Last week, I was following a Black Friday affiliate promotion in the copywriting world, hosted by John McIntyre.
(Bare with me, copywriting isn’t the point here)
I don’t normally invest in any Mega Bundles because…
Most of them feel like 1-2 gold nuggets paired with a bunch of trash.
I’ve long realized that…
The negative push from one bad apple inside a bundle… is 10x stronger than the “benefit” you get through a bundle.
This means –
If a prospect sees “ONE THING” they don’t want in your bundle… they bounce from the whole offer, regardless of how much excess value there is.
(Take notes. This is important if you ever decide to launch a bundle.)
It’s the same this time.
I went through the sales page and saw… “How to Write Emails That Make Sales Like Snow Cones on a Hot-As-Hell Day” by Maliha M
The second I saw this title, I felt like Matrix just reloaded –
“🤔 This looks oddly familiar.”
And I was right.
I dug through my resources and found…
“How to write words that sell like a Florida Snow Cone Vendor” by a brilliant copywriter named Cole Schafer.
Now…
I don’t know who Maliha is. I have not seen her