This post relates to my last post about JV Giveaways – if you are unfamiliar with JV giveaways and how they work, please read it now. Also, if you are interested in joining JV giveaways, you can do so by using the JV Giveaway tab at the top of my blog.
The reason I am writing this post is because I like to browse the freebies that are offered during the giveaways – I am not just there to promote my product and run. I want to see what other people are giving away because sometimes you can get your hands on some really great tools.
Now, I understand that some people want to use PLR (Private Label Rights) content, but the problem is that I saw the same EXACT PLR product posted over and over and over again by several different people!! This was not just 1 product, this was several!! This is NOT the way to use PLR products! This frustrated me to no end, I have never seen anything like it. There were literally at the minimum 6 different people promoting the same EXACT product! So, tell me – how in the world do you expect to build a list???
This is absolutely CRAZY!! You need to have YOUR OWN product to promote, or if you can’t do that, than at least change the graphics and re-write the product you are trying to promote!
I honestly never seen anything like it! I don’t know why the organizers of this event didn’t catch on, but I would personally reject every single one, except for the original poster.
I don’t mean to sound harsh or anything, but if you must use PLR products, please change things around to call them your own!
And if you don’t know how, then just leave your reply so that I can make my own product off of your replies – while that may sound a bit silly, it is not because I cannot understand why you would use such garbage – and I mean it! PLR product is something that someone took very little time to write and just put it out there for FREE! If you want to make some money, take some time to write things yourself and then put it out there!
My next post is going to relate to this subject, which I was actually going to write first, but when I saw what was going on – I had to get this information out FIRST!
BE SMART!! BE DIFFERENT!!!
That’s all I have to say!
I look forward to your replies and be sure to use the social bookmarking tools below to share this post.
Thanks!
Linda
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Linda,
Very interesting points here, I thought by these times people would be already aware that PLR content can work as a template for becoming a real full blown up product, IF done properly.
The suggestion about asking people to leave their replies about it is not ‘silly’ at all.
I studied a lot Alex Jeffreys (He’s an Internet Marketer from the UK for those who don’t know who he is) and that’s exactly what he did to create his first product.
And the rest is history, the guy is a top IMer already.
Do you recommend that for someone who has never used Giveaways before, start with an upgraded account right away or to join a few different Giveaways and test the waters with free accounts first?
Sergio
Sergio Felix recently posted..6 Hours Self-Imposed Social Media Blackout
Thanks for pointing that out about Alex. Many of the big IM’ers started that way and I may be the next one – hehehe!
No, I wouldn’t upgrade right away…you want to get a feel for how they work first. But, what you do is up to you, it really depends on the giveaway. So, the Social Media one is HUGE right now and it just launched, so you would benefit from an upgrade for sure. You’ll need to have more than just 1 item when you do upgrade to benefit from it. So, if you have more than 1, definitely go for it on this particular one.
Let me know if you need any help.
Linda
Hey Linda,
I know how you feel. It can be frustrating and even annoying to see the same PLR products being promoted everywhere. This is just another form of spam! People used to use PLR in article marketing in the same way until finally Google slapped all the duplicate content submitters which in turn caused article directories to reject these PLR spammers.
It really is not hard to figure out how to use PLR. I think people are just lazy and don’t want to take the time to create their own product using the PLR content as a template. Too many people are still looking to make money with “less than ten clicks” or “On autopilot”.
The truth is, you have to some work to make any substantial amount of money. All you are going to do by spamming PLR is create a bad name for yourself and further hurt your chances of making a living online.
Oh yeah, I joined the Ultimate Social Media Giveaway a couple of days ago. This is my first JV giveaway and I am excited to the results. I am part of a coaching program through Kerry Russell who is one of the hosts of the event. She is the one who suggested I join.
Take care,
~Jeremy
Jeremy Ruggles recently posted..List Building- My First JV Giveaway Event
I got to thinking after I wrote this blog post that those people were definitely spamming that giveaway site. It really irked me in such a way and that is why I wrote this post.
I understand if they are new and don’t know how to use PLR – I must admit that I was one of them way back when, but I certainly didn’t spam anyone with it. I soon realized that PLR was a bunch of garbage and I never touched it again or thought of using it properly until I had my training with Alex Jeffreys. When you first start out you are lost in such a big way, you just do whatever you can in hopes it will get you some place. But, spamming is certainly not the way to go..lol.
