There are several reasons to consider rewriting DFY content before you publish or repurpose it. When you set out to use the content you just purchased, the very least you should do is give it a new title and change out or add images to make it at least a little different. After that it depends on what you’re going to do with the content that determines how much you might need to rewrite it.

The truth is, most people purchase DFY content in order to save time and effort. Not everyone loves writing, and that makes creating content feel like a chore to be avoided at all costs.  

That’s where done-for-you content comes in. The problem is that sometimes you just want to slap the content up and get it out there without changing it. After all, that’s what you’re supposed to be able to do with it, right? Having to spend time rewriting it can lead to feelings of frustration and wondering what the point of having DFY content even is.

The thing is, there are times when you don’t have to rewrite the content you’ve purchased. But there are other times when it is absolutely necessary to rewrite before publishing.

Here are 8 reasons you might want to consider rewriting DFY content:

Reason #1 – You are trying to rank for specific keywords

If you hope to drive traffic by ranking for specific keywords you should consider rewriting DFY content to not only provide uniqueness, but also ensure that what you’re adding or changing provides value, offers unique insights, and differs substantially from the original.

This is where adding your own insights, opinions, and voice to the content comes in handy.

The last thing you want to do is look like a dozen other people who posted the copy unchanged on their blogs or other channels. You’ll also want to make sure that you optimize for the keywords you’re trying to rank for, and that will definitely require at least some rewriting.

Fortunately, there are tools like RankMath* that can help you by providing a checklist to follow. You simply rewrite portions of your content to make the changes they suggest, and keep going until your score is in the green zone.

You can also use Copyscape to figure out how much you need to rewrite to make the content unique to you. What I do here is paste the original DFY content into Copyscape and see how many uses show up. You can also see how much of the content has been used, so you know whether you need to completely rewrite or just change parts of it.

Reason #2 – The content as written might not meet your goal

Every piece of content you publish should have a specific goal. But, while the information in the DFY content you’re using might be relevant to your topic, it might not work well to achieve your goal in its current form.

For example, in this post I outline 8 different goals you could set for any piece of content you create. These goals include things like creating brand awareness, creating community engagement, driving traffic to your site, and generating leads.

DFY content isn’t really created with specific content goals in mind because the vendors don’t know how you’re planning on using it. So, in order to ensure the content works to get the best results for the goal you set, you will probably have to spend at least a little time rewriting it.

Reason #3 – The content might be the wrong length for what you need

This is where rewriting DFY content gets fun.

When people first started creating DFY content for sale, the standard article length was 400 to 500 words. But now the accepted length of a blog post is at least 600-700 words. And if you’re creating pillar posts, those are expected to be around 2000 words.

That means you’re going to have to do some rewriting and even adding content if you’re working with a base article that’s only 400 words.

One way to do this is to expand on each point in the article by adding your own experiences and insights to the topic.

A second way to change the length is by combining two or more short articles into one longer one. You’ll probably have to rewrite bits and pieces here too, and add additional content in order to make the transition between articles seamless.

Here again, though, the goal for your content comes into play. While this longer content would be mostly used for blog posts and reports, for example, if you were using the content as a social media post or email message, then 400 words or even less might be the ideal length.

Reason #4 – The content doesn’t flow

Your content must have a natural flow, and not all DFY content has that. One of the reasons for this is that some DFY content writers are not native English speakers. So, they may use phrases and sentence structure that lack the natural flow of the language.

This is one place where rewriting DFY content is almost imperative. You want the content to be easy for your audience to read or listen to, depending on the format. Rewriting it in your own voice to give it your own personality and natural flow will do that. And if you’re unsure, try reading it out loud. You’ll soon see where the awkward bits are that can be tweaked even more.

Reason # 5 – The information provided is not correct

The number one rule of using DFY content is to always fact check the information provided.

The last thing you want to have happen is to be accused of providing misinformation when you’re trying to establish your authority on your chosen topics.

The other side of the coin here is that some DFY content, while nicely written, is full of generalities and short on verifiable information. In that case you should consider doing a little research of your own and rewriting to add in the facts you find. (And consider linking to your sources, so your readers can verify for themselves too!)

Reason #6 – Spelling and grammatical errors need to be corrected

You definitely want to take the time to clean up any spelling and grammatical errors there might be in the content. No one wants to read content that is filled with errors, and it doesn’t paint you in a very good light either even if you weren’t the original author.

Reason #7 – You want to add opportunities for monetization

As I mentioned earlier, every piece of content you create needs to have a goal, and somewhere along the line that goal should lead to opportunities for monetization. After all, you are in business to make money, right?

Rewriting DFY content with an eye to directing your audience to your own products for sale or affiliate products you are promoting helps to encourage clicks and sales.

You always want to leave your reader/listener with a next step to take by including a call to action, even if it’s only to sign up to your list for more information.

Reason #8 – You want to link to older content

Internal linking on your blog is a crucial step for search engine optimization. It’s important that your audience has a way to find more information on topics that interest them. So, if you have published related posts in the past, you should be able to link to them in your current content.

If you can’t easily link to other content, then rewriting DFY content to provide opportunities to add links to more relevant information found elsewhere on your site is something you should be doing.

It’s also a good idea to go back to your older posts once in awhile and see if there are opportunities there to link to newer content.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are several reasons to consider rewriting DFY content. But do it with a specific result in mind. If you’re just rewriting for the sake of rewriting, then it’s making things harder than they have to be. And the ultimate goal of DFY content is to make our lives as content creators easier, rather than harder.

*Note: This post includes affiliate links, for which I will receive a small commission should you make a purchase.