The internet loves unique content, so, why should we even talk about rewriting articles and private label rights content? Let’ look at three reasons…
Sometimes the original writer had a great idea but sucked at explaining it. Re-creating an existing article or report is a very valuable exercise because if you can put something across in a way that allows people to understand it, then it gains value. Each of us has something no other person has – our own perspective. If you write or re-write something and add your own unique perspective then you are adding value and improving/expanding our body of knowledge.
The second reason is that it saves you time. All the writing and the research has been done for you, so you can go from article idea to publication within just ten minutes or so. Researching and then writing a good article from scratch takes time, and this can be off-putting for some people, leading to procrastination or inaction.
The internet is also hungry for content so if you want any chance of beating out your competition you have to write more content than they do. The easy answer to this sometimes is to learn how to quickly rewrite articles and quality PLR material.
Third, this is perfectly ethical – and this is how most content came into being in the first place. Anytime you’re reading a blog post, an article, or a book (especially non-fiction), have you ever stopped to wonder, “So where did HE/SHE get his/her information from?” There’s nothing new under the sun and all that…
How to rewrite articles quickly
Ultimately, you goal when you rewrite an article or a piece of PLR content is to turn the article or report into something which you have written yourself, so that it reflects your passion and your interests. You can do this even if you’re developing content on which you know nothing about (i.e the article or report is about a topic you know nothing about).
It helps if you start out with a good quality article. A good article will be one that talks about one thing throughout the entire article. If you can help it, avoid articles that begin on one subject and end on another. Especially avoid articles which are nothing but a checklist of points.
Having chosen an article to rewrite, or having been given the article to rewrite (it happens on the freelance job sites for example) the first thing you want to do with the article is to change the title.
A good title should have your target keyword in it, if you’re writing for SEO, or search engine optimization. But that said, you also want your title to be appealing to the reader and to create a desire in them to want to read more.
Some popular headline titles are the “How To” type headlines (How To Quickly & Easily Rewrite Articles And PLR), Top # headlines (Top 5 Ways To Brainstorm Article Headlines), Secrets type headlines (Little-Known Secrets Of 5-Figure Online Freelance Writers), Reasons & Benefits headlines (5 Reasons Why Your Business Blog Probably Sucks, And What To Do About It). There are also comparison headlines or titles, warning headlines (example…WARNING: These 7 Common Relationship Mistakes Will Destroy Your Marriage!), and so on.
If you’re stuck, look at other headlines you like – from popular niche websites, blogs, article directories, etc.
Let’s look at an example rewrite (notes are in red)…
“Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or ‘winter depression’, may affect as many as a third of us, but the problem often goes undiagnosed. For a smaller number, it can be seriously disabling. This post is for anyone who wants to know how seasonal changes in light levels affect behavior or mood, and what can be done about it.”
Take one sentence at a time, note the important idea, thought, point, or message, and then rewrite the sentence in your own words.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or ‘winter depression’, may affect as many as a third of us, but the problem often goes undiagnosed
Rewrite: It’s estimated that one in three people suffers seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD or winter depression, but many never get a diagnosis for the problem.
[Notes: the big idea/message/point here is the fraction of the population who likely get affected, plus the fact that most of these people never get diagnosed as having SAD. The rewritten text is longer – there’s no problem with that.]
For a smaller number, it can be seriously disabling.
Rewrite: A small fraction of people with SAD experience serious, disabling symptoms.
This post is for anyone who wants to know how seasonal changes in light levels affect behavior or mood, and what can be done about it.
Rewrite: If you’re someone who wants to know how light levels affect your behavior and moods as the seasons change, read on and discover what you can do about it.
[Notes: Again the rewritten text is longer; no problem. The rewrite avoided the construction…”what can be done about it” in favor of “…what you can do about it,” which is more empowering as it focuses attention on the reader. “Read on to discover…” is a call to action, so is better than “this post is for anyone…” We are improving on the work as we go.]
