Sharing Someone Else’s Story

Sometimes when you’re customizing PLR content, you'll think of a story that's perfect to include. The only problem is the story is not yours to tell. It's a story that belongs to a loved one, friend, or co-worker. You know the illustration fits perfectly but you're not sure how to share it. Here's what to do…

Get Permission

Before you do anything, it's important that you ask the person whose story you want to share if you can. If you don't ask permission and you publish someone else's details, you could damage that relationship and even end up in legal trouble depending on what you share.

You can start the conversation by approaching the other person and saying, “I'm working on a project about ABC topic and I’d love to share your story about ABC with my audience. Would you be up for that?”

Write the Story

Assuming you received permission, it's time to create the story. Start by creating a messy first draft. Write down all of the details as best you understand or remember them. You can edit or change this content later. But for now, just focus on the story.
When you've finished writing your first draft, it's time to edit it. During this editing phase you may realize you still have some questions for the other person. If that's the case, set aside some time to follow up and get the additional information you need.

Be Sensitive

Writing about someone else's life can open old wounds for them. In some situations, this can be a good thing because it opens the door for more healing. But it may still be painful for the person you're writing about.

As you work on this content, tread carefully. Be kind and ask questions without being judgmental or hurtful. Remember that your goal is to help people and that includes the person whose story you're sharing.

Show a Draft

Once you feel like you've captured the other person's story, it's time to ask for their feedback. Show them what you have so far and explain that it's a draft and still in need of polishing.

The person whose story you're sharing may love it and feel it’s perfect as-is. But they may also ask for changes to the piece. For example, a mother who's sharing the story of her teenage daughter’s eating disorder may want you to omit the name of the treatment center where her daughter receives help.

Explain Your Syndication

When you have a final draft ready, be sure to share it with the person you've written about. This is also the time when you'll want to share where this content will appear. Be specific so there are no unwelcome surprises for your interviewee.

You may say, “I’ll be sharing this story on my blog in (month). As part of my promotional strategy, I'll also be posting excerpts to social media networks and I might talk about it on my podcast or in my newsletter.”

Follow Up

On the day the content goes live, reach out and let the person know. Thank them for sharing. If you’re getting positive feedback include that with your message so you're interviewee knows that their story is making a difference.

Adding stories to PLR content is a great way to customize it. Whether you share your story or someone else's, stay focused on your ultimate goal—connecting with and inspiring your community.

Grab your free checklist that shows you step-by-step how to share a friend’s story on your blog or website! Join our free Facebook group and grab your copy!

The 4 Essential Elements of Good Stories

I used to struggle with my content marketing. I wanted to create content that would connect with my audience but no matter what I posted, I couldn’t get any engagement. I knew I was sending a good amount of traffic to my blog and social media channels so I was stumped.

Finally, I decided to take some actual training in content marketing to help me examine and diagnose my problem. During the training, we reviewed my website, blog, and social media channels. And we quickly pinpointed the problem. My content was too sterile. It sounded like I was talking at my audience instead of having a conversation with them.

I learned how to overcome this problem by weaving stories into my content so it felt more natural.

When it comes to personalizing your content with stories, it can be helpful to understand what makes a good story. These four elements can guide you through the storytelling process…

Goal

Every compelling story starts with a goal. Sometimes, the goal is simple like learning how to use new software. Sometimes, the goal is more complex like seeking a life partner or learning how to eat in healthy ways.

Before you tell a story, pause to reflect on the goal. For example, my goal was to boost her engagement rate and get more feedback from my community about what they wanted to see from me.

Motivation

Motivation is the why behind your goal. It’s what keeps driving you forward even in the face of obstacles and setbacks. Motivation can differ from person to person. You may be motivated to learn new content marketing skills because you want to advertise your business.

But your friend may be motivated to learn content marketing because she wants to earn enough money to bring her husband home from his job. In my case, I wanted a deeper connection with my target audience.

