The concept behind swiping is confusing

Incorrect.

Swiping has nothing whatsoever to do with what you think it is.

A swipe file is basically a catalogue of other sales letters which you keep on file to see how others have written sales copy for any given niche. You can use your swipe file for ideas and inspiration as and when needed.

The other occasion where you might see the word 'swipe' being used in a copywriting sense is with what's called 'swipe and deploy'. Essentially adapting sales copy to your own needs or for example, marketing ideas swapped out between one business niche to another.

Best,


Mark Andrews

A swipe file is nothing more than a collection of sales letters and marketing packages used to study what has worked best in the past, and for inspiration.

The thing about copywriting is that nobody, even the very best copywriters, can reliably predict which ads, sales letters, or marketing packages are going to be winners. Opinions are subjective, and interviews are notoriously unreliable. In the end, the winning ads in the marketplace are those with the highest conversion rates.

Those ads (including here the various types of marketing copy) become controls, or perhaps even grand controls. They are worthy of addition to a copywriter's swipe files for future study and analysis. There are reasons why they worked as well as they did, some obvious and others less so. What is certain is at the time, conditions were right for them to succeed.

A successful ad is like a fine watch. There are many discrete components functioning together in perfect harmony. Beyond the basic structural elements of an ad (header, deck, lead, proof, etc.), there is an underlying theme and motivational process that appeals to the reader from beginning to end.

For that reason, simply swiping the ad with the substitution of another product is seldom effective. To borrow and combine parts of various ads is usually even less effective, and results in what might best be called the Frankenstein approach, or Frankencopy.

Therefore, swipe files are ideally used as learning tools, to understand what has survived the tests of time and consumer appeal. The copywriter can use them to gain ideas. When enough successful ads have been studied, or better yet, written out by hand, the cadence, flow and style of successful ads becomes more apparent and ingrained.

The discerning copywriter can then develop excellent marketing copy based on his/her own implementation of those ideas, knowing there is a good chance it will be successful. While styles and tastes continually evolve, underlying human psychology has changed very little over time.

The "fill-in-the-blank" tools are often based on structures taken from successful marketing copy, but they do not provide the underlying theme and motivational process required for success. A clear understanding of that process can only come from extensive study and experience.

To answer your question, some do swipe copy almost word-for-word, and that is indeed plagiarism. Most, however, use swipe files only for study and ideas, writing their own copy using lessons of the past to beat the controls of today.

Listen-

The secret to swiping isn't stealing. Think of it this way: all great copy have a charming component. It's like a human being with charisma.

They interest people, have an irresistible pull to their offer. Imagine a person who speaks at a certain rhythm, with a charming voice, with great looks, and knows how to word his sentences to set your desires ablaze.

That's copy - or at least what great copy is. Swiping involves imitation of the rhythm in the copy, how the copywriter transits from one idea to another, the overall concept of the copy, as well as the attention-pulling elements like headlines. (Which is most commonly swiped)

To swipe effectively, you need to understand why the original works. A great copywriter once said that copy cannot be swiped through replacement of words... Because it's reminiscent of a product in a different market.

It loses flavor. But if you can capture the essence effectively, it shows your copywriting skills.

- Winston Thaler