Let’s rap about my last email on swiping.<\/p>\n
It was about warning people who see blatant copy-and-paste stealing\u00a0and, thus, think it’s okay, so they then do it — thereby hurting\u00a0their sales, their market place positioning, and their very\u00a0reputations.<\/p>\n
It got some interesting feedback, too.<\/p>\n
For example:<\/p>\n
Amongst some replies I’ve gotten about this subject are people who\u00a0insist copying and pasting copy, emails, etc whole cloth (or\u00a0changing just a few words here and there) is okay because (and I\u00a0quote) “Dan Kennedy, Matt Furey, and almost every great copywriter\u00a0say copywriting is assembling good copy from a swipe file not\u00a0thinking up totally new ideas and concepts.”<\/p>\n
Do they now?<\/p>\n
Well, let’s take a look-see:<\/p>\n
Dishonest theft is taking actual trade names, book\/product titles,\u00a0brands or verbatim copy and\/or utilizing someone’s intellectual\u00a0property in an environment where your advertising may very well\u00a0bump up against his<\/strong><\/p>\n
– Dan Kennedy <\/strong>
\n“NO BS Marketing Letter” <\/strong>
\nJanuary 2004 issue<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nHmm.<\/p>\n
Doesn’t sound like he’s advocating cut & paste.<\/p>\n
At least,\u00a0not in a\u00a0plagiarizing\u00a0kinda way.<\/p>\n
So how about this one, too:<\/p>\n
The lazy use of the word ‘steal’ by marketing teachers has done\u00a0more harm than good as people who are fully capable of writing\u00a0their own copy or coming up with their own product ideas, are too\u00a0bone-headed to do so. Instead, they cut and paste others’ emails or\u00a0ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n
– Matt Furey<\/strong>
\n“Internet Marketing Money-Generator” <\/strong>
\nOctober 2006 issue<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIncidentally, Matt Furey went into a lot more on this.<\/p>\n
Including how he throws out anyone from his coaching program he catches\u00a0copying & pasting and stealing copy, title names, etc. and will not\u00a0give anyone who teaches or advocates stealing others’ copy an ounce\u00a0of his knowledge.<\/p>\n
And this from an old school master:<\/p>\n
The idea of an ad or a headline demands its own shape. It cannot\u00a0be fitted into someone else’s solution.<\/strong><\/p>\n
– Gene Schwartz<\/strong>
\nBreakthrough Advertising<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n(And, I would add, this goes double for email…)<\/p>\n
Also, a quick note on this:<\/p>\n
Ken McCarthy used to correspond with Gene Schwarz (by mail, this\u00a0was before email) and said in his copywriting course that Gene was\u00a0the nicest guy in the world, but swiping was something that really\u00a0pissed him off.<\/p>\n
Wonder why…<\/p>\n
More:<\/p>\n
This goes beyond right-or-wrong.<\/p>\n
Or, getting nailed with a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Copy & paste is just flat out dumb.<\/p>\n
In fact, I asked Doug D’anna about swiping once.<\/p>\n
Doug is easily one of the single best direct mail copywriters on\u00a0the planet. And I was curious about what he thought on the subject\u00a0when I interviewed him for my “Copywriting Grab Bag” product.<\/p>\n
Want to know what he said?<\/p>\n
You do?<\/p>\n
Okay, if you insist:<\/p>\n
When I first started out I had a swipe file too. You know what the\u00a0first thing I discovered was when I realized who Gary Bencivenga\u00a0was and the game I was in? I threw everybody else’s piece away. Why\u00a0would I do that? Because I might have been thinking that I was\u00a0swiping something that was good or using a model that was a winner\u00a0when it wasn’t. That was the first thing. You need to have control\u00a0pieces in your swipe file. But, you’ve got to remember that control\u00a0piece worked for that piece at that time in that market in that\u00a0environment. So it’s really more of a case study to look at.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I realize this is going a bit deep for the copy & paste guys.<\/p>\n
That’s why I’m typing reaaally slow here.<\/p>\n
So for the copywriting fanboys who want to appeal to non-existent\u00a0teachings from various copywriting authorities… I’ve never heard\u00a0any one of ’em say a swipe file should be used to steal and copy &\u00a0paste anything verbatim.<\/p>\n
Should you use a swipe file to get ideas?<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Use it to learn how to structure a persuasive argument (paragraph\u00a0structures, flow of info & emotion, headline\/opening\u00a0sentence\/bullet point formulas & templates, etc)?<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Be inspired by other ads?<\/p>\n
Most definitely.<\/p>\n
Apply ideas & concepts & offers you see working in one market to\u00a0another market where nobody else is using it?<\/p>\n
Absolutely.<\/p>\n
But copy & paste verbatim and plagiarize?<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Not only is it flirting with being illegal, but it’s just dumb to\u00a0try to pass off someone else’s personality, positioning, unique\u00a0speech peculiarities, etc and think people aren’t going to either\u00a0see right through it or outright catch you (and notify the people\u00a0you are stealing from — further making you look like a complete\u00a0dumb ass).<\/p>\n
When that happens, trust vanishes.<\/p>\n
When trust vanishes sales die.<\/p>\n
And, when sales die, so does your business.<\/p>\n
This is why in my “Email Players” newsletter I don’t advocate copy\u00a0& paste.<\/p>\n
I give email examples.<\/p>\n
Lots of ideas & concepts you can run with.<\/p>\n
And, show you what tactics are working for me.<\/p>\n
But you have to be able to think. You have to have common sense.\u00a0And, you have to apply what you learn.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, it’s wholly incompatible for you.<\/p>\n
And, will just disappoint.<\/p>\n
More details here:<\/p>\n