Using PLR Content to Make Money Fast in Your Online Business (Especially Your Printables Shop)
Let’s go through the 10 best ways how to use PLR content in your online business
Author: Kari Lorz – Certified Financial Education Instructor
Creating top-notch content in your niche can be tough, especially if you’re just starting out. Generating fresh ideas for blog posts, printables, and social media can be time-consuming, especially if you’re not a design expert.
But don’t worry, PLR (Private Label Rights) content can be a real game-changer for your printables shop! It offers a wide range of content that can not only spruce up your shop but also benefit your customers.
Let’s dive in and see how you can use PLR content effectively, and where to find high-quality content to help your printables business thrive.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may make a commission at no cost to you. Please read my full disclosure for more info
What Is PLR?
PLR stands for Private Label Rights (it’s sometimes referred to as white label content). It’s content that you can purchase the rights to and then sell it in your own shop.
For example, let’s say you wanted to create a new holiday planner printable but didn’t have the time (or maybe you’re just not feeling very creative). You could buy a Christmas PLR printable, maybe tweak a few things (color, images, font, etc.) and then post it for sale in your printables shop.
We’re focusing mainly on using PLR printables for this post, but PLR content can be…
- Articles/blog posts
- Images
- Slide decks
- Email newsletters
- Social media posts
- and more!
Why you’d use PLR products
There are several reasons you might want to use PLR products…
- You don’t have the time to create the content yourself.
- You’re not very creative and need help coming up with ideas.
- You want to add more content to your shop quickly.
- You’re printables don’t come out looking as nice as you hoped. (Hey, that’s okay; you’re still learning)
- You’re on a budget and can’t afford to hire a designer to make you something.
Don’t forget that PLR printables (printables in general) have a huge advantage over selling physical goods. It’s repeating passive income – so you make it (or buy it) once, and then you can sell it over and over again!
How to best use PLR content
Now that we know what PLR content is and why you should use it let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to use it.
1. Round out your printables shop offerings – This is huge as you never want to open your shop with only one or two listings. You want to give the impression of a full and professional shop.
2. Use it as a starting point for ideas if you’re stuck – PLR is made to sell as is, but if you’ve been struggling to write/create that thing for forever, then why not get a friendly jumpstart! Remember, when you buy it, you can tweak it however you want.
3. Use it as a freebie – People love free things! So why not delight your customers and make their day by giving them an amazing free planner/workbook/guide.
4. Use PLR for emails and newsletters – Many content creators struggle with keeping up with the demand to write weekly emails to their audience. You can easily buy some emails, and then you can get back to doing all that awesome stuff you do as the head honcho of your business.
5. Create high-value bundles – You can do this when you have a few pieces of PLR that would go great together. You could make an amazing bundle with a workbook, planner, and checklist, all for one low price! People love bundles due to the value that they provide, so they are usually a shop’s top seller.
6. Use it as a source for new information if you’re short on time – If your audience is looking for something trending/new (but you don’t have the expertise on it), you can find PLR content for that exact thing and direct your followers to it.
7. Purchase a number of PLR materials and turn them into an ebook – This is similar to creating a bundle, but it’s formatted and sold as one thing. eBooks are great as people know they are fairly short (aka easy reads) and are usually very current (as eBooks don’t have to go through the whole publishing and distribution phase.
8. Use PLR material as blog posts – Everyone knows that blogging is a great way to establish yourself as a content creator, and you can also use PLR to help with this. Simply buy a blog post on topics related to what you sell and post them to your blog.
Quality and quantity matter for this, so generating a lot of blog posts is hard for many people.
9. Create an online course – Have you ever thought about teaching people what you know? Creating an online course is a great way to do that, and you can use private label rights content as an accompanying workbook to help them learn the content.
10. Use PLR material as a bonus for your product – Giving your customer a bonus item can sometimes tip them over the edge from being merely interested to happily slamming down their credit card.
11. (bonus) Make an opt-in email course – Take a series of related articles and make a daily email course with 5-7 emails. These are a great way to attract new subscribers to your list.
