Creative PLR Part 1

If you haven’t come across PLR (or Private Label Rights) content before, then this is simply articles and other material (ebooks, reports etc.) that are created and sold to multiples of people so they can use them as their own. This usually means purchasers can modify them, use them on their own websites and in their newsletters, sell the ebooks/reports to others (but not the rights to them) and so on (you need to check the individual service’s terms and conditions for how their content can and can’t be used).

The positive aspect of PLR material is that it’s relatively cheap to purchase and means you don’t have to spend time and/or money creating your own content. The downside is that it is distributed to tens and even hundreds of other people. In the case of articles, this means you need to re-write each article significantly to avoid the duplicate content issue with the search engines. In the case of ebooks, you need to change graphics, titles, sales letters and sometimes even content in order to make it appear that you are the only site offering this book.

And therein lies the problem with PLR. Not in the content itself but in the users. In order to use PLR to its fullest potential there is still an element of effort involved.

There are several different PLR users:

1. Those who buy it and never use it (yes, it happens, just as it does with any product or service we buy online that requires action – some will just sit on it and never do anything with it)
2. Those who buy it and put it on the Internet “as is” i.e. they make no attempt to change the articles or provide a unique angle to the ebook. It’s not impossible to make some money or gather leads this way, it just isn’t as effective as….
3. Those who buy it and adapt it before publishing on the Internet. For example, they re-write articles using new well-researched keyword phrases, create reports from a bunch of individual articles or break down ebooks into articles and reports, add their own graphics, change titles, and add affiliate links and recommendations to reports. These are the PLR users who are putting a little more time into creating original content from shared material, and are doing it well. But I still think there is another class of PLR user, and that is…
4. Those who buy it and use it CREATIVELY. A tiny tiny fraction of PLR users fit into this class and find ways to use their PLR in highly original ways.

Before we look at some of the truly creative ways to use PLR, let’s look at some of the more standard ways to use it. I’m not dissing these in the slightest – they all have their benefits – and maybe even these will give you some ideas or help you see the value of PLR:

• Articles – taking PLR articles and putting them on your own site or blog, on Web2.0 sites that link to your own, on Article Directory sites (not all PLR providers allow this) or in your newsletters.
• Viral Ebooks and Reports to give away as lead generation
• Ebooks and Reports to sell or give away to your current leads and customers
• Breaking up ebooks to create reports and articles
• Putting articles together to create reports for lead generation
• Creating bonuses – relevant to another product or ebook you are selling
• Ezine/newsletter content to send to your mailing list
• eCourses to send out over days or weeks to those who sign up to your list
• Audio books and reports

Yes, I know you thought my creative uses for PLR were going to involve creating audio books, after all I am a voiceover and audio producer, but actually I think audio books are still a standard use for PLR material – just not one that many people consider or pursue. There are even Audio PLR services available, but my own experience of these has not been good in terms of quality or adaptability.
 

Tomorrow, I’ll be giving you ideas on how to go beyond the standard with your PLR, including an example of how to adapt a simple PLR article and a couple of the PLR services I highly recommend.