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by Stefan Pylarinos
8 replies
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#modelling #pages #peoples #sales
  • Profile picture of the author King Shiloh
    Banned
    I don't know if you are asking a question and answering it at the same time but what I have to let you know is that you should not steal someone's content - it will definitely get you into trouble no matter the kind of grammar you use to prove yourself right.

    Cheers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
      Modeling structure, premise, idea, etc. is perfectly legal.

      Whether it's "ethical" is a grey area. But it's certainly common.

      This is, in a very general sense, the entire premise behind the idea of "swipe files." There's a reason you see a trillion and three sales pages asking, "Who else wants to...,", suggesting that "If you want to _________, then this will be the most important letter you ever read," or letting you know that something will, "suck cash out of your prospect's wallet like a nuclear powered vacuum cleaner."

      The reason is because almost every copywriter has a huge stash of successful sales letters he uses to base the general premise of his copy off of. There's very little new under the sun. And there doesn't really need to be, until the old stops working.

      Should you do it?

      Well, it's PROBABLY the case that nobody will say anything...though that certainly shouldn't be taken for legal counsel. AND it works.

      As long as you're borrowing structure and idea, and not plagiarizing. And hell, even the plagiarizing is a grey area, as evidenced by the examples above. This is what I find most reprehensible about contemporary copywriting.

      These letters get stolen...errrrr..."adapted for private use"...because they work. They convert. And laws governing their fair use are addled at best. It's not only easier than re-inventing the wheel, it's probably smarter in many ways.

      I can point you to A-list copywriters who are nothing but glorified template writers. You can find websites for big name copywriters showing "samples" that are cheap knockoffs of famous letters. So you're in good company.

      Hell, I know MY OWN most successful pieces have been based largely upon successful letters. So God knows my laundry isn't clean here, either.

      It isn't the only way to do it. But it sure as hell is successful.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
        All the good copywriters have what is called a "swipe file".

        It's where they keep/add winning headlines, body copy, etc, so when they need to create new sales pages they don't have to reinvent the wheel, they can simply take proven elements and construct the new piece so it has a better chance of success.

        That's not to say it's an acceptable practice to rip someone else's work off, only that it is standard practice to pay attention to what works in the marketplace.

        ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hancox
    You can MODEL, in the sense of following the same idea flow.

    However, don't COPY.

    Firstly, for the obvious reason that you could be violating someone's copyrighted material.

    But secondly, your product is going to be different from theirs, so copying the sales letter is just silly.

    As a copywriter, I study other sales letters, and as I read, I ask myself with each section:

    "What POINTS are they making here?"

    You can make similar POINTS in your own copy, but in your own words.

    The other danger is, if you use too many of the same words/phrases as the other sales letter, people might perceive you as just an imitation of the "original".

    That's hardly going to build your AUTHORITY in that niche, is it?

    I hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by LifestyleTrans View Post

    Plus, people already do it by using phrases and techniques that guys like Frank Kern use...
    "Using techniques" and "using ideas" are generally ok.

    "Using phrases" generally isn't: that's using other people's words, which is plagiarism.

    Yes, people do it all the time, and very often get away with it. They're still stealing, though. "Modelling" is usually (not always!) a euphemism for "stealing".
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  • Profile picture of the author Adrianne_
    As long as it's not word for word, you should not run into
    any problems. Plus it will save you a whole lot of time.
    I totally agree that there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
    I've seen some of my ads blatantly copied by other
    marketers and they didn't even bother trying to change
    it up a bit but with you tweeking your copy here and there
    is just marketing, plain and simple.
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    • Profile picture of the author richard_s_smith
      good points all, so many sales and squeeze pages seem to look very similar, certain things just work, looking at the great copywriters and not so great, you start to notice trends, patterns and flows to the writing both good and bad, i try to write with those in mind
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    There is a fine line between modeling and copying. I think it'll be fine using the general structure and format, but you cannot duplicate sentences or phrases as that would cross over into plagiarism, and this could definitely get you into trouble.

    It's best to stay on the safe side and avoid duplicating anything other than the general structure and format of the sales letter you like. When you rewrite/reword something it has to be significantly different, i.e. don't just consult the dictionary and change out one or two words and then expect to call it "unique".

    Paul
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