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PLR reports and ebooks can be just the thing when you want to have your own product but don’t have the time, ability, or inclination to create your own.  Having an ebook ghostwritten is another option, but it might not be the right one for you when you’re just starting out, don’t have much traffic, and don’t have the money to pay a ghostwriter.

PLR reports and ebooks come ready made, but sticking your name on them and putting them out there for sale is not all there is to it.  No, you’ve got to make some changes in order to make people happy and put out a valuable product you will be proud to call your own.

Here are the mistakes I see people making with their newly purchased PLR:

Mistake #1 – PLR used “as is”.
Don’t grab the PLR and turn around and slap it up on your site and send out a promo email to your list.  Think of the PLR product you just purchased as the start of something big.  You need to make some changes not only to benefit your customer but to benefit yourself.

Mistake #2 – Not fixing the sales page.
Look for instructions, usually in red or highlighted and [in brackets] that tell you to add something, like your link or your picture.  Nothing screams PLR more than seeing a sales page where the person hasn’t even bothered to take out the [instructions] and add the necessary links or graphics.

You’ll also want to tamper with the copy. Change it up.  Add your story and take out the writer’s story.  Make the benefits even more compelling.  And for pet sake, change the other guy’s name at the bottom of the copy to your own!

Mistake #3 – Graphics not changed.
If you use the same graphics (and title), some people are going to recognize the product.  They might even realize they’ve seen it quite a few times and begin to think the product is probably really lame PLR.  They certainly won’t think too highly of you and will question the value of all your products.

Mistake #4 – Links on the sales page don’t work.
How many times have you clicked on the links in a sales page and find they didn’t work? It seems this happens more with PLR products, maybe because people didn’t start the whole product process from scratch or maybe because they’re in a hurry to get the PLR “live” and start making money from it.  So test your links.

Mistake #5 – No links were added inside the product.
Think about why you bought the PLR report or ebook in the first place and what you want to have it accomplish for you.  Don’t consider it as just something to give your list.  Steer it in a particular direction.  Add links in the body for products you’re promoting, either yours or affiliate products that can help the reader out.  End it not so much with a conclusion as a beginning of something bigger and better – like your big ticket product, your membership site, or your coaching offer.  If you don’t have those then become an affiliate for someone else’s big launch, membership site, or coaching program.  Your purchased PLR should do at least double duty for you.

If it’s a PLR article that you’re going to post on your blog, add your links to it.  Change the conclusion of the article to point to a product you sell that will solve the reader’s problems.

Mistake #6 – Value not added.
You can’t change just the graphics and title. Someone might buy it and feel tricked when they realize they’ve bought it before and it’s exactly the same except for the pretty new cover. There goes your reputation.  The best thing to do?  Always add value; it’s not that hard.

•    Explain some of the bullet points in more detail.
•    Add more bullet points.
•    Include some real life examples or stories.
•    Throw in a case study or two.
•    Add screen shots.
•    Add Camtasia videos showing how to do things mentioned in the product.

There is always something you can do to not only change it but to add value.  It might take you some time, but not near as much as creating a product from scratch.

Mistake #7 – Not using keywords.
Don’t forget your keywords!  Take the time to find the best longtail keyword phrases and use them in the title, the sales copy, the articles if you’re using PLR articles, and anywhere else you find that’s appropriate. Using your keywords brings another element to your marketing by capturing organic traffic.

Mistake #8 – Throwing it on a website and expecting it to sell.
Even if you did make changes to the product and you’re quite proud of it, you still have to market it, just like with any product.  There are many ways to do this – article marketing, emailing your list, PPC, WSO on the Warrior Forum, cross promoting with other marketers, eBay, email swaps, affiliates, etc.  Get busy!

PLR reports and ebooks are the perfect place to start when you want to have a product to call your own. But using PLR is not just for the beginner; many marketers successfully use PLR to crank out product after product – just ask John about that.

This is a guest post written by Peggy Baron

If you want to be considered for a guest blog post please contact me