Marketers Who Are Just Too Smart for Their Own Good (e.g. PLR)

I think you're right..

Good, solid information is what it is.. and if it comes in PLR form first, then so be it. I use a whole heap of PLR when publishing web content for traffic. If the content is worthy of reading then it is worthy of sharing, for whatever reason that may be.

I like this;

Kudos to ya.

Peace

Jay

You've put into words what I have been thinking for a long time, you are absolutely right about "last years graphics" and "every street corner"

A lot of the PLR products out there especially some of the older ones are jam-packed with solid information.

But it seems that these days unless the title says you can "Make $500,000,000.00 In Two Minutes After Reading This Guide" then people don't want to buy it. And the worst part is that after reading it they complain that is does not work and now they want their money back because you failed to meet your claim.

Yet they post all over the forums that are the "smartest person online" and you should bow down to them because if it.

Good content repackaged is a great way to make $$$ online, especially for membership sites that teach new people to the IM world the basic building blocks of a successful IMer.

Thanks for laying it out in such a perfect fashion.

BizBoost,

Your observations are on target.

However you said the comments were in a WSO thread, and any purchased PLR or MRR products aren't allowed no matter how much you change the graphics or update the sales page, they simply aren't allowed.

It makes it a perfectly valid question in context of where you saw it.

After all the worlds best selling book in English has largely remained unchanged since 1611

Mark

The problem with PLR is that PLR content is mostly of poor quality. It's about quantity most of the time.

Why would the original author care about the quality if his/her name doesn't end up on the book's cover? Most of the PLR is outsourced and has to be of minimal quality so that the employer doesn't refuse the finished work.

PLR is a great concept but lately it has become a synonym of trash.

I have looked at some PLR ebooks and I was not impressed. Most of the PLR ebooks I have seen just contain general information on the niche.

However, I have been able to take the outlines of those ebooks and create my own. Then use some of the general info as chapter openers, then go into more detail. So, PLR is a great resource to help create your own resource, by giving you a good outline.

Also, I have come to REALLY love PLR articles. I use them in one niche as blog posts. I simply rewrite the titles and the first paragraph, and I am earning some pretty cool passive adsense income from this.

PLR ROCKS, but only if you use it correctly.

I thought the intent of PLR was to enhance the quality, then repackage as your own??

Maybe I'm way offbase here... but to take PLR "as-is" then try to turn-around and leverage... that's "rep-suicide"... IMO anyway.

Good stuff BizBoost and Tina.

You don't really need PLR content to get ideas. You can get them from any book and turn them into your own product because "ideas" aren't copyrightable.

I have a big package I put together of PLR stuff.. articles, software, ebooks, etc..

I offer it as an oto on the thank you page of one of my squeeze pages. Now this isn't even in the IM niche (!) - it was a total accident using it for this list, yet I still made around 20 sales a month from it (at $27 each) for around 10 months (I just pulled it down a few months ago). Now, this is about the laziest use of PLR in the world, yet it still made me money!

I also have found plr great for filling up my autoresponders with content (in niches I have no desire to make a name for myself in). Heck, leveraging plr has been great for me..

The bulk of what I often hear people saying about how to use plr (like it's their research material), is in fact legal to do with 'real' books, etc.

You can take something that's copyrighted, put it into your own words, and sell it. It's the actual words used to explain an idea/concept that is protected under copyright law. It's patent law that protects ideas/concepts.

The bulk of my income comes from simple text squeeze pages, using an autoresponder for promoting affiliate products.

This is pretty darn basic (I actually learned it from articles at EA!), and there's plenty of years-old plr around talkng about it.. yet it still makes me thousands of dollars every month. The funny thing is this: I could make a wso about it, and would get slammed by people (who don't make money, or very little) that it was old rehashed stuff they already knew

These old worn-out tactics will probably make me over 10k this month..

So, not everything that is old is worthless

edit: sorry, I got pulled off topic. But my point is old info does not always mean useless or bad info.

It seems that some people who buy PLR only buy unrestricted PLR which comes from wholesalers, and yes a lot of that isn't good quality.

But, there are a lot of writers who produce good quality PLR because they care about what they write and sell.

To say that a producer of PLR never cares because they don't put their name on it is totally false. That is another one of the myth that surround PLR. The other is that all PLR is crap.

