The Downside of PLR (Private Label Rights)

 

What to trust?

Wikipedia defines Private Label Rights (“PLR”) as:

“Private Label Content comes in many different formats, including PLR reports, ebooks, articles, graphics, templates and even videos.

While licenses differ with each author and seller, the basic premise is that the license permits buyers to re-brand the content under their own name and brand (excluding copyright). In general practice this means that the product can be modified, sold, resold or repurposed in many different formats. In some cases authorship on the original product is allowed and with unrestricted private label, buyers are often able to resell the same rights they’ve acquired although not all private label releases offer or permit license distribution or transfer.”

It’s a great concept — you create content and then license others to brand it as their own.  The most common reasons you may wish to consider PLR include:

  • The content is created and, with a few tweaks (depending on the type of PLR you purchase), you can sell it almost immediately
  • As a PLR creator, you can embed affiliate links throughout the content creating two passive revenue streams: 1. from the person who invested in the PLR product and 2. from the affiliate revenue generated by the sales from everyone who resells the product

In my opinion, there’s also a downside. . .

  • Once you brand that report and sell it as your own, it creates the perception that you know what you’re talking about on that subject and that’s not always the case.

So while it may create some short-term gains in terms of revenue and time savings, the longer-term cost to your reputation/credibility may not be worth the trade-off — IF you don’t know the topic.

It’s one thing if you know the topic and are using PLR simply to enhance your product offerings.  It’s quite another if you’re using it to showcase a skill you don’t yet have.

And, for those who don’t purchase “change” rights, they’re putting out content that’s cookie-cutter of what several others are doing — not exactly using our gifts or showcasing ourselves in the best light.

What do you think?  Agree or disagree?  Please share your thoughts with our community below.