I am happy to hear you are taking training with Kerry. I have known Kerry for awhile now, we both took Alex’s course together. She has come a long way and I am super proud of her! I hope to be right behind her any time now – due to other restraints I wasn’t able to keep up, but I am getting there now that I have a lot of time on my hands
Have fun with her training and the giveaways, Jeremy!
Talk to you soon!
Linda
I think we can all relate with being new. I did my share of spamming in the beginning without realizing it. I was just copying what I saw at the time and assumed some of these people were making money. It’s unfortunate that there is so much spam out there. Luckily Google has taken some huge steps to clean some of this madness up.
Anyway, I’m rally looking forward to this event and I hope to see you succeed as well… Kerry’s training has really been great so far, she really seems to know what she is doing.
Hope to see you in the Ultimate Social Media Giveaway event!
~Jeremy
Jeremy Ruggles recently posted..Action Step- Do This NOW
I am happy to hear the training with Kerry is going well
Hey – I was just checking the stats on the Ultimate Social Media Giveaway – congrats on getting 3 new JV partners signed up!!
You are right, I do think we all probably spammed in the beginning since we had no clue what we were doing..lol. At least we are getting the knowledge on how to do things the right way!
Hope you have a wonderful day, Jeremy!
Linda
Hi Linda
I totally agree with everything you’ve said about Plr but I think the main reason that people just use it as is because they need a shortcut quick and they dont really know what to do with it.
A lot of the big marketers use Plr for their products and I have no problem with that as long as they’ve used it as a start and have brought new content into it…
Using the same salespage and ecover is definitely a BIG no no and you also have to change the chapter titles and NEVER use the ones that came with the Plr product.
I dont think its silly to ask what problems people are having and then you create a product out of it…
Sally Neill has always told me to do that!
I think what people need is for someone to SHOW them how they took a plr product, edited it and then created whatever out of it…
So that people can follow along and do the same.
Anyway are you behaving misses and keeping off those Facebook games???????
Hope so ha ha
Take care
Dawn
Dawn Kay recently posted..Keith Purkiss Interview – Giveaway Event Contributor Tips
Hi Dawn,
Oh that is a good idea about showing people how to properly use PLR. I don’t use PLR really, I have a hard time rewriting what others write. I prefer to just do things my own, but I am sure I could get some good ideas with those types of products.
I’ve been doing really good about the games – play either late at night or a bit on the weekends. I’ve been keeping myself busy writing books and playing around with graphics trying to create some of my own covers
I will be adding a new eBook to Amazon probably tomorrow and getting my other eBooks at the Nook store. It’s really a great feeling when you see people are actually buying your books 
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and hope you are doing well!
I’ll talk to you soon!
Linda
Hey Linda,
So tell me how you really feel! lol..
I know what you mean though but this again is the ignorance on the part of the newbie. They aren’t taught properly what they are really suppose to do with PLR. Most of those owners promote these products, for a price, and present them to the newbies so that they can promote something they can call their own since they aren’t knowledgeable yet to create their own.
I’ve been there and done that which is the only reason I come to their defense but I can see why the people running the giveaways should be a little more aware of this since they are checking out all the sites.
I’m sure your post will help a lot of people and it’s certainly given you a topic for a new product Linda. Way to go!
Adrienne recently posted..Is Your WordPress Blog Set Up Properly?
LOL! I think you know how I already feel from this post. It really irked me when I saw what I did.
I think we all started on the wrong foot with PLR, but we now know what not to do. But, when you have 6 different people, promoting 6 of the same products – something is wrong with that picture…maybe it was just an over all bad giveaway to begin with.
I hope this post does help some people, only time will tell
Yes, I have so many ideas for products, seems I get a new one every day…so I have a lot of writing to do
Have a great remainder of your week!
Linda
Hi Linda,
Great points about using PLR! I was so excited to have learned about PLR as a relatively new blogger. It truly opened up many doors which I had previously been oblivious to!
I have always found that personal touches can make such a huge difference. In the end, everything is all about our presentation and the perceived “worth” which we establish in the eyes of our observers. In order to optimize results, it’s a good idea to jazz it up with a little extra punch or the delivery of “more than” what was originally expected. This is essential when using PLR too.
