If you perform any type of digital marketing, you’ve probably encountered the phrase “PLR” or “PLR content” at some point in your career.
But what is PLR content, exactly?
The term PLR (short for private label rights) is a type of product licensing. The term is most often used to describe digital products like blog posts and articles. In general, buying private label rights to a piece of content allows you to do almost anything with it — including modify, publish, and even resell it.
However (here’s the kicker), the seller also retains control of the content and can continue to publish and sell it, as well. And so can everyone else who’s bought the private label rights.
The basic premise of PLR is pretty easy to grasp. Of course, if you’re interested in using PLR content to your benefit, you’ll need to dig deeper than the basics. To help with that, let’s look at the importance of content in the first place.
Contents
The Importance of High-Quality Content
Content marketing revolves around the idea that people are always online, seeking answers to questions, solutions to problems, and even plain ‘ol entertainment.
Content is what websites and businesses offer to the online public in exchange for their web traffic or potential sales.
The content marketing model works because content provides value to the reader in one form or another.
Lots of content is free. It’s often worth it for business owners to provide free content in order to attract attention to their business. Or, the content itself is the business, with revenue generated through ads or affiliate marketing.
High-quality content also positions a business as an authority, indicating that they’re the go-to place for a product or service.
Understanding PLR vs. Other Licensing Types
Large companies usually have dedicated content-producing staff, while medium-sized teams typically work with freelancers and copywriting agencies. Both situations allow businesses to order the exact content they’re looking for, complete with full rights to the content. Ownership transfers, and the seller no longer has any rights to the piece.
But attaining full rights to a piece is expensive. PLR content is much more affordable in comparison, even if it doesn’t come with full ownership.
The other tradeoff to PLR content is that it’s usually more generic. PLR content appeals to a range of potential buyers, and the content generally addresses topics with a broad stroke.
Although PLR content can be useful in its existing form, it really shines as a template or starting point for a new piece of work.
Think about it. It’s much easier for a small business to edit and transform a generic PLR article by adding a few product photos, links, and a call to action than it is to craft something entirely new.
PLR content can help small business compete with giant, corporate machines.
Resale Rights (RR) and Master Resale Rights (MRR)
A quick note before we move on: if you purchase from a PLR site or another content source, you may come across a few other licensing categories.
Here’s what you need to know:
Resale Rights. RR stands for resale rights. When you buy an RR product, you have the right to resell it for profit, but you do not have the right to change the product. Nor can you transfer your ownership rights to a new buyer. You can sell the product to an end buyer, who in turn can not resell it.
Master Resale Rights. MRR, master resale rights, are slightly less restrictive than RR. After making an MRR purchase, you are still not permitted to change the product. You can, however, sell the product and transfer your ownership rights to a new buyer.
Buying a PLR product is less personalized than working collaboratively with a content producer and attaining full rights. However, compared to other pre-made content licensing schemes (RR and MRR), PLR provides the highest level of flexibility to work with the products you purchase.
Common Types of PLR Content
What is PLR content generally used for? Private label rights content usually involves written material, though it technically encompasses all different forms of media. Here are the most common variations.
1. Articles and Blog Posts
Articles and blog posts are the most abundant PLR products.
PLR articles are so common because hosting a blog is one of the most popular and effective means of digital marketing. Search engine optimized (SEO-friendly) blog articles direct web traffic to websites, bringing eyeballs to products.
For many business and website owners, purchasing PLR products is a simple and affordable way to expand their reach.
2. eBooks
The term eBook originally referred to a digital version of a printed book. However, eBooks have evolved into a format uniquely suited for sharing information online without the need for a printed version.
eBooks provide mass distribution and digital marketing opportunities that printed books do not. As a result, there’s been an explosion of eBooks in recent years, with eBook revenue topping $1 billion in 2020.
For digital marketing purposes, PLR eBooks are most often used as lead magnets. Website and business owners offer valuable content in the form of an eBook in exchange for potential customer information or membership trials.
