Understanding Private Label Rights

Private Label Right articles or PLR articles are currently a popular subject in Internet marketing. As a content writer, I often see bids requests open for re-writing PLR articles. Although I've never accepted one of these jobs, their frequency made me curious. Just what are PLR articles? And how do they relate to resale rights or master rights?

In my research, I found that private label rights allow you to make another writer's work appear as if it is your own. All you have to do is change the content in some way. This explains the bid requests I have seen on freelancing websites. Some PLR articles only need the introduction paragraph changed in order to use. Others require more extensive editing. Essential, private label rights authorize you to "privately label" the work as your own.

However, obtaining PLR for articles does not mean that you have obtained the copyright to the article. It also does not mean that you have obtained right to re-sell the article or articles for a profit. All private label rights guarantee is that you can re-distribute the works of someone else with modifications to make it your own

The most common use for PLR articles that I've found is in creating content sites that function to gain clicks from the Google Adsense program. Essentially, webmasters will purchase a package of PLR articles on a specific niche topic, hire a freelancer to adjust the content to their needs and then post the articles on their website.

The Google Adsense program will add relevant ads next to the articles, based on the content. Ideally, visitors would click on these ads while they are visiting the website. This would put a few cents or dollars per click directly into the pocket of the webmaster.

There have been major changes in the Adsense program recently that will make these content driven sites a thing of the past. But that is a whole other article.

Private label rights are not limited to articles. Private label products can include software, graphics, reports, documents, ebooks and many other digital products. Private label products can be used to expand an existing product line. For example, if you sell an ebook on using autoresponders, you can obtain PLR articles that can be included as a bonus to your work.

As a content writer, rewriting PLR articles is not the most choice writing assignment. With the changes in Google Adsense, these types of bid requests will most likely become less and less as time goes on. However, the popularity of PLR products in general will no doubt keep them a popular part of Internet marketing plans for years to come.