The following is an interview I did with Nicole Dean. I consider her to be the foremost expert and publisher on the topic of Private Label Rights – PLR – so I wanted to ask her the questions I am most often asked about this subject. The photo on the left is one I took of her when we were in San Francisco attending a live event recently. Can you see why Nicole Dean is one of my favorite people?
Hey Connie! Thanks so much for asking me to come by today for an interview. As you know, we’re going to be talking about PLR, which stands for Private Label Rights content. What exactly is it? PLR content consists of articles, reports, ecourses, and ebooks, that business owners can purchase and use in their businesses – as if they wrote it themselves.
Now, usually that gets people thinking “Isn’t that cheating?” Great question. The answer is “no”. The way I use and recommend using PLR articles is to view the content as drafts – basically you’re paying someone else to outline your content, fill in the basics, and then you get to come in and add some pizazz. I like to say add some “YOU” to it to make it “YOUnique” to you and your business.
And, yes, of course, in all transparency, I’ve run one of the premier PLR companies since 2006 – so yes, I’m biased. BUT – my content has helped my customers to make a lot of money over the years, so I’m proud of what I do.
Connie, you asked several great questions. Let’s dig in.
1- Who actually writes the PLR articles, reports, and courses that are sold online? I can only answer for myself. Originally when I started my EasyPLR.com site, I wrote all of the content (along with my business partner at the time). Of course, my business grew and as I began to network more, I found many highly talented writers who loved to write, but hated to do marketing. They just wanted to write for someone else and get paid for it. When I saw the quality of their writing, I realized it was equal to (and in some cases superior to) my writing, so there was no reason to keep doing it all myself.
My writers are professionals. One of my writers went to Stanford University and is a published author. Another is a nurse and Sunday school teacher. Several have journalism backgrounds. So, no, I don’t go find the cheapest writers available. I try to find the best. However, that’s not good enough for me. My Content Manager actually passes the writing through a second editor when I get it back. It’s their job, not to just check for typos, but to add value wherever possible. For instance, in an article of “5 Ways to Save More Money” – my editors may change that to “7 Ways to Save More Money” – so that my customers get even more bang for their buck.
Of course, I can’t speak for other PLR sites, as they vary in how and where they get their writers. Some are fabulous. Others? I would not want their content to represent my business.
2 – My niche is very specialized, and I can’t seem to ever find PLR that fits my topics. Is there any way for me to request PLR topics and have someone write it?
Definitely. When this happens, you have a few different alternatives.
a. You can first place a request with your preferred PLR site to see if they can create content for you. If the niche has potential, they may be willing to do that. I’m always asking for topics from my customers.
b. You may be able to rework general content to make it niche-specific for you. For instance, if your market is Christian Parenting, you can always grab content on general parenting and tweak it to suit your purposes. Or, if your market is diabetes, you can find some great content on exercising that you can use as a starting point to niche it down and make it more specific for your readers. PLR is just a starting point.
c. Another option is to hire a writer to take a pack of PLR and customize it for you. That’s one way to take great content and make it more valuable for your readers.
3 – I tried to rewrite some PLR articles and submit them to Ezine Articles, but they sent me an email telling me my account could be suspended if I ever did this again. How do I use PLR for this purpose without getting into trouble?
This is another great question, Connie. You’re correct. EzineArticles.com only allows 100% unique content. What I would recommend in this instance is using the OUTLINE of the content to draft your own articles.
So, if you have a PLR article entitled “5 Ways to Lose Weight without Starving”, you can retitle it as “5 Ways to Lose Weight Without Sacrificing Your Enjoyment of Food”. Then, just take each of the 5 ideas and write a new (even better) article using those same ideas. How will you make yours stand out? Again, three simple letters Y.O.U.
a. Add stories from your own life – like the time you realized on a cruise that you enjoyed drinking white wine & spritzer just as much as your favorite sugary drinks.
b. Add examples that you have (such as you’ll see in this blog post). Perhaps an example of how eating one piece of really dark chocolate can satisfy your cravings better than eating an entire bag of M&M’s – with much less calories ingested.
c. Add entertainment. People come to the internet for information, but that information can be delivered in an interesting fashion. (Hopefully I’ve accomplished that in this blog post.)
Well, I hope that has been helpful. If you think that PLR might be something you’d like to check out in order to make your life easier and your business more profitable, I invite you to visit Coach Glue and look around.
Warmly, Nicole Dean
PS. If you have any questions about using PLR, please ask. I’ll come by and answer as many as I can.
Editor’s Note: Nicole Dean is awesome in so many ways. You may also read about and listen to my podcast with her here. And again, please visit Nicole Dean’s Coach Glue site and download Your FREE New Client Kit! Get 17 Done-for-You Forms to Use in Your Coaching Business.
Thanks, Nicole and Connie! This was informative and helpful!