Anyone can schlep the next greatest thing, but it takes some thought to dress up that same old stuff and re-purpose it so that it’s tailor fit to our niche and readers!
Great delivery of these excellent tips!
Cat Alexandra
Cat Alexandra @ Internet Marketing Success recently posted..Network Marketing VT (100% Commission) Review
Hi Cat,
Saw your reply to me on your blog – Happy Birthday – hope it was a GREAT one!!
Yeah you are right on about adding in personal touches and a nice clean cover always helps, which people can either make themselves or get one for $5 at fiverr.com.
I appreciate your insight to PLR products and how people can turn them into their own.
Thanks for stopping by and hope the remainder of your week is an excellent one!
Linda
Hi Linda,
thanks for this interesting share. I never heard about JV giveaways, but since i am not from USA, i guess that the giveaway thing doesnt work for Europe, LOL. Anyway, i learned something new. Keep up with good work!
Hi Eleonora,
These giveaways events are open to anyone worldwide. You don’t actually win anything. If you have something to giveaway – like maybe an eBook, you can become a contributor or if you want to just go grab some freebies you can join as a member. They are fun and a great way to get more exposure for your business.
Linda
Hi Linda,
I know some giveaways are getting tighter on PLR, I think Keith Purkiss held one last year for original products only.
The trouble with most giveaways is that the organizers want as many gifts as possible to be submitted in the hope of everyone taking the upgrade.
I can see your point and do agree with you. PLR is just another product unless we put our own stamp on it and make it ours.
I used a PLR product last year when reviewing Kindle Publishing Made easy. I re-worked the eBook and then took a PSD book cover (from another package) and added that. As i was going through Kindle I saw loads of the original ebook there, with the same graphics over and over again.
Then came the Kindle slap and loads of them were taken down by Amazon. I thought I was safe as I had used a different cover and had changed it about a bit but alas… I got slapped as well
I wasn’t bothered as I only produced the ebook to review another product and that review still makes me money today. I will however go back and produce a few more Kindle eBooks as i like the set it and forget it method.
But before I do that I want to finish all of the projects i started last year…. then It’s Kindle here I come
Look forward to the next post Linda,
Take care,
Barry
Barry Wells recently posted..You Have The Passion For Working Online But What Comes Next
Hi Barry,
I had the same problem as you with the PLR and Kindle content. I had my own cover made and re-did a really long book only to have it removed. It was quite the let down, but I certainly do understand. Now, I just write my own and I now have 4 eBooks published on Amazon’s Kindle. One just went live last night
I am hoping that the hosts of these giveaways stop letting people spam their events and/or use fake identities to list the same things over and over again. It is only hurting them in the long run.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and adding your insights about PLR products
Talk to you soon!
Linda
I like to get ideas and inspiration from PLR, and then write my own from that.
It really is a lot better if you write things in your own voice and put your knowledge into the project. But it is good to get your ideas from everywhere.
I agree, Mary.
It’s nice that we do have access to PLR content to help us get ideas for when we run out of ideas to write about. Then do some research and see if it is something that is in high demand.
Thanks for stopping by Mary and welcome to my blog!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Linda
Hi Linda
I sometimes think it’s less work to just write your own original content, PLR as a framework or template is a good start but you can’t beat originality.
I stopped going to give-aways for the very reasons you say, some people just use it as a way to make a quick $7 bucks…never thought it was worth the effort myself but each to their own.
Speak soon
cheers
Steve
Steve King recently posted..Wow, I got nominated for a Sunshine Award
I have to agree that writing your own content is definitely less work.
I think that one giveaway was just full of spam, honestly. I am still using them for my own advantage and still take a peek to see if I find anything good…you never know what you might find
Thanks for your comment, Steve.
Hope you have a great week!
Linda
Hi Linda
I joined a giveaway as a member to help a freind last year and the last few pages all had the same cover. Why would you susbscribe to someone who was too lazy to change anything?
My latest post about PLR are from a product I am doing and hope to finish soon.
Dee
Dee recently posted..What is PLR Part 3? How to recognise poor quality PLR
Yeah, I don’t know what is up with those people using the same things as other people. I am still seeing it on the so-called “bigger” giveaways. I guess it’s the luck of the draw for those that are interested
Good luck with that product and please let me know when it is done so I can take a look, ok!
Linda