12. (bonus ++) Put it on social media – Use PLR content as a freebie opt-in for social media posts to help drive people to your site. You can use Facebook ads, Instagram ads, etc.
The pros & cons of PLR content
Pros:
- It saves your time – It’s as fast as a few clicks, and it’s yours! Besides, your time is worth more than struggling for five hours and coming up with a printable that looks like a 4th grader did it.
- PLR content is affordable – many printables are $10 – $40, much less expensive than hiring a designer.
- It’s easily scalable – you can buy as much or as little as you want, from one creator to a handful (we’ve got the inside scoop of some great PLR creators below).
Cons:
- Still needs customization – the PLR printable is ready to sell as-is, but you’ll probably still need to make it fit your shop aesthetic. When buying blog posts, you will want to avoid plagiarism penalties from Google by adding new custom content (sentences and changing headings).
- It might be too generic – in addition to customizing colors, you may need to make it a bit more specific for your audience.
- Someone may have seen it someplace else (and for a better price) – Remember, the PLR content creator makes money selling it to a lot of different people. So a customer may have seen it on someone else’s site (and maybe even for a better price).
- Product licensing can be confusing – Some products that are free or for sale have different licensing rights. You never (ever ever) want to sell something in your printables shop that you don’t have the rights to sell. We’ll go through the different kinds of product licenses below.
Where to get PLR Content
There are many PLR content creators out there but trust me; they are not all equal. In this industry, you get what you pay for. Getting a 300-word PLR article for $5 is a waste of your time. It will be garbage, and you’ll spend way too much time trying to salvage it. You should just trash it and move on.
We’ve narrowed the search to some quality PLR sellers, who won’t disappoint you, or your audience! The first few are printables PLR creators, and then later we have some PLR article and eBook options.
Simply Couture Designs
Simply Couture Designs has a lot of different kinds of PLR printables; planners, art, stickers, and graphics. (Seriously, a lot of great PLR content on this site).
One aspect that sets Carmen and her site apart is that she also has a monthly membership site, her Insider Club. This is where every month you get a free PLR printable pack, a Creative lesson working on Canva (I always love to see behind the curtain of creation), and an Etsy seller training. Her training topics are interesting and applicable to succeeding in the printables world.
If you want to check out her style, you can download her free planner template.
PLR Beach
Becky Beach is a successful printables designer who covers many categories regarding her PLR merchandise – journals, coloring pages, clip art, etc. So be sure to browse through her entire PLR collection.
If you want free private label rights content, you can grab her free weekly planner and start selling it immediately.
Also, if you love the idea of PLR but struggle to know how to exactly customize it and make it feel yours, then you have to check out her free 8-day PLR Challenge! Each day you’ll get an email with lots of tips, hows to’s, and some video tutorials to help you get your PLR items up and on your printables shop (finally making you money).
If you find something you love, then use code “AFFILIATE25” for 25% off all her PLR products.
Sasha Hutchinson
Sasha is in the top 1% for Etsy printables sales (that’s a big deal), so she absolutely knows what she’s doing! She has just recently expanded into PLR (from direct-to-consumer Etsy sales), so keep checking back to see what she adds! Here are just a few offerings…
- In Case of Emergency Binder – use code INCASE8 to get $8 off!
- Fillable Bingo Game
- Fillable Canva Templates
- Handprint & Footprint Art Template Pack
If you need help in coming up with digital product ideas (for you to make, not PLR), then Sasha’s got you covered! One of her specialties is fillable PDFs (a great niche in the early stages, so the perfect time to get in on it). She has a free guide on 30 fillable digital product ideas for you to sell! You’re sure to find 1-3 ideas perfect for your niche!
Simple Happiness
Jan at Simple Happiness has a lot of PLR items that you don’t normally see, really unique printables, but has the tried & true regular standbys like your yearly/monthly planners too.
Some of the ones that sound really interesting…
- Spring Cleaning Checklist
- Organizing Your Digital Life Planner
- Valentines Decoration Printable Pack (she has a Christmas set too)
- Pregnancy Planner, and lots more!
