Jul 10
30
Why I Hate (and Love) PLR stuff
Copyright symbol, red. Image via Wikipedia
Private label rights, or PLR, is what they call it when you can do anything you want with the information item you’ve just acquired.
Let’s say you’re just read something terrific in a book under copyright and would like to post it on your blog. You can quote it, or you can write about it. But you can’t just copy it and say it’s yours.
Without going through the various levels of copyright — which is a topic for a book and not a blog post — with PLR, you can copy it, sell it, give it away, claim that you wrote it (if you really want to).
The offsetting truth about PLR is that you’re never going to read a PLR article and think, “That’s terrific! I want to post it on my blog.”
The worst PLR articles are incomprehensible blather. The best are so generic as to hardly say anything.
Many people go to France every year. There are many cities in France. There are many interesting sites in France. If you want to go to France, you will probably go by plane or train or car. Here are some ways to travel to France.
OK. It’s an exaggeration, but not by much. You get the idea. A few lines of that, and I’m nodding off, and I’m supposed to be the writer.
That’s what I hate about PLR.
But that’s not the best way to use it. The other right you get with PLR is to rewrite it in any way you please and do whatever you want with it.
If that’s what you’ve got in mind, then a library of PLR articles can be a gold mine. Let’s say you really do want to write an article about France. Open that lump of vanilla and start rewriting it into something better. Pretty soon, you’ve wandered off into the Louvre or Notre Dame or Provence and you’ve got an article that’s got spice and character. It really is you. You can close the PLR now, because it’s done its job. Open it again at another time, and it might take you off in a different direction.
You can’t do that with a really good piece of writing because its character lingers after you’ve rewritten it. It’s too much itself, and plagiarism hovers in its perfectly turned phrases.
PLR is so generic that it’s everybody, which means that it’s nobody (there’s a marketing lesson there, too, but that’s for another post). And that’s its gift to the writer in search of a topic.
And if you sign up for my list on the right side of this page, I’ll send you a zip file of 6,350 good (see above for definition of “good” as it applies to PLR) PLR articles. Yours to rewrite, give away, or post directly to your blog (if you dare).
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- Using PLR in a Pinch (bloggingtips.com)
When I first downloaded the free version of Market Samurai, I was skeptical. I’ve seen keyword tools before, and they end up sitting on my computer, forgotten, until I run across them again say, “Hey, what about that SEO tool?” And then I start it up and remember why it was so forgettable.
But searching for keywords without special tools is long and tedious. Get a list of keywords, check them against the Google search results, check the Microsoft’s Detection of Online Commercial Intention, get some more keywords. Do it all over again. It can take hours for a simple article or blog post.
So I took a chance on Market Samurai and was surprised at how easy, complete, and thorough it it. On the first screen, you pick out some keywords, let Google pick out some more for you. You go through the list and cull out the ones that don’t apply and click “Analyze keywords.” Five minutes, and I’m really slow.
That takes you to another screen where you can actually track the information about your keywords. It includes a complete set of data, very customizable in the presentation, and popup labels identify all of them (explaining a number of things I couldn’t figure out in Google Keywords Tool). I was surprised and pleased to find the Online Commercial Intent among the data.
It takes less than a minute to analyze the data, but you might expect to spend 10 minutes or so looking at it, thinking about what keywords are best for the project at hand. You can always go back to the prior screen and throw some more into the mix, but you’re still talking about another minute to get back to full data.
The free version doesn’t offer all the modules available in the paid version, but the keyword tool itself is dynamite. You can open and save various projects, and keep your data from one session to the next. Having just the keyword tool has escalated my writing production — blog posts, articles, domain searches. If I know what I want to write, the keywords help me find the right terms to use. If I’m not sure, they keywords serve as writing prompts.
You can save them under projects, so that if you operate in different niches, you can keep your keywords in their different categories.
In fact, even though I waited past the window to upgrade at a special bargain, I upgraded anyway and haven’t been sorry for a minute. Whether you do niche marketing, article marketing, pay per click, domain flipping, or any other online activity that depends on your knowledge of what people are asking Google, you will save valuable time in research that could be going into production.
What’s more, if you’re new to search engine optimization and keyword research, there are good tutorial videos that will teach you what you need to get up to speed in no time.
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. The keyword tool is totally free. And the rest of it, if you decide to go for it, is a great bargain.
