PLR vs. Ghostwriting: Which is Better?

Private Label Rights (PLR) articles and ghostwritten articles are both options when you need web content. Each is unique in its qualities and each has its drawbacks.

So, when you need content, which should you choose? Let’s analyze both options to find out which option is right for you.

Ghostwritten Articles
Ghostwritten articles are written just for your use. You own the article and can do whatever you’d like to with it.

Pros:

1.  The article is unique to you and you do not share the content with anyone else.

Cons:

1.  Ghostwritten articles are quite a bit more expensive per article than PLR packages.
2.  You have the responsibility of finding a good writer.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You need to check your articles to make sure your ghostwriter isn’t stealing content. Unfortunately that does happen.

PLR Articles
PLR articles are pre-written articles that are sold in packages, or as part of a monthly membership.

Pros:

1.  PLR articles are much more affordable than ghostwritten ones.
2.  The content is ready, so you don’t have to wait for a ghostwriter to become available or find a ghostwriter who is available.

Cons:

1.  The content is not unique. You share the articles with the other people who purchased the package or membership.
2.  You can’t submit the PLR articles to article directories.
3.  The quality can be questionable.
4.  You have to find PLR packages in your niche – or hope that the membership you signed up for sends you ones that you can use.

How can you even the odds between the two? Find a quality PLR service that allows you choose your topics. If the articles are well written, and their distribution is limited, it’s almost as good as getting ghostwritten content just for you. That way, you get the best of both worlds – quality content at a great price.

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PLR and Ghostwritten Articles: Are they Ethical?

Recently, in an interview, I was asked “Is it ethical to use private label rights and ghostwritten articles?”

Let me step back a moment and explain… Private label rights (or PLR) articles and ghostwritten articles are used by web owners as a method of outsourcing some of their content.

* PLR articles are packages of articles that are pre-written and sold to more than one person.

* Ghostwritten articles are articles that are written by someone else just for you that you can put your name on and are not sold to anyone else.

In both cases, you are allowed to edit the content as much or as little as you’d like and use the articles on your website, blog, or in your newsletter.

So, back to the question. Is it ethical? My answer was, “usually, yes”.

If you’re using the articles and saying “written by me” without changing anything at all, it may bite you in the butt later, when someone else does the same thing. Does that make it unethical? Not really. It’s just not smart. Can you use the article as it is or edited slightly, without saying it was written by you? Of course!

Most PLR packs are written by ghostwriters. Ghostwriters are professional researchers and writers. If you purchase well-written, informative PLR or ghostwritten articles and share them with your readers, don’t you all benefit? Your readers benefit by getting great information. You benefit by saving time. Is it any different than hiring a graphic designer or webmaster? Not in my opinion. Heck, most politicians don’t write their own speeches. They leave that to people who are professional speech writers.

Of course, you’d want to only use top-notch articles and not “sell-out” just to pump out blog posts or web pages quicker. We recommend you research thoroughly before choosing any ghostwriter or PLR service.

Here’s what to look for in a PLR service so you don’t waste your money:
1. Make sure the articles are written well.
2. Make sure that you know what topics you’ll receive (instead of some grab-bag of articles).
3. Be sure that the people running the program have some experience in article writing themselves, so they know what they’re doing.

There’s no point in doing everything on your own, especially if you dislike writing. All successful business people outsource the tasks they are not good at or dislike. Check it out. It might take some pressure off you and allow you to spend more time with your kids. And, that’s definitely ethical.

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Afraid To Take A Vacation? Put Your Business On Cruise Control

“I started my business so that I’d have freedom, but I’ve never felt more trapped….”

I come across a statement like that at least once a day on a forum post or in email. You start your internet business because of the freedom of being your own boss and working on your own schedule and then promptly sit on your hind-end for 12 hours/day EVERY DAY. No wonder you feel burnt out. And no wonder family and friends are feeling neglected when all you can think and talk about is your business.

Freedom sounds pretty miserable to me if it means freedom from fun and the ones that I love.

So, how do you break free?

Start by taking a good look at your business and getting your goals and priorities straight. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as complicated as it sounds. I’ll walk you through it right now. Ready?

Grab a pen and a piece of paper or open your favorite word processor. Divide your page into four columns.

Now you’re ready to brainstorm. Write everything down as it comes to mind. Don’t overthink this. Just start writing.

First, figure out what is working. Whatever it is. It may be one of your websites, your ecourses, a joint venture, a certain marketing method. Where is the bulk of your money coming from, currently? (If none yet, where do you believe will be the place where the largest profits will come from?) Write those items in column #1 under: “Do More”.

Second, figure out what is not bringing in money. Is it hanging out on forums or posting classified ads to freebie sites? Is it endlessly checking your stats, or email? What are your daily time-suckers? Write those under column #2: “Do less”.

Third, figure out what could work better. Do you have upsells in place? Are your websites designed to bring you cash from every visitor? Make a list of ideas in column #3: “Improvements”. (If you don’t know yet, don’t worry. There are plenty of ways to improve your business as you learn and grow.)

Fourth, figure out what can be automated. Which tasks are repetitive and boring, albeit necessary? Many of those types of tasks can be automated with simple tools. For instance, if you’re submitting articles to directories by hand, there are tools and services to do that for you. Add these to column #4: “Automation”.

Now that you’re armed with your list, it’s time to get to work.

Look at your list in Column #1: “Do More”. Those are the tasks that you should focus your energies on. It’s a good idea to tackle one or two of the tasks on that list first thing in the morning – every morning. Believe me, it’s much more productive than checking out your favorite blogs or logging into twitter. And you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done quickly when your mind is fresh.