How many writers have people asked if they use the PLR material they produce? How many different places have people bought from to say ALL PLR is crap?

Normally, these people have assumed that writers don't use their material.

Normally, these people have bought cheap, unrestricted rights PLR from wholesalers which has been on the market for years.

Yesterday, I saw some PLR which was claimed to be brand new, never before seen and it was first released over 2 years ago, and I can point you to a site where you can get it for $0.99.

Some of us understand about PLR and how it works.

We had a membership site for PLR report (it's closed so don't ask about it) we did a weekly PLR for our members and then sold the remaining licences.

We did indepth research into the subjects.

We wrote a 4,000+ word report on the subject and then sold it.

We kept 1 licence for ourselves for each set of PLR article and reports written.

We then using that research changed the report into a book of at least 6,000 words some being 10,000 + words.

We then created the graphics, sales page etc and sold it with personal rights.

If a writer understands the niche from the research they did, they are in a far better position to change a PLR they have written to create a product they can sell to the non-IM world.

Good testimonial, Charles. Thank you.

Ah, thinking like a true businessman, Justin. Great point. Better PLR leads to better word of mouth (affiliates, etc), greater longevity.

Truly stated. Although one can get ideas from anywhere, it sometimes helps to have the flow of the whole original article/ebook, etc around as guidance. Thank you.

This is true, however, I think, because this was in the context of PLR, he was just sharing his experience and passion for reconstituting it. But, you are definitely right and it's good for others to think about what you said. Thank you.

You're welcome, Bill. And what a GREAT question you just asked. I'm willing to bet that your point of concern can happen right from the start. After all, how do we know if an original author is an expert in the topic at all? It could just be a high school kid with some writing skill who, though technically accurate, could pump out some very generic, boring, tasteless PLR. Like, a person with no connection to the topic at all.

But, more along the spirit of what you ask for, once again, I think it's incumbent upon each marketer to take responsibility for what they product/reconstitute and make sure that the information is accurate and, as promised.

What you have just struck upon, perhaps unwittingly, but due to your great question, is that there might very well be a market for helping people reconstitute PLR in ways that will give them an edge over others.

Rather than just spinning PLR by replacing phrase X with phrase Y, or rewriting the first paragraph, you could teach people how to inject some personality, some key attention-holding phrases, and stuff that makes people WANT to buy more from you.

Give it some thought. I think you're onto something! Thanks to you, too!

Hi Tina... what an excellent piece of advice. However, it's not always possible for people to know from whom they are getting PLR. Some of it is so inexpensive that people are willing to take the risk and then its up to them to repurpose it well. However, if one should find some high-quality, reliable sources, as have you, then that is something to definitely cherish. Thank you.

So true, Sylvia. Fortunately, however, the respondents, so far, have taken it the way in which I'd intended for them.

That's ok, Sylvia, I get your point. I think what matters most is that, even if somewhat bland, true PLR, done sincerely, can always be reconstituted. "Bad PLR", however, really shouldn't even be called PLR. It should be called "crap" and the nature of the "free market" will eventually cull the purveyor of such crap out of the long-term flow of a decent living. Thanks much for your thoughts on the matter.

I think that "spinning" PLR and making it out to be something its not is wrong, but the bottom line is that if you are offering your customers valuable information that they need and will benefit from, what does it matter where it came from?

Matt

Exactly! That's one of the points I put forth that the "free market" will, ultimately, decide whether crappy PLR-creation will leave people so starved for quality that the places KNOWN for quality PLR will gain more followers and more quality-based PLR places will pop up to answer the call.

So, anyways, if you re-read my original post, accurately, you'll see that I did not suggest the quoted person was an elitist snob. Only that it was my initial impression which was immediately rectified. However, there are going to be those who don't get beyond that initial impression.

So, why is an entrepreneur worrying himself as to whether something is "warmed over PLR" when it's only $17 and, supposedly, as an entrepreneur, he should be able to turn water into wine. Perhaps because he is not an entrepreneur... but only someone who IMAGINES he is.

Because, he certainly wasn't thinking like one.

I understand. However, considering the 100s of 1000s of new people coming on every year, do you really think it's both necessary, and feasible, to write all kinds of new stuff?

If that's the case, then I think you'd be an author... someone self-employed. Because, the only business an entrepreneur has in writing original material is when he wants to do his, or her, own bio.

