Let’s rap about my last email on swiping.
It was about warning people who see blatant copy-and-paste stealing and, thus, think it’s okay, so they then do it — thereby hurting their sales, their market place positioning, and their very reputations.
It got some interesting feedback, too.
For example:
Amongst some replies I’ve gotten about this subject are people who insist copying and pasting copy, emails, etc whole cloth (or changing just a few words here and there) is okay because (and I quote) “Dan Kennedy, Matt Furey, and almost every great copywriter say copywriting is assembling good copy from a swipe file not thinking up totally new ideas and concepts.”
Do they now?
Well, let’s take a look-see:
Dishonest theft is taking actual trade names, book/product titles, brands or verbatim copy and/or utilizing someone’s intellectual property in an environment where your advertising may very well bump up against his
– Dan Kennedy
“NO BS Marketing Letter”
January 2004 issue
Hmm.
Doesn’t sound like he’s advocating cut & paste.
At least, not in a plagiarizing kinda way.
So how about this one, too:
The lazy use of the word ‘steal’ by marketing teachers has done more harm than good as people who are fully capable of writing their own copy or coming up with their own product ideas, are too bone-headed to do so. Instead, they cut and paste others’ emails or ads.
– Matt Furey
“Internet Marketing Money-Generator”
October 2006 issue
Incidentally, Matt Furey went into a lot more on this.
Including how he throws out anyone from his coaching program he catches copying & pasting and stealing copy, title names, etc. and will not give anyone who teaches or advocates stealing others’ copy an ounce of his knowledge.
And this from an old school master:
The idea of an ad or a headline demands its own shape. It cannot be fitted into someone else’s solution.
– Gene Schwartz
Breakthrough Advertising
(And, I would add, this goes double for email…)
Also, a quick note on this:
Ken McCarthy used to correspond with Gene Schwarz (by mail, this was before email) and said in his copywriting course that Gene was the nicest guy in the world, but swiping was something that really pissed him off.
Wonder why…
More:
This goes beyond right-or-wrong.
Or, getting nailed with a lawsuit.
Copy & paste is just flat out dumb.
In fact, I asked Doug D’anna about swiping once.
Doug is easily one of the single best direct mail copywriters on the planet. And I was curious about what he thought on the subject when I interviewed him for my “Copywriting Grab Bag” product.
Want to know what he said?
You do?
Okay, if you insist:
When I first started out I had a swipe file too. You know what the first thing I discovered was when I realized who Gary Bencivenga was and the game I was in? I threw everybody else’s piece away. Why would I do that? Because I might have been thinking that I was swiping something that was good or using a model that was a winner when it wasn’t. That was the first thing. You need to have control pieces in your swipe file. But, you’ve got to remember that control piece worked for that piece at that time in that market in that environment. So it’s really more of a case study to look at.
I realize this is going a bit deep for the copy & paste guys.
That’s why I’m typing reaaally slow here.
So for the copywriting fanboys who want to appeal to non-existent teachings from various copywriting authorities… I’ve never heard any one of ’em say a swipe file should be used to steal and copy & paste anything verbatim.
Should you use a swipe file to get ideas?
Of course.
Use it to learn how to structure a persuasive argument (paragraph structures, flow of info & emotion, headline/opening sentence/bullet point formulas & templates, etc)?
Yes.
Be inspired by other ads?
Most definitely.
Apply ideas & concepts & offers you see working in one market to another market where nobody else is using it?
Absolutely.
But copy & paste verbatim and plagiarize?
No.
Not only is it flirting with being illegal, but it’s just dumb to try to pass off someone else’s personality, positioning, unique speech peculiarities, etc and think people aren’t going to either see right through it or outright catch you (and notify the people you are stealing from — further making you look like a complete dumb ass).
When that happens, trust vanishes.
When trust vanishes sales die.
And, when sales die, so does your business.
This is why in my “Email Players” newsletter I don’t advocate copy & paste.
I give email examples.
Lots of ideas & concepts you can run with.
And, show you what tactics are working for me.
But you have to be able to think. You have to have common sense. And, you have to apply what you learn.
Otherwise, it’s wholly incompatible for you.
And, will just disappoint.
More details here:
Ben Settle
