When I started in Advertising as a Copywriter many moons ago I was advised by a very sage mentor in the game to swipe everything I saw that caught my eye. I was horrified. I mean, that’s stealing, right? Wrong. The idea is not to swipe and use as is – that IS stealing. What you do is swipe and learn.
Since time immemorial we have learned from the masters before us. We watch what they do and try to emulate it. Our early attempts look clumsy and we keep practising. When we get good enough we put our own spin on it and it looks nothing like the masters work anymore.
Learn from the best. If you came upon an opt-in form that tempted you to sign up … swipe it and see how you could adapt the idea for your own sites. If you get attracted by a headline that stops you in your tracks … swipe it and see if it will work is some way for your products. If you came upon a long form sales letter that enticed you to actually read all the way through … swipe it and study it then apply what you learn to your own sales letters.
My friend Miguel Alvarez has written a great article on how to start a swipe file system and rather than swipe it and create my own version I’m happy to refer you over to Miguel.
When you get there, look around. You’ll also find he has a FREE 10 Day Copywriting Challenge coming that would be well worth signing up for.
In the meantime, get yourself sorted to set up hold-alls for all those swipes you’ll gather. Your future sales will thank you for it.
I used to keep a swipe file when I started out in Internet marketing but I’ve got out of the habit. Thanks for the reminder!
Glad it helped 🙂
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