The rewritten paragraph now reads:
“It’s estimated that one in three people suffers seasonal affective disorder, also known as SAD or winter depression, but many never get a diagnosis for the problem. A small fraction of people with SAD experience serious, disabling symptoms. If you’re someone who wants to know how light levels affect your behavior and moods as the seasons change, read on and discover what you can do about it.”
Let’s continue…
Why do we have seasonal mood changes?
Rewrite: Why do our moods change with the seasons?
“Most of us feel better when the sun is shining – more cheerful and energetic. On grey, gloomy days, especially in winter, we tend to feel less enthusiastic, more inclined to stay indoors or even in bed, to do less work, to socialize less and to eat more. The reason for this is the change in the quality and quantity of light. As winter approaches, there are fewer daylight hours and so, by December, we often get up in the dark and come home from work or school in darkness. What’s more, the shorter winter days don’t have the same light intensity that we get in summer.”
Again you take one sentence at a time…
Most of us feel better when the sun is shining – more cheerful and energetic.
Rewrite: When it’s sunny and bright, most people feel good, and cheerful, and full of energy. Contrast that with our feelings on grey, gloomy days, such as you get in winter. You find you’re less enthusiastic, you don’t like going outdoors much, maybe even feel like staying in bed. You cut down on work. You socialize less and eat lots more.
[Notes: Reading the first two sentences you notice an opportunity to paint a picture for the reader, a compare and contrast picture which makes for more interesting reading. The second sentence is broken up to improve the reading experience.]
The reason for this is the change in the quality and quantity of light.
Rewrite: This happens to you because you’re experiencing the effect of a change in the quality and quantity of the light.
[Because we painted a picture in the last sentence, we transition as if were still painting a picture]
As winter approaches, there are fewer daylight hours and so, by December, we often get up in the dark and come home from work or school in darkness.
Rewrite: The closer we get to winter, the less daylight we have. By December, it’s still dark when you get out of bed, and dark when you come home from work or school.
What’s more, the shorter winter days don’t have the same light intensity that we get in summer.
Rewrite: And that’s not all… not only are the days shorter in winter, they are darker too, with a lot less light than in the summer.
[Notes: With practice you can do these sentence flips a lot faster. But you want to use as few words as possible from the original sentence.]
The idea is to make your rewritten article or report or blog post, and so on better – make it easier to read, more informative if you can, more valuable.
The second paragraph of the rewrite now reads:
When it’s sunny and bright, most people feel good, and cheerful, and full of energy. Contrast that with our feelings on grey, gloomy days, such as you get in winter. You find you’re less enthusiastic, you don’t like going outdoors much, maybe even feel like staying in bed. You cut down on work. You socialize less and eat lots more.
This happens to you because you’re experiencing the effect of a change in the quality and quantity of the light.
The closer we get to winter, the less daylight we have. By December, it’s still dark when you get out of bed – and dark when you come home from work or school.
And that’s not all… not only are the days shorter in winter, they are darker too, with a lot less light than in the summer.
[Notes: We now have four paragraphs, where we started with one. That’s okay. Online, people prefer to have a lot of white space on a web page; it makes reading easier, less intimidating. So it pays to avoid big blocks of text, so, break it up where this makes sense or makes for an easier reading experience.]
This is all part of creating your own version of the concepts presented and improving the original concept. It’s perfectly ethical. Remember, it’s not what you say; it’s how you say it that makes a difference.
Tips on rewriting longer pieces of content like short reports
If you’re looking at rewriting a longish piece of content, what you do is you read the report or e-book and then put it down. You then dictate as much of the content as you can remember into some sort of recorder. You could do it chapter by chapter, or randomly.
Next, play back what you recorded and transcribe it. You will have a lot of text in your own words that reflects your passion and your unique perspective on the topic at hand. If you’re doing this on big scale there are services on websites like Fiverr where you can get your recordings transcribed for a little fee.
The next step is to edit the text. You want to fill in any gaps, to add new observations, and so on. To fill in these gaps you may have to re-read sections from the original content, or to do a little research from online sources or offline. It all depends on the content you’re rewriting or re-creating but these article rewriting tips above should enable you to repurpose any piece of content quickly to satisfy your content needs.