Content for Food Bloggers
Content for Food Bloggers knows that it can take a food blogger days and days to create a recipe post, as the step-by-step process (and the photos need to be detailed precisely. You can dramatically speed up getting content on your recipe site by using PLR recipes (complete with pictures).
One of the great things is that you can buy regular PLR content or even semi-exclusive content. They even sell PLR meal planning planners and food-related blog posts.
Use coupon code “karimftm” to get 10% off your PLR order!
Carmina Jordaan
Carmia Jordaan is a graphic designer, blogger, and online shop owner who’s been making printables since 2013 (so she knows her stuff!).
Her PLR items are geared to planners (which are hot on Etsy right now).
I love her designs as they are simple (not too busy) but have a very calming aesthetic. She has a…
- Self-Care Planner
- Goal Getter Planner
- Pro Planner Deluxe Pack
- Fall Planner Pack
- Mini Planner Pack (it’s free)
Cool Bean Living
This PLR seller has lots to offer in the way of PLR products, especially in the area of personal development. As the creator, MaryJo is also a personal development coach, and she developed many of these printables for her clients.
This is a huge advantage as she gets to see how people use them, where they get hung up, and can tweak the documents to be as helpful as possible. Here are some examples of what she has to offer…
- Workbooks – Building Powerful Habits, Self-Compassion Guide, etc
- Planners – Busy Family Organizer, Women’s Health & Wellness, etc.
- Journals – Mood Boosting, Mother Memories, etc.
- Card desks – affirmation cards
You will absolutely find something here that your followers will love!
She also offers a great freebie that is a must-have for any digital seller – free Etsy listing mockup templates. These are the images that you use on your Etsy product sales pages. Remember your photos can make or break the sale, so you want them to look as good as possible!
The free templates are for Canva, so you can change the colors to match your brand to get that cohesive professional look. Check them out below.
Key your eyes peeled, as she sometimes offers her full Etsy Digital Selling Kit with a discount when you sign up for her free templates (the ones pictured above). These are the images that you use across your entire Etsy shop. Large & small banners, receipt banners, shop logo, download pages, and brand board.
Gold City Ventures E-Printables Course
This free printables resource is a bit different. It’s Gold City Ventures E-Printable Side Hustle Course.
This course teaches you exactly (step by step with video tutorials) on how to make printables and market them for sale on Etsy. It’s a hugely popular course, where Julie & Cody have earned over $1 million in course sales (yes, it’s that good!)
You can take the course and learn to make your own printables and sell them on Etsy, and even become a PLR creator yourself!
Now, for the free PLR printables… In the course, they give you over 20 free templates (you need to add images or tweak colors to sell them, but it’s minor), and you get 30-day free access to their VIP Membership Vault; this is the free PLR part.
The vault has…
- 100+ bonus videos, including guest interviews, technical training, and advanced strategies
- 5 NEW free commercial use template packs each month
- Behind the scenes with 6- and 7-figure sellers
- … and all the resources you need to take your shop to the next level
If you choose to stay in the VIP Membership beyond the 30 days, you will be charged $29 per month until you reach 100 sales. Then members of the “100 Sales Club” will receive free VIP Membership. So over a year, you’ll get 60 free PLR products (five each month).
Thrive Anywhere
Thrive Anywhere is slightly different in that they do not use Canva for their PLR products (they used to but not anymore). Sometimes people don’t like a design tool, and that’s just fine. Canva just happens to be popular because it’s very user-friendly, and it has a free version.
You can edit your Thrive Anywhere PLR content with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, or Keynote.
The have journals, planners, clip art, workbooks, etc.
Faith’s Biz Academy
Faith, the founder of Faith’s Biz Academy has been in the online industry since 2018, and absolutely knows her business! especially when it comes to creating printables for kids and women. Not only that, but she also shares her knowledge in her trainings and Masterclasses, to teach you how to run your own successful online business.
For example, in her Customize Masterclass, she shows you step by step how to take six different PLR planners and create a mega bundle of them. Making sure they all flow together seamlessly and follow your brand’s style. Hint: customers love bundles; it’s a huge value-added package!
