I have a question for the forum. A close friend of mine would like to begin writing articles in a few areas that she feels comfortable with. I have used her writing in some of my sites, and feel she could be very successful. She would like to start by writing a few articles, and selling then at a lower price, but offering them to multiple clients-perhaps 5 max for each article. Is this a possibility? Or do clients always want an exclusive article? Can she retain the copyright as long as that is stated in the offer?
In content writing matters this is perfectly possible as long as she makes aware her clients of the fact that they are purchasing non-exclusive content and that she is retaining the copyright over her final work.
What your friend wants to do is sell the articles with private label rights, also known as PLR. It's something that many writers do, myself included. PLR articles can be used in most of the same ways as other articles with a few exceptions, they can't be submitted unchanged to article directories (because the directory won't allow it), resold with private label rights (only the writer can do that), or given away for free (unless by the writer). Many clients are ok with purchasing articles this way, as long as they are told upfront that the articles will be sold to other people. Most writers encourage their clients to rewrite the articles to remove any effects of duplicate content. but it's entirely up to the client. PLR articles are a win for the writer because she can make a profit from selling her articles multiple times AND a win for the client because he is able to purchase the articles for less. For example, I'm selling my PLR articles for $1.50/each, whereas exclusively they would cost $25/each. Not that big of a difference when you think about 1 article, but when you start talking about 10+ articles, the savings really add up.
Thank you all for your comments. It looks like the PLR articles will be a great way for her to start.