My friend, you did not get pulled off topic... not at all. What you just did was the mark of a VERY happy, satisfied entrepreneur who has learned how to use, or find, PLR and put it to immediate, profitable use. You weren't, for example, asking a notable marketer if their MRR was "warmed over PLR".... Kudos, Jason.

But, what are you referring to as "not good quality?" Because, there's true crap which should not even be called PLR but should, instead, be called a "crime" because of its misleading nature; and, which should, eventually, die away by the free market choosing to go in different directions seeking quality.

But, don't you think that even bland PLR, could be nicely reconstituted, and shored up, with a very small amount of work?

What if the target audience doesn't need a caring writer but just a strong foundation in something that doesn't overwhelm them? Believe me, beekeepers, for instance, don't need the kind of crap rewrites from PLR no matter how good they are because, for example, they belong to institutions and associations which turn them on to the best resources. So, when working PLR, we aren't talking about Herculean feats.

These are both true. Good points, Bev.

As long as it's updated, this stuff can still be of great value. It just takes a little more than copy/paste, is all... but it doesn't have to be new PLR. The new PLR could cost $50 to have written, or take a few days to write. But that $.99 could serve the purpose just as well if someone took a couple of hours to spruce it up.

Absolutely, Bev, and, undoubtedly, you seem to represent the "Golden Example" of how PLR can be used to maximum effect. And yet, most PLR is not written, or used, for that. I maintain you are the exception and that others can also reach your level but that the nature of PLR makes your situation the exception rather than the rule.

Yes, there you go. The information in some public domain books is timeless and priceless. But who wants to take the time to find it and reconstitute it when there's a PLR club that paid $2k to a top-notch copywriter to press all your buttons with a sense of urgency unlike anything you've felt since that time you ate a bad order of Egg Foo Yung?

Thanks again, to everyone, for all your responses,
Eric

Being a "newbie" I have tried several PLR/MRR products without much success but it was my fault because I did not look at the product as a starting point...I looked at the PLR/MRR products as packages and just added a new bow. I have now found that if you do some research and make some updates and in my case employ a seasoned writer you can take a proven product and make it a winner once again!!!

I need to build a doghouse.

Don't sell me any crap that says to buy some 2x4's and plywood! That junk has been around for ages, there's no way it would work anymore.

Everyone know's that in todays world, you need to build a prototype, make a mold of it, and then make it out of carbon fiber and other composites, coated with the latest water repellant, and impregnated with k9 phermones and feline dander.

Of course, it also requires lots of super-secret underground ninja techniques to build a dog house that actually works.

If you send me some schematics and require the use of lumber, you are just trying to scam me and my poor cold and wet dog!

lol - that was my attempt at sarcasm... obviously a normal dog house works just fine

I am a huge fan of PLR...I didn't get into it but a couple months ago and i must admit I started out but just slapping them up as is. Then i was accussed of being a plagarist on another forum and got all kings of mad..I still do that from time to time but my own creative juices have been flowing so much that I mostly use them as swipe files now. My most recent article was so good it has been plagarissed over the net I am soo flattered and pizzed at the same time. What part of keep author box intack do they not understand...thank goodness for copyscape.

what you were saying about titles is soo true. I was looking for the lyrics to porcelain doll earlier today and was suprised at how many artist have the same title...it was confusing for a sec but i found it yeah! i love that song gonna do a cover of it on youtube...one day

elitist...yeah people at just plain snotty. yeah so your prefer to work hard and not outsource good for you what you want a cookie? *rolls eyes*

nite ya'll

-ps sorry for any sp? i'm tooo sleepy to care.

I give my vote to PLR products.
If you look at PLR content as first 'draft'
for your product based on it, then you
have the right attityde.

PLR content is raw material that needs
to be improved. It's easier to start with
something on the screen than write
everything from scratch.

You know I mainly use PLR for articles, newsletters, and blog posts.

I find an interesting story, or some solid content that teaches one method or another and then I use each chapter as a different article, newsletter, or post.

Now I obviously rewrite the articles with dragon dictate to make the content more like me and my style, but it works, and the value it gives my viewers, subscribers, and those who happen across my blog is tremendous.

We are all crunched for time and if we all took the time to write a new article, newsletter, or blog post every time we needed one, we would all be writing articles all day long and we would never have the time to do the things that are more important.