She offers a wide variety of PLR printables – planners, coloring books, kids kits, and even some digital PLR planners too!
Note: Faith is one of the few PLR creators that makes digital PLR planners, so be sure to check out all the digital options!
What tools you’ll need to use PLR content
Most PLR content creators will give you a few options on how to modify/use your PLR printables. Canva is a typical platform (and it’s free).
Canva online design platform – This is a great program for beginners. It’s very easy to use, and they have a free option. (This is the program I use, but I use the paid version, which has more features). It’s very easy to use, and there are lots of online tutorials on how to use it.
PowerPoint – is usually for presentations, but it has other uses as well. Almost all PCs have PP.
Adobe – often if ordering PLR coloring pages, it’s just a PDF, so you (and your customers will need Adobe to view & print it.
Tips to get the most from your PLR content
Always buy PLR content from quality sellers
As we’ve mentioned, there’s a lot of low-quality PLR content out there. You want to make sure you’re getting quality content that will help you grow your business, not anger your customer base and cause you to get negative reviews.
Now, “high quality” means something different to everyone, so if you have high standards, you’ll want to be a bit forgiving and know that it may take a bit of work to get it up to your level.
Be sure to customize it
Just because you’re using PLR content doesn’t mean you can’t put your spin on it. Be sure to add your branding, colors, and style to make it feel like your own. Besides, you don’t want it to look too generic or off from your usual style.
If using PLR blog posts
Be sure to go through and keyword optimize the content for keywords that you can rank for. This will help your valuable content be more easily found. You’ll also what to change some of the headings and break up the formatting, so it matches your other articles. You don’t want Google to think your site has a problem with plagiarism, so be ready to tweak the posts.
Where to find free PLR content
If you want to start using PLR content but don’t want to spend any money yet. Here are a few places where you can download PLR freebies. Yet, you may have to work through lots of low-quality content.
Free PLR content – blog articles & PLR eBooks
Piggy Makes Bank – has free PLR downloads articles (there are a ton!). These articles are on the shorter side, so you’d want to bulk them up by expanding on some of the topics.
The next two sites are more like memberships (with a free level), where you pay for the higher access level. For the free level, all you need is your email address. The quality on these sites varies, so be sure to look at things closely.
PLRdatabase.net – not everything on here has a resell right option, some are for personal use only, but each item states how you can use it. This site is good if you want content for your blog or PLR eBook material.
PLR.me might be just what you’re looking for if you’re looking for a one-stop shop for a variety of PLR content. They have lots of material, such as blog posts, eBooks, and infographics, action guides, even online courses!
In fact, I just downloaded a couple of making money action guides that I plan to help me outline some new blog content. Check out their product types (i.e. action guides, articles, reports, courses, etc.) and their categories below.
You can grab 10 free download credits when you use this link to sign up! (no subscription or credit card required).
For free PLR content – printables
- For Mommies by Mommy free fitness planner
- For Mommies by Mommy free daily planner
- PLR Beach’s free weekly planner
- PLR Beach’s free undated monthly planner
- Simply Couture’s free planner template
- Faith’s Biz Academy free floral monthly planner
- Carmina Jordaan’s mini planner pack
In our other post, we’ve got lots more free PLR downloads for you to check out. Yes, you can download each one and then put them up for sale on your own site! Remember, you’ll probably want to tweak them, so they look similar and give a cohesive look to your printables shop.
Different kinds of product licenses
You absolutely need to know the legal side of selling PLR content. You never want to get into a situation where you did something wrong because you didn’t fully understand how the resale right worked (product licenses) work.
You’re probably aware of things like patents (exclusive rights) and public domain (open to anyone), yet there are many levels in between. Right now, we’re only going to focus on product licenses for blog articles, printables, PLR eBooks, etc. We’ll start with most restrictive to least restrictive licensing.
Personal Use (PU) – These items can only be used for personal use, such as reading, sharing (only if stated), or teaching. Products with PU cannot in any way be resold or changed as this license restricts such acts.
