Review: iContentRobot
Today I took iContentRobot for a spin. This monthly membership was hyped a lot late today and given my interest in traffic and content I thought it was worth looking at. So let’s see what’s inside this “robot”. Unlike Web Traffic Machines, this system actually works. You just have to understand its limitations and decide if the price is worth it.
iContentRobot
iContentRobot bills itself as a content generation system that will generate unique content for each and every member that uses it. (Like many IM products sold recently, it’s a membership-based service with a monthly or annual charge. When ClickBank made recurring payments an option for publishers, it sure turned on the floodgates for this kind of service… though I should point out this product’s not sold through ClickBank.)
Unique content sure sounds good, but how is it done? They assure us it’s not done by combining snippets of text pulled from other sources. Nor is it rehashing existing articles or PLR.
Here’s the trick: iContentRobot is not a general-purppose content generator. It only works with a limited set of topics at any given time. This month there are 50 or so topics to choose from: credit card debt, wedding favors, easy weight loss, etc. Basically you log into the service, choose your topic, and it generates a unique article for you about that topic. Press a button and it will regenerate another article on the same topic.
So how does the content get created? My guess is that’s it’s actually a very simple system at its core. For any given topic they write one article. Then they write multiple variants of each sentence or phrase, probably a large number of variants. The variants are all written so that any version can be combined with any other version and be perfectly readable and understandable by a human. “Generating” an article is then done by randomly selecting variants. if the pool of variants is large enough, this should yield a “unique” article. This is all speculation on my part, but I’m pretty sure I’m write.
Let’s take a look at a couple of samples. Here’s one on credit card debt:
It was only a matter of time before the number of people experiencing credit card debt would increase; many families are now experiencing severe financial problems. With the debts rising, it is not surprising that individuals have started to realize the financial problem they have created by the constant and indiscriminate spending they have carried out. Before the situation goes too far, seek a credit card debt relief solution to the problem.
The first step is to stop using the cards altogether as continued use will just compound the problem and make it harder to resolve. The reluctance to make a decision can create further delays to obtaining credit card debt relief. There are various debt consolidation alternatives available but the three most common options are detailed below.
Obviously, the easiest way to proceed is to apply for a credit card with a low interest rate on balance transfers where the debt can be consolidated where repayments can be made regularly within a specified budget. Another method is to arrange a consolidation loan to relieve the debt, then paying just one amount which is easier and within a budget.
The only problem here is that the debtor must be determined enough to stick to the plan they have made until the end. Whilst arranging a new low interest rate card or loan to consolidate debts is the easiest option to take, it is also only available if the person’s credit rating is in tact.
Where credit card debt relief as an option fails, do not give up hope as the next step is a debt negotiation company. Debt relief companies usually have a good track record at this type of negotiation with the usual arrangement of around half the outstanding debt will have to be paid and any balance can be dropped.
The final option is bankruptcy which should not be taken lightly but if the debt is totally out of control and there is no way to escape from the debt trap then filing for bankruptcy may be the only way out. This is the last resort for a debtor because once they declare bankruptcy, their credit standing fails and it will be difficult to get further loans; however, the positive aspect of filing for bankruptcy is it enables a fresh start. Once your debts have been cleared, hopefully you will learn to be more responsible and not require debt relief from your credit cards ever again.
Now here’s the same topic again:
Credit card debt is beginning to cripple many people who are finding themselves with huge debts; the industry may be flourishing but the ease with which credit is given is causing financial distress to many. With the debts rising, it is not surprising that individuals have started to realize the financial problem they have created by the constant and indiscriminate spending they have carried out. It now remains for each individual to realize what a position they are in and find some way to obtain credit card debt relief.
The first thing to do before opting for financial help is to stop using the card all together because if this doesn’t happen it will be almost impossible to devise a debt relief plan. The reluctance to make a decision can create further delays to obtaining credit card debt relief. Of the options available, three in particular come to mind as the best ways to approach the debt consolidation problem.
Obviously, the easiest way to proceed is to apply for a credit card with a low interest rate on balance transfers where the debt can be consolidated where repayments can be made regularly within a specified budget. If this method is not available then a consolidation loan may be a debt relief answer where a number of debts can be replaced with just one at a lower monthly installment.
This option does require a certain level of commitment on the debtor’s part as once the debts are clear there must be no temptation to use them again. Debt consolidation does require that the debtor is still able to access credit and that they will have sufficient funds to repay the loan.
At this point, debt negotiation is one option available, provided you decide to make a lump sum payment and if the debtor lets a credit card debt relief company negotiate with the creditors on their behalf. The company can negotiate with the creditors to accept some money, generally about 50 percent of the outstanding balance and then write off the rest.