Conflict

Conflict is the obstacle between what you want and how you'll achieve it. Conflict is sometimes internal such as not being sure of the next move, doubting yourself, or getting stuck in a negative mindset.

Sometimes conflict is external. This happens when a force outside of yourself is preventing you from accomplishing your goal. For example, you lack the software you need to create a website or you lack the time to build your business.

Overcoming

The final element in any good story is the moment when you overcome an obstacle and achieve the results you wanted. How you overcome depends on your conflict. For example, you may have been dealing with negative thinking and a conversation with a friend helped you let go of those thoughts.

With external conflict, the overcoming is usually the result of taking action. If your goal was to build your own website and your conflict was that you’re not good with technology, then your moment of overcoming may have been purchasing an online course to learn how to use WordPress.

The best way to learn how to use stories in your content is to study how other marketers weave stories into their topics. The more you do this the easier it will get to see how the four elements work together to create gripping stories



Sharing stories is easy when you use our checklist – join our Facebook group now and get your free checklist!

Customize Your PLR with Stories

I love PLR content! I frequently buy it to use in my own business.

If you aren't sure what PLR content is, let me explain. PLR stands for Private label Rights. Private label rights are a special right or license you purchase which grants you the right to use content written by someone else as your own. Normally, using someone else's content can be considered plagiarism. But with PLR content, the author is giving you the right to use their material. 

What does this mean? Usually, this means you have the right to modify or re-write the material. You also have the right to claim to be the author. And you have the right to sell or give away the material as your own.

This is a very affordable way to get quality content for your site. Perhaps your writing skills aren't as good as you would like. Or perhaps you just don't have the time to create your own content. And in either case, hiring someone to create content for you can be very expensive. 

There is a downside however. Whereas a ghostwriter will be creating content only for you, PLR content may be sold to a multitude of users. And the internet loves original content and can actually punish users of duplicate content.

That's why it is so important to personalize your content.

When I talk about personalizing PLR content I get a lot of confusion. Many PLR users always post the content exactly as-is because they are afraid they'll “mess it up”. Or they may not understand they have the right to edit the material as they see fit.

While personalizing PLR isn’t necessary, it can help you strengthen the bond you have with your community.

Imagine you’ve purchased PLR on the topic of weight loss mistakes. You could use it as-is but if you take some time to personalize it, you’ll get more traction. You can do that by sharing a story from your own life, like the moment when you realized you’d eaten a whole bag of chips only to discover it wasn’t a single-serving bag. Or when you admit that you skipped your morning workout two days in a row. Moments like that make you relatable in the eyes of your audience.

Here are three more benefits of customizing PLR with stories…

Stories Grab Attention

You may not realize it but stories are around you constantly. You hear stories of heroism or tragedy on the news. You watch fictional stories on Netflix. Your best friend shares stories about her day with you.

Using stories is a powerful communication technique. It gives readers and website visitors a reason to pause and pay attention. They want to know what’s going to happen next and how the story ends.

Stories Invite Conversation

Just as you hear stories all day long, you also talk about them all day long. You do this when you gossip about a co-worker at work, when you recommend your Netflix must-binge to a friend, or when you repeat a news story to your spouse.

But stories invite conversation, too. Telling readers of your parenting website about your toddler’s tantrum can lead to discussions on what causes tantrums, tips on how to spot them before they happen, and more.

Stories Create a Feeling of Belonging

Not only do stories create conversation they also help the people feel like they belong. Every day, your community is bombarded with ideas of what they should look like, how they should parent, what they should wear, how they should eat, etc.

It can get to the point that your visitors feel like everyone else has a wonderful life. But when you share a story and peel back the curtain, it creates a bond. Suddenly, your people don’t feel alone any more. They can look at your blog and proudly say, “She gets me!”

Customizing your PLR with stories doesn’t have to complicated or time-consuming. It only takes a few minutes to add a relevant story to your content. Doing this will grow your community in new and exciting ways!

Need a source for great PLR articles? Here's where I go!