3. PDFs, Mini Guides, and Other Digital Assets
In addition to articles, blog posts, and eBooks, you’ll also find PLR mini-guides and PDFs. These documents are (typically) longer than articles but shorter than eBooks and usually come dressed up with fancy graphics and images.
That said, PLR can apply to all sorts of digital products, including images, video clips, and entire video courses. Some marketers also specialize in purchasing PLR documents and then revising, repackaging, and “flipping” the content in new formats.
How To Use PLR Content To Grow Your Website or Business
There’s an enormous supply of cheap, easily-obtained PLR content out there. To take advantage of this resource, start by finding a reputable source for high-quality, trustworthy PLR content (I’ll provide some suggestions below).
For best results, you must choose content that genuinely provides value to your customers or site visitors. If the content impresses you, then it’s likely to impress your clientele, too.
If you aren’t the only customer that’s purchased a piece of content, keep in mind that the exact product may exist elsewhere online. Therefore, PLR articles aren’t great for search engine optimization unless adequately modified. Google punishes duplicate search results, so be sure to noindex any PLR material that could appear as a duplicate entry.
Once you have high-quality PLR products prepared, use them to provide additional value. Your PLR content can be featured as a giveaway item to members, used as a lead magnet, or presented to portray thought leadership in your field.
How NOT to Use PLR Content
PLR content is appealing because it’s affordable and easily obtained. However, these advantages are only worthwhile if the content you purchase is both high-quality and legally/ethically sourced.
Don’t buy low-quality content. If the content is poorly presented and full of trivial fluff, it won’t provide value. Poor content is worse than no content — it makes your enterprise appear amateur and suspicious.
When you obtain PLR material from a reputable source, you’ll receive a license document. Review the document to ensure you understand exactly what you can and cannot do with the product. PLR provides broad rights to the buyer, but certain limitations may apply.
PLR Content and Plagiarism
As you research private label rights, the word “plagiarism” may jump into your consciousness. The fact is, bulk PLR sellers don’t usually create their own content. More often than not, they purchased it from a PLR reseller themselves.
There’s also the possibility that the original content creator never consented to the replication and resale of their work.
Unless you’re working directly with a trusted creator, there’s always some uncertainty. Before purchasing or publishing content, do your own plagiarism checks along with your review of the licensing document you receive. Learn more about PLR and plagiarism here.
The Best PLR Websites and Resources
Ready to shop? Here are four of the leading suppliers of articles, eBooks, and other PLR content:
- PLR.me is known for above-average content quality. The site doesn’t require membership to make a purchase, making PLR.me a great choice for consumers who want to try a single product.
- PLR Database offers 26,000 PLR products to meet any need. A variety of membership options are available, along with one of the best collections of free PLR content.
- ID PLR is one of the oldest and largest PLR sites, with over 12,000 products, 200,000 articles, and 100,000 members. The site is an enormous bulk PLR warehouse with extremely low prices.
- PLR Assassin is a strong source for various multimedia categories, with over 3,000 video products and nearly 5,000 eBooks. PLR Assassin has a free account option and provides 24/7 customer support.
Before making a purchase, compare prices and promotional offers across sites.
PLR sites primarily function via membership models. Once you join one of the major providers, you’ll gain access to a gigantic supply of content with ridiculously low prices. If you plan on using PLR products regularly, consider a paid membership that enables access to free or discounted content on an ongoing basis.
Adding PLR To Your Digital Marketing Toolkit
The goal of this article was to answer the question: what is PLR content? And hopefully, I’ve done just that.
Whether you run a website or work as a content marketing professional, it’s good to have a basic understanding of PLR content. Even if you don’t buy or sell this type of content, it’s important to possess a working knowledge of key digital marketing concepts.
PLR content is extremely affordable, but that discount comes at a cost. Content prepared without your input won’t be personalized and may require extensive edits. The original content may also exist in dozens or even hundreds of other online locations, and the quality probably matches the price.
For writing that’s tailored to your unique needs, nothing beats working directly with a content creator. If your business or website needs articles, blog posts, or web copy, there’s no substitute for hiring a talented writer.