The difference between PLR and ghostwritten content
When it comes to developing content for your business, it's quite likely that you would want to use many different options for getting it done. One way is to hire a ghostwriter to write for you, and of course, the other is to purchase PLR. In all honesty, you should probably consider both options. So let’s take a look at how PLR and ghostwritten content is different, and the pros and cons of each option.
PLR costs less than hiring a ghostwriter
To hire a ghostwriter that does quality work is going to cost you a minimum of about US$20 per 450 words (and that may be a somewhat conservative estimate). You’ll get better quality work if you pay about US$100 per blog post (unless you order in bulk from your writer regularly). Of course, for some types of writing, you can pay even more. I'm sure you can see the pennies adding up......
PLR companies research hot topic ideas for you
Joining a monthly membership for PLR content is a great way to have research into some of the hottest topic and niche ideas done for you. The content can be edited to reflect your style and to make it a good fit for your audience, but the PLR content writers know what is “hot” right now because they take suggestions from their members.
You need to give your ghostwriter ideas and content outlines
When you hire a ghostwriter, it’s up to you to provide a brief which contains all the ideas and outlines to your writer. They’ll need to know who your audience is, what need the content is meeting, a general 'direction' for the blog post, and much more information from you so that the content they create is useful for you.
Ghostwriting is more specific writing
When you hire a ghostwriter, you really do need to know a lot more than you might right now about your audience, your purpose, and more. Even if you’re not going to write the content yourself, you’ll have to come up with ideas for this specific type of writing that advances your business.
PLR usually is more general and evergreen
A lot of the content you publish should be considered evergreen content. Evergreen content is content that lives a long time 'as is', or only needs minor statistical updates on occasion to continue to be relevant. PLR content is typically more general and evergreen, and fills that need for you much more economically than hiring someone to write the same type of evergreen general content.
PLR quite often needs to be tweaked
Even the best written PLR needs to be tweaked to make it work for your needs. You’ll need to add your own keywords, check the voice, tone, and make sure it all matches your branding before using it. This can add time and money, reducing your ROI.
Ghostwritten content should be ready to go
When you hire a ghostwriter, especially if you choose a more costly professional content writer/copywriter, the content should be ready to put into your content marketing schedule within five minutes of receiving it.
Ghostwritten work is exclusive to you
Clearly, this is one of the major benefits of using ghostwritten work; it’s yours, and you can claim authorship, copyright, and even use it to self-publish print books via a publisher. It’s as if you wrote it, and it’s unique and totally original.
PLR is not exclusive
PLR content is not exclusive. Anywhere from 2 to several hundred people may buy the same content to use in their business. However, this isn’t as important as you may have been led to believe, as this does not affect the usefulness or importance of using PLR in your product development and content marketing efforts. Additionally, if you have tweaked the content to suit your voice and your audience, it will be the concepts that are identical rather than the wording itself.
So, which should you use?
Using either ghostwritten content or PLR is a great idea for your business. Getting that extra work off your plate so you can plan and implement the work is a much better use of your time (unless you happen to be a writer, and that is the service you want to offer your clients and customers). But it’s clear that using PLR will save you money and time, and also be just as effective as if all of it was ghostwritten. If you want the best of both worlds (and if your budget allows for it) an excellent method of outsourcing your content creation is to hire a ghostwriter for specific writing and use PLR for the rest.