8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How do you organize your swipe files?

by Dexx
6 replies
Hey all,

We all know the importance of having swipe files to inspire ideas, and use what is proven in our marketing efforts.

The old school teachers from way back (such as Gary H) recommended keeping swipe file on 3x5 cards in a box etc.

Just wondering how many of you keep your swipe files organized?

Excel files? Various .txt files in a folder? etc.

What about when you see great magazine / direct mail formats?

~Dexx
#files #organize #swipe
  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    I use Google Notebook...

    http://www.google.com/notebook

    It makes it easy clip ads and sort them out. I also save them as PDF's by folder. For example I have an Agora folder full of their stuff.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3405377].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisPJr
    I use Evernote to organize my swipe file. These are just a few of the ways I make it work for me:
    • Clip websites from the internet with the browser plugin
    • Clip emails by forwarding to evernote email address
    • Take pictures of physical/printed materials with iPhone Evernote app

    And with Evernote, it makes any text that appears in your notes searchable. This comes in handy if you swipe from print a lot like I do.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3406126].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Pusateri
    For hard copies I don't. There's stuff everywhere...but I can always find what I need.

    I have used Evernote for a while to capture web stuff, but lately I've taken a shine to Diigo Web Highligher.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3406808].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DanielleLynnCopy
    I've been using something called Epim, so far it's working out well for me
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3406849].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Len Bailey
    I have a couple of drawers in my file cabinet where I organize hardcopy swipes by niche (financial, health, etc.). If the piece was written by a big-name writer (Makepeace, Halbert, Ogilvy, etc.) I'll have it in its own folder within the niche.

    I do pretty much the same thing with my electronic swipes, saving them as PDFs in a shared folder on my network.

    It's a simple enough system, and makes it easy as pie to find the perfect inspiration for any project.

    Hope this helps,
    Signature

    Len Bailey
    Copywriter/Consultant
    Feel free to connect on LinkedIn or Twitter

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3411655].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author lconsult
    I also use Google Notebook... supplemented, of course, with a lot of post-it notes before they make their way into the notebook!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3440698].message }}

Trending Topics