Copywriters are often advised to collect a “swipe file”. To gather excellent examples of copy we come across.
Top quality examples can be useful… no matter what kind of freelancing you’re doing.
For copywriting…
It might be famous ads from the late greats like Caples, Collier, or Cone.
Or from our contemporaries like: Carlton, Cattoni, or Clark.
Apart from reading, writing, and studying…
Swipe files can provide inspiration for the copy we’re busy working on.
But…
For every Batman… there’s a Joker
Lurking on the dark side of swipe files are 2 dangers:
First: Using them as a crutch. Patterning your writing after them… but never learning the frameworks and skills they demonstrate.
Second: The serpent hiding in the darkest shadows… the temptation to copy.
Sometimes it seems barely anyone is resisting this out in the marketing world.
It’s not so much people copying stuff directly from the advertising greats.
But rabidly clamoring for what the “gurus” dish out.
They encourage writers to swipe their copy and use it themselves. Often as-is.
People are so excited to have these “swipes” for their own emails and websites.
Becoming dependent on them for their regular fix.
A swiping addiction.
Soon we’ll need a 12-step course for recovering swipers.
Apart from hindering progress toward mastery of your craft…
Using content without making significant alterations is madness!
Even if you have permission to use it.
Reason being:
Long ago Google started checking for duplicate content on websites — and there’s a risk of lower rankings.
They also spy for duplicate emails. And bring down the spam hammer on them.
Even reusing your own emails isn’t advisable.
So it’s best to change the subject line and opening section of any that are repurposed.
And significantly change website content… to avoid the Google finger wag.
Most importantly with swipes…
They’re good for seeing techniques at work in the real world.
But they won’t show you the person the writer was aiming at — the market.
You can guess… but you’ll likely have a hazy view.
And if you’re not part of the market yourself… then you just might not “get it”.
Figuring that out is hard work you can’t sidestep — unless clients hand you market research on a silver platter.
So… sure… enjoy the example of swipes.
Gain inspiration. And learn a thing or two from the masters.
But don’t let them be a crutch… or become an addiction.
If you’re looking for inspiration…
And cross your heart you’re not going to swipe this as-is.
Reading my email archive can help pass time on a slow day:
https://milham.me/archive
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Chris Milham