All That Seems Random Fridays # 16 | Show Up, Be Honest

Wow, it's Friday again which means it's time for All That Seems Random, where we share how aware (or not) we are of the events, people and opportunities the universe has presented to us based on our focus and desires. Because we need to CELEBRATE them.



This has been one really busy week. However, that's good. It's been busy good with only the slightest hint of grrrr. I like weeks like this.

The focus has been on figuring out how to move forward with the ItyBites to 10K Challenge. Yes, I know if you clicked over there, it's an echo-ey cave, bereft of well, pretty much anything. Yes, I wrote one article. Yes, I posted it to Hubpages. Yes, it made me a few cents. Literally. Then of course I didn't repeat any of those actions. Something about cleaning up the writing and up comes ugh and grrr.

I have trouble editing, my stuff. I can edit other peoples work with ease, yet my own, ugh, grrr. Which leads me over to my new Mastermind group. If you aren't familiar with the idea of Mastermind groups, Napolean Hill talks about them in "Think and Grow Rich". He defines the "Master Mind" as a "coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose" (Think and Grow Rich, pg 192).

So the group is going to do a round robin style editing process, because apparently I'm not the only one with an issue of this nature. Go figure.

Another big advantage of a Master Mind group is you are automatically surrounding yourself with people in a spirit of harmony. And who could use more harmony in their life?

That's only the start of it. Accountability, idea generation, brain storming, unbiased feedback, yeah Master Mind groups, I should qualify this, good Master Mind groups, are the glue that pulls all your little pieces together.

This was NOT something I expected to receive from attending the Niche Affiliate Marketing System Workshop. That's why you really ought to join me in January 2010 for the NAMS 3. The price is still reasonable, yet it will increase. Mark my words, David Perdew doesn't play those marketing games. If you wait too long you will pay the $697 price. So click up there and reserve your spot for less than half the full price right now.

Oh boy, lots of random notes this week. So many that I'm not even going to try and share them all.

• "[Fall] in love with the needs, wants, and desires of [your] target market." ~ Sonia Simone ~ (No there is no direct link to the article because it was part of the Teaching Sells pre-launch informational process, which is completely gone once Teaching Sells closes to new members. And yes, they are closed. Still, dig into the archives of Remarkable Communication. You'll find even more gems.)
• "Stillness is what is left when you cease to identify with effort". ~ Robert "Butch" James ~
• "Do or do, there is no die." ~ Rhonda Cort ~
• "The destination is what helps you determine what the journey looks like." ~ Gina Gaudio-Graves ~
  
• "Try to ride a bicycle standing still." ~ Maxwell Maltz ~
• Do you have all the 'whats' to put the system together? (Me asking myself)
  

That's it for me, what random events, people and opportunities are showing up in your life, that aren't really random at all?

Make Money Online Mondays | Using PLR

On Friday I mentioned the fact that I purchased private label rights to an e-book. There are tons of people who don't believe it's proper to use other peoples words and pass them off as their own. Nor do I.

However, if you have a reputable source for information, one who can and does research, verify and organize information in a meaningful way, then why wouldn't you use it, especially when it is offered for use?

Still you may not even know exactly what Private Label Rights are? Or what's the best policy for using them? And yes, there are times when you should never use them.

Nicole Dean answers those questions and clears up any confusion below. (I go to the source whenever I can and she's the source for some seriously well written articles.) Okay, I've babbled enough.

Nicole - over to you.

PLR and Ghostwritten Articles: Are they Ethical?
by Nicole Dean

Recently, in an interview, I was asked “Is it ethical to use private label rights and ghostwritten articles?”

Let me step back a moment and explain… Private label rights (or PLR) articles and ghostwritten articles are used by web owners as a method of outsourcing some of their content.

• PLR articles are packages of articles that are pre-written and sold to more than one person. (We recommend this site for your PLR needs.)
• Ghostwritten articles are articles that are written by someone else just for you that you can put your name on and are not sold to anyone else.

In both cases, you are allowed to edit the content as much or as little as you’d like and use the articles on your website, blog, or in your newsletter.

So, back to the question. Is it ethical? My answer was, “usually, yes”.

If you’re using the articles and saying “written by me” without changing anything at all, it may bite you in the butt later, when someone else does the same thing. Does that make it unethical? Not really. It’s just not smart. Can you use the article as it is or edited slightly, without saying it was written by you? Of course!

Most PLR packs are written by ghostwriters. Ghostwriters are professional researchers and writers. If you purchase well-written, informative PLR or ghostwritten articles and share them with your readers, don’t you all benefit? Your readers benefit by getting great information. You benefit by saving time. Is it any different than hiring a graphic designer or webmaster? Not in my opinion. Heck, most politicians don’t write their own speeches. They leave that to people
who are professional speech writers.

Of course, you’d want to only use top-notch PLR articles and not “sell-out” just to pump out blog posts or web pages quicker. We recommend you research thoroughly before choosing any ghostwriter or PLR service.

Here’s what to look for in a PLR service so you don’t waste your money:

1. Make sure the articles are written well.
2. Make sure that you know what topics you’ll receive (instead of some grab-bag of articles).
3. Be sure that the people running the program have some experience in article writing themselves, so they know what they’re doing.

There’s no point in doing everything on your own, especially if you dislike writing. All successful business people outsource the tasks they are not good at or dislike. Check it out. It might take some pressure off you and allow you to spend more time with your kids. And, that’s definitely ethical.

Nicole Dean welcomes you to check out EasyPLR.com – where you’ll find high-quality PLR articles on niches sold in very limited quantities.