.

I rarely talk about my own writing business here because I really enjoy sharing what I know with the “do-it-yourself” crowd. I’m very, very grateful to my writing clients (did I say “very” enough? ) – but also really enjoy wearing a different hat throughout the day and “talking” with a different audience here.

Til Next Time,

PS What about you? What is your experience or thoughts on using different types of content creation services? How do they fit into your own Content Marketing mix? Please share your ideas by leaving a comment below!

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles are a popular choice among many time-starved Internet publishers. What could be easier than gaining access to dozens or even hundreds of articles at the click of a button? There are a lot of services out there offering PLR articles. Some offer monthly memberships where you get access to “X” amount of new articles each month, while others allow you to purchase articles in topic-specific bundles on a one-time basis. Many offer significant bonus packages as an incentive to try their service. (I personally prefer being able to buy PLR articles on an “as-needed” basis vs. via a subscription – if you are the same way, be sure to check out EasyPLR.com).

As with most things, there is a right way – and a wrong way – to incorporate Private Label Rights articles into your Content Marketing campaign.

By now, you probably already know the wrong way to use Private Label Rights articles. Simply adding them to your site (or worse, submitting them to article directories) “as is” is a really bad idea for a number of reasons.  If you try to resubmit one of these articles under your own name (or pen name)  “as is,” you will most likely run into plagiarism issues and risk getting your account terminated (and having all your other articles on that site pulled).

Beyond that, I can almost guarantee that the Private Label Rights articles you have received have already been indexed by the search engines – so even if they are accepted by article directories – you won’t get any SEO benefit from them. Same with posting PLR articles in their current state on your website. They won’t help draw search engine traffic for this reason. (Although they may add value to your readers by offering more relevant content while you are fleshing out your site).

Plus, there is the whole ethical thing about claiming work as yours when you don’t have exclusive rights to it.

However, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Private Label Rights articles are a great way to infuse your own writing with inspiration.  I often pull ideas from 2 or more articles on the same topic to come up with something completely unique and fresh. This can be tricky as it can still take a fair amount of time to accomplish.

I know of some publishers who simply “massage” the articles by rewriting the original paragraph and tweaking it a bit here or there. I personally would be careful with this approach – and wouldn’t rely on CopyScape alone to check my work. I heard Chris Knight (publisher of EzineArticles.com) say in an interview that they pull two complex sentences at random from the body of each article and run a Google search on them. So, if you only ‘moderately tweak’ an article and leave a number of sentences from the original version – there is a very good chance it will be caught.  If you do want to try this approach, I recommend you place the article on your own site where it might get indexed and offers value to your readers even if it doesn’t.

Other ways to tweak PLR articles into something fresh and new is to translate the content into entirely new formats.  For example, pull tidbits from a few articles to create a compelling FAQ page – or you could tweak each article and repurposing the content into either an audio or videocast. (This site is very 2005 in that it doesn’t YET incorporate either audio or video – but I promise I am very aware of the how much I need to spice things up! )If you are already using audio and/or video on your site – imagine how easy it would be to convert PLR articles into something even more compelling with the technology you are already using.

One final thought – when using PLR articles (or any information from an unknown source) – do yourself and your readers a favor.  Verify the accuracy the information presented. I recently opened a PLR article on real estate that started with “The real estate market is red hot right now…”  Further checking showed the article was written in 2005 – but was sent as part of a subscription in May 2009.  (Yes, I canceled that subscription on the spot).  So, consider how ‘evergreen’ your topic is and be aware of when the article was written and what might have changed in the world since then.  Also, a quick check of facts will help save your hard-earned credibility with your audience in the long run.

Til Next Time,

PS I rambled on too long about PLR articles to dig into hiring ghostwriters. Be sure to stop back Monday for more on that topic.  Or just sign up for the RSS feed and have it delivered to you automatically.  Have a great weekend!

PSS If you are looking for a great source of PLR content – be sure to check out EasyPLR.com. This site offers articles, eCourses, and special reports on a wide range of topics.  All packs are sold in limited quanitites without requiring any ongoing subscription.  You can get started immediately for as little as $5!  Check it out!