Look at your list in Column #2: “Do Less”. These activities should be forbidden until after you get your #1 list done, if you do them at all. For instance, hanging out on Twitter is fun, but do not do it until everything in column #1 is finished for the day.

Now, go back to Column #1, 3, and 4. Your “Do More”, “Improvements”, and “Automation” lists.

Look at all of the items that are on those three lists. Now, circle each task that you …

• Can’t Do
• Don’t Have Time to Do
• Don’t Want To Do

Those are the tasks that you’ll outsource.

Freedom means a lot of things. It means freedom to do the things that you want to do. However, it also means freedom to NOT do things that you really dislike doing.

For me, it’s graphics. I have outsourced all of my graphics since 2001. I don’t have the time, patience or inclination to learn how to make my own graphics. I have more important things to do, like write this article and then go on a bike ride with my son. Perhaps when I get back from my bike ride, my graphics will be waiting for me in my inbox.

Now, that’s freedom to me.

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How to Outsource Parts of Your Internet Business

One of my favorite topics to discuss is outsourcing.

You’d be amazed how thinking about outsourcing and where to begin outsourcing flummoxes everyone from the newest newbies to the seasoned gurus and everyone in between.

Buy why? Why is it so very confusing? Most of us manage to outsource quite nicely in our day to day lives.

I oftentimes pose these questions to my coaching clients –

When you go to a restaurant, do you head back into the kitchen and cook your own food? (That’s just silly.)

And, if your appendix burst right now, would you go online to find out how to remove it yourself? (Please say “no”.)

Of course not!

But, why do we think it’s ok to do everything ourselves in our businesses?

I can’t figure out what it is, but I think I’m starting to narrow it down.

* Fear of losing control.
* Not knowing who to outsource work to. (Needing a recommendation.)
* Not wanting to take the time to outsource. (You think: “It’s quicker to do it myself.”)
* Costs. (Oftentimes, though, you can get help for a lot less than you think it’ll cost.)
* Lack of confidence in ourselves.
* Lack of confidence in the potential of our business.

No matter which of those it is, there comes a point with all of us, where you HAVE to outsource — at least if you ever want to be able to go on a real vacation where you leave the internet behind and relax with your loved ones.

I know. I know. If you’ve been following me for any amount of time – you’ve heard this song and dance before. BUT! While outsourcing isn’t perfect, it’s a heck of a lot better than putting the chains on your wrists from a job that you’ve created for yourself – one where you can’t escape.
So, my #1 tip for outsourcing is to try it.

Choose something small and work from there.

•     Submitting some articles that you’ve written to the article directories.
•     Finding blogs to guest post on and contacting the owners.
•     Answering some emails regarding customer issues.
•     Graphics to promote your products.

It really doesn’t matter where you start. The big thing is taking that first step so that you can enjoy the FREEDOM that comes with the online lifestyle.

Start small. Don’t go crazy. But, when you find someone who you work well with – build on that relationship so you have access to great people who know your style and who you’re comfortable working with. When I need a project done, I have my own personal rolodex of fabulously skilled people who I turn to on a regular basis. Not only does it save me time – but it also helps me to get great prices because they already know what I like, they know that I’m easy to work with and that I pay on time.

I hope this inspires you to start outsourcing in your business.

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Virtual Assistants: What is PLR and How Can it Help you to Get More Clients?

Here’s a question that I received today. I thought it was such a valuable question that I wanted to share my response.

Dear Nicole,

I hear you talking about PLR articles, but I’m a Virtual Assistant, not an Internet Marketer. I need clients, not content.

Why should I care?

Dear Virtual Assistant:

Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to respond to your great question.

PLR content can actually help you to get more clients. And, I’ll explain how.

As someone who hires and works with a lot of Virtual Assistants in my business, I’ll tell you that I hire oftentimes based upon the knowledge that person shows just as much as what they “say” they can do.

For instance, let’s compare two Virtual Assistants (hypothetically – these aren’t real people).

Susie and Tessa.

I go to Susie’s website and she’s got three pages – including contact, services, and pricing. I look around a little and discover that Susie specializes in videos and multimedia. I think “hmmm… interesting” and then leave.

Next, I find Tessa’s website. She’s got the same pages on her website as Susie – contact, services, and pricing. It looks to me as if she also specializes in videos and multimedia. That’s not what I’m looking for, so I’m about to leave when I notice that she has a blog. On her blog, she’s got articles about how I can use video in my business and how to also use video to get more traffic and make more money. I’m interested. She obviously knows her stuff. I contact her to find out how she can help me to get more traffic with my existing videos – and to brainstorm more videos that I can incorporate into my business on an ongoing basis.

Tessa got my business. Susie did not.

Why? Because Tessa did some things right.

    She showed her knowledge.
    She demonstrated that she understands marketing by having a blog.
    She made me think about my business.
    She seemed like a person who I’d like to work with.

How does this apply to PLR content? Easy.

Susie could have had my business if she had purchased some great quality PLR content and published it on her blog. Of course, as always, I would recommend that Susie use the content as a starting point only and then add her own ideas and examples into it to make it uniquely hers. But, the important thing is that she could have had an active blog offering great value to potential new customers that showcased her talent and made people desperate to hire her.

And, she could have done it for under $20.

Would you like to boost your blog content, impress potential new clients, and become the recognized expert in your niche? Check out this great PLR site to get started. Be sure to sign up for the notification list so you don’t miss a thing!

Nicole Dean is the owner of  www.EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles sold in very limited  quantities.  The PLR articles at EasyPLR are professionally written and  professionally edited — top quality at an affordable price.

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