Bankruptcy should always be viewed as a last resort when all other options have been tried as there are serious consequences to this course of action. This is the last resort for a debtor because once they declare bankruptcy, their credit standing fails and it will be difficult to get further loans; however, the positive aspect of filing for bankruptcy is it enables a fresh start. However, the debtor must remember that opting for debt relief from their credit cards cannot become a regular feature and must be careful not to get into such a situation again.
Look closely and you’ll see what I mean.
So while this system produces “unique” articles, they’re still articles on the same topic. Useful if you want to submit articles to different article directories, not so useful if you’re trying to build a niche content site — it’d be silly to publish what is essentially the same article over and over again on the same site.
Note that you can’t resell the content in any way, so you can’t go and build PLR bundles or anything like that. You can use them on blogs, websites and article directories. It’ll be interesting to see how many of these articles show up on EzineArticles and other IM hotspots over the next month.
If you’re looking for unique content over a fixed set of niches, iContentRobot may be for you. Introductory pricing is $67/month.
Sponsored Link: PLRSiteBuilder is an easy way to create and maintain content-rich websites written by yours truly. Try it today!
Eric Giguere is the author of several printed books and knows a thing or two about content monetization. Subscribe to his AdSense blog today and never miss any of his insightful comments. And the not-so-insightful ones, for that matter.
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9 Responses to “Review: iContentRobot”
Eric - Like you, I have been getting the same flood of emails touting iContent (I think Chris “DJK” writes the best sales emails, BTW).
iContent might be great if you want to pump out a bunch of articles in the spirit of Bum Marketing. Or perhaps if you want to build a bunch of RFA pages. The problem is you can never be 100% sure that the articles are not duplicated for other members. There is no real way for the consumer to know.
I would rather write my own. Yes it takes time, but if you get into the habit of doing 10 or so a day it can be done.
Hi Eric,
I tend to agree with you on most of what you said except for one thing.
You don’t really get 50 topics, you get a few main topics and then several keywords under each topic.
So, when the creator of this software said that we get 50 topics each month, I don’t think this is really accurate.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Khaldoun
Eric,
I’ve always been intrigued by these content generators, spinners, but have always found them frustrating because the end result (the content) was garbage. With iContent my primary concern would be over the uniqueness (% of) of each regenerated article when this thing is fully subscribed. If you watch the 2nd video on the sales page, each regenerated article is less unique percentage wise than the previous one. In the end, you would still have to tweak the content to imprint your own style or voice.
Hi Eric,
I agree with your review. I signed up too and the content is ok for adding to your own blogs etc but I imagine it is going to be a nightmare for the article directories.
Just imagine having to check through hundreds of different but very similar articles.
It will be interesting to see what they think of it.
Thanks Eric, that was exactly what I needed to know. Have to agree with Jack and Xray too - I prefer to have quality unique articles. Guess there’s just no way to automate that.
Khaldoun: You’re right about the 50 topics. I was disappointed by that once I realized how things worked. I wonder if the old topics will still be available each month or if you lose out on them after 30 days?
And I’m glad you everyone liked the review. Building your own content is always the way to go for long-term traffic building to one site. The problem is that when you try to build an empire of many sites it’s hard to do that and still sleep
That’s why these solutions get created. It still takes a lot of work, though, you just end up spending time doing other things.
Great review Eric. I think the whole thing is very deceptive. The videos concentrate on the uniqueness of the articles generated, though as xray pointed out, with diminishing returns.
The vids only show how unique each article is compared to each other one generated, but nothing at all on how unique they are compared with everything else on the web.
So I ran one of the articles I generated with iCR through this free online service (no affiliate link, it’s a free tool) http://www.webmasterlabor.com/tools/checker/checker/checker2.php
It came up with “100% of your phrases were found on Google”. Hmm, lets try one of the other variations - exactly the same.
I then tried out all the other available topics, each time generating half a dozen new articles.
Every variation on every topic showed that every phrase was already found on Google. It seems most of the sentences in the articles it generates are cobbled together, probably from authority sites. OK, some of the phrases are only found a handful of times, however the key sentences (the ones you need in your article) have as many as 3 million results.
Unique my butt. You’re probably going to get rejected by all the major article directories with that much duplicate content in it. I doubt whether the SERP’s will regard it highly either.
This probably also explains the prohibition on selling any of the articles you generate.
The only use I can find for it is to generate articles which you will have to re-write to make them more unique than they are now.
I should’ve pointed out in the lengthy comment above, I am a different Steve to the one who posted earlier.