It was pointed out to me that someone has been copying some of my marketing message on my websites and Twitter. In fact, some of it was word-for-word, just changing my business name for his.
What’s kind of funny (or sad, I suppose) about the situation is that the person has no clue whether my message is worth copying because he has no idea what the results have been with that message. I consider myself a successful direct market designer, but that certainly doesn’t mean everything I try in the marketing realm works successfully.
It’s natural when you’re starting out to pull whatever lessons you can from those who have gone before you. That’s the whole purpose of this blog: To share what I’ve learned the way other people shared with me when I was starting. But there’s a difference between letting something be an inspiration to you as you develop your own style and message, and simply copying it.
As quickly as possible, you really should come up with your own message based on your goals, your experience, your personality, etc. And don’t be silly enough to think that what you see in someone else’s marketing is actually working effectively. One thing worse than copying someone is copying their bad ideas.
I could sit down with you and go over everything I’ve done to make my business successful. But if you tried to apply those things exactly to your business, it’s likely you wouldn’t have the exact same results. There are just too many variables and intangible things that can’t be passed along in a conversation or copied from someone else’s marketing.
You’re going to have a much higher rate of success when you’re coming up with your own marketing ideas that mesh with your goals, experience and personality. If you’re not experienced with marketing, buy a book on the topic and see what makes sense to you based on thorough discussions of why certain ideas work or don’t work. Or consult with a marketing expert.
To close… a couple of FYI items for you:
1. The direct marketing world, in particular, is a small universe. Seems like everyone knows everyone else. Good stories or bad, word about you will spread… fast. (Even faster in these days of Twitter and Facebook.) Just something to be aware of.
2. There are no secrets on the Internet. And there are tools that can find if material has been copied from another site. Don’t think that because you’re not a big name, people won’t discover if you’ve, to put it politely, taken some shortcuts.
Be confident about what you offer and what makes you unique, and then chart your own path… don’t be riding on the coat-tails of someone else as they travel their own path.
Tags: Marketing