I think that some people would be surprised to see the sheer amount of people who don't want to wait for part 2 or 3 or 4 and so on.

It's like a television series that always leaves you wanting more, that's the emotion I cater to when I want to keep them coming back, and I do it with PLR content and books.

To top it all off I give them what they want without pitching to them every other paragraph.

I do however use CPA lead and a few other methods every other chapter or two and it makes me some money, but money isn't the focus for who I target with this, these people are used to being pitched to and can see it a mile away, just like all of us can.

I use the PLR to:

1.) Warm them up.

2.) Establish Myself as an Authority (Using "How To" PLR)

3.) Answer Questions Presented on the Blog and/or Through Email (Its good to see what people still need help with or have the hardest time comprehending even when everything they need is right there in front of them. Its good info for future marketing)

4.) Build and Establish Trust

It seems some people just "flip" the PLR content as is with no change whatsoever (except usually the graphics), this is what ends up giving PLR a bad name, especially when it is bad content to begin with, outdated, washed out, written horribly, or the method just doesn't work.

Those who care about their customers and subscribers would never pass "Warmed Over PLR Crap" to them. We want them to succeed with what we theach them, we want them to have a solid foundation in the basics, we want to give them an answer/solution to their biggest obstacle/problem. If they do good, we do better.

Its a let me help you help me type of sittuation. My point with all of this is PLR if used in the right way can help you skyrocket conversions, build a great reputation, help others to succeed, and overall it can help you grow your business while leaving more time for things that require a lot more attention than adding content, writing articles, or posting on your blog does/should.

Thanks to all of you for giving me a place to let all of this out, keep an eye open for more posts from me because I have been holding a lot in for a long time, and I think it's about time I let it out.

To Our Success,
Matt

I agree, and hiring someone to do your PLR rewrites is an even faster route to unique content, since it is usually cheaper.

Nathan I have to say, you seem to have a closed mind when it comes to PLR. I would be the first to agree that most of it is total rubbish, but not all is.

This is where I have a problem with what you say. You are happy to pay a writer to write a report/articles/book for you to sell. You are happy because you believe they will do indepth research and give you quality. Why does the same writer then write junk because they make it PLR? Don't you think they can and do the same amount of research as they did for your request? Don't you think they can and do write the same quality whether they write for a client or creating PLR?

Some writers take a pride in their work, and they don't care who the client is, they research the topic/niche to the same extent for whatever they write about.

I write for 2 types of clients, one is a client who comes with a request to write on a specific topic, the other is for myself, and I may sell that report with personal rights only, or I might make it available as a PLR.

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't use PLR but to say that it is junk just because it has a PLR label is crazy.

I have seen as many crap reports written by people and sold with personal rights.

The bottom line is a crap report is a crap report and has nothing to do with the rights given to it.

Nathan,
My only real difference of opinion was that old=crap And that very often the fundamentals are often covered somewhere in plr. My business is based on some fundemental and well known strategies, albeit sometimes with some 'tricks' on the tactical side when it comes to implementing them (which I have shared with you recently )

I've seen a lot of bad plr, that was obviously written by people just going through the motions, but I've also come across some that was really good.

As an expirement, I'm actually trying to put an entire sales funnel together using plr (well, except a big ticket item). Too bad the saless letters for everything I find seems to to suck

I sure as hell am glad that some marketers think PLR is crap.
The more idiots out there, the lesser genuine competition I have.

This is an interesting thread and many good points have been made.

I think that the people who sing the praises of PLR have actually taken PLR, changed it, added value, and gone on to have profitable success with it.

PLR is not something you should buy willy nilly and stock up on your hard drive for some day when you might need it.

Buy from a known quality PLR producer who stands by her/his name. Yes, there are quite a few of us here on the WF who do quality work. Buy knowing ahead of time what you want it for and what you intend to do with it. Then actually do what you set out to do.

Your decision to use PLR or not is up to you. But don't slam it if you haven't tried to do more than slap it up, unchanged, on a website.

Thanks,
Peggy

I write content for my members and I take quality VERY SERIOUSLY. I do the writing myself. It does not matter where the final product goes, I am not going to add to the web pollution that lots of people complain about. I also limit the quantity of distribution so it does not become tired and old. Having said that, the money is in the right niches and having the right backlinks. That is where your efforts should be focused if you want to make money.

TomG.