Mar 10
4
Google Keywords loses ‘iPhone’
Google Keywords Tool results for "iPhone" (broad search)
I was exploring Google’s keyword tool yesterday and found something puzzling. Google has nothing to suggest for “iPhone.” No cases, skins, accessories, cool gear, nothing.
I’m pleased to invite you to this new social networking site. If you subscribe now, you can get in on the ground floor of something nobody has a clue about. Well, maybe the organizers have a clue, but maybe they’re just making it up as they go along.
Here’s what came in a “swipe file” email from the organizers.
I am not sure what all this platform is going to do quite yet, but I already know it’s going to change the way companies market online.
That’s supposed to be from me. The first part is entirely true, but the second part, I’m not so sure about. It could be an elaborate prank, in which on the Great Launch Day, the organizers say, “Punked, dude!” But wouldn’t you like to be one of the few who get that message first? Could you stand to miss it?
I couldn’t either. That’s why I joined Moneza.com. Because it’s free and because I have no clue. If you sign up under my link, you’ll have the privilege of being the butt of the same practical joke.
Sounds like fun.
Feb 10
27
New! Comments rewarded here
Will comment for bonuses
I’ve installed a new WordPress plug-in that shows my appreciation for blog comments.
If you post a comment, I’ll send you a free video to help you build your internet presence.
It will take five minutes to install even for a complete WordPress newbie, and it’s fully customizable.
It comes preloaded with four bonuses that are automatically sent to commenters at one comment, then three, 10 and 20.
You can add another bonus, change the bonuses to fit your niche and change the number of comments required with only a few keystrokes.
Posted in Administrivia Blogging by .
A fuller version of this post appears on a page of its own: From email to blog to article — multipurpose writing increases your mileage
Here’s a quick way to produce a set of writings for your email list, blog, and article directories.
Feb 10
18
New internet marketing forum
Here’s a new resource: the Work from Home Forum – Home Business Forum – Internet Marketing Forum.
There are a lot of good conversations going on on all aspects of internet marketing.
Check it out.
Posted in Internet Marketing by .
It always seems like a choice between writing a sales page that works and writing one that I can show to my friends without embarrassment.
In a great post, Copyblogger points out ways to write an effective sales page without insulting your reader or coming across like a huckster.
A good landing page is crucial to persuading visitors to take action on your offer.
The landing page is where a link in an ad, email or article directs a visitor. It is usually the visitor’s first impression of your site. Studies have shown that when visitors arrive at a website, they’re asking themselves, “Is this what I’m looking for? Is this going to waste my time? Is this trustworthy?” A large proportion of visitors leave a website within eight seconds.
Posted in Internet Marketing by .
They say that for affiliate marketers, the landing page is the magic buffer between your visitors and the merchant’s website.
In the beginning, new affiliate marketers often link directly to an affiliate merchant’s website. It’s a decision that makes some sense in the early stages. There is so much to learn, so many techniques to master, so many web pages to create, so much copy to write, that it just seems like the best thing is to get something, anything, up so the money starts coming in.
The problem is that frequently, the money doesn’t start coming in, because the visitors don’t convert. Even newbie affiliate marketers need a landing page for the product.
The landing page is the website where your article, ad, or email directs the reader to get more information about a product. It’s the place where you’ll collect addresses for your own mailing list. And it’s the place where you presell the item that you’re marketing.
Preselling is preparing a prospective customer to see the benefits of a certain product or service. If you see an ad for a new electronic device, you might say, “Hm, that’s interesting. I might like to get one someday.” But if a friend recommends it and tells you why it’s been a good buy, that’s much more persuasive. It’s the same with your readers or the people on your mailing list. They’ve already found that they have something in common with you, so if you recommend a product with your own knowledge, it means more than a recommendation from somebody they don’t know.
Besides preselling, a landing page can figure in search engine rankings for valuable keywords that you couldn’t get through direct linking.
The best preselling copy points out drawbacks as well as benefits, showing that the writer is there not just to make a commission (though that’s a fine thing), but more important to help the reader decide for himself whether he wants to take advantage of the offer.
A good landing page doesn’t scream, “Buy me!” the way a sales page does. Instead it prepares the reader for the offer ahead and gives them a context to click through to make their own final judgment.
Posted in Affiliate Marketing by .
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