Resell Rights (RR) – This means that the particular item can be re-sold to your customers (but they cannot sell it). Also, you cannot change the item. You cannot claim authorship or copyright it.
Master Resell Rights (MRR) – This license allows you to pass resell rights to your customers. If you download a product with master resell rights and then sell it, your customer may resell the product as you did. Similarly to RR, you cannot change the product, claim authorship, or copyright it.
Private Label Rights (PLR) – This is a license to a product. PLR gives the user the right to do just about anything they want to do with it. You can put your name on it as authorship, but you cannot copyright it.
This is the licensing that we’re focusing on in this post.
Using private label rights content FAQ:
Is it cheating to use PLR?
No, it’s not cheating to use PLR. In fact, it’s a great way to grow your business without spending a lot of time and money on content creation.
Think of it as buying generic brand food. It’s the same thing, just with a different label and a different seller.
Is PLR really legal?
Yes, PLR is definitely legal. You’re simply buying the rights to use someone else’s content. Just be sure to read the terms and conditions of each PLR package before you buy it, so you know how you’re allowed to use the content.
Can I sell PLR products on Etsy?
PLR, in essence, is ready to sell. Yet, Etsy focuses on handmade items (yes, even printables are considered handmade). Here are the most popular digital products that sell on Etsy.
In order for you to follow Etsy’s Seller policy (which you should always do), you would need to alter the printable – probably more than just the font, colors, etc. You would need to make a few changes (i.e., add new pages, remove old ones, change some formatting, etc.) Pay special attention to Etsy’s handmade guidelines to ensure you’re above board.
If you want to sell PLR right out of the gate, then you’d want to sell it on your website or on platforms that don’t focus on unique and handmade goods.
Do you need to disclose that an item is PLR?
It’s not required to disclose that an item is PLR, but I believe in being upfront and honest with your customers if they ask. If they feel like they can trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you again in the future.
What’s most important is that you fairly compensated the creator, which you did as you bought it with the understanding that you’d resell it.
What if I want exclusive rights to a PLR product?
Some PLR creators offer exclusive rights to their products, but it’s usually at a higher price point. If you’re interested in exclusive rights, reach out to the PLR creator and ask if it’s something they offer.
What are PLR printables?
PLR printables are simply printables that come with PLR (private label rights). This means you can brand them as your own, sell them, and keep all the profits. You’ll usually find a variety of different types of PLR printables, including coloring pages, worksheets, planners, and more.
What are PLR articles?
PLR articles are similar to PLR printables (private label rights), but they’re articles. You’ll usually find a variety of different types of PLR articles, including blog posts, eBooks, email newsletters, etc.
If using PLR as blog content, you’ll want to make sure to customize them, as you don’t want Google to penalize your site for duplicate content (that’s bad). You’ll need to change keywords, formatting, cite different sources, etc.
What’s the difference between PLR and Public Domain?
PLR is different than Public Domain as PLR still has a copyright attached, whereas public domain does not. With PLR, you’re paying for the rights to use the content, whereas, with public domain, you’re free to use it without having to pay anyone.
What’s the difference between buying PLR and buying templates?
PLR is different from templates as PLR is complete valuable content ready to use/sell.
With templates, you’re getting a starting point that you need to add content to (images & words). The formatting and design elements are done, which can be the hardest part for many creators.
How do I sell printables?
The best way to sell printables is to have your website or online store(with SendOwl). You can also sell them on platforms like Etsy, Shopify, or Creative Market.
This is a very big topic, but don’t worry; we will break it down for you step by step…
– How to Make Printables
– Best Digital Products to Sell on Etsy
– How to Sell Digital Downloads on Etsy
At the end of the day
If you’re looking for some fresh content to add to your printables shop, PLR content can be a great option, as It’s an easy way to get started with selling printables while you focus on building your business.
You can find tons of different types of content that will help you serve your audience – planners, recipes, color pages, clip art, workbooks, and more.
In fact, you don’t even have to sell printables; you can use PLR content in so many areas of your business, so be sure that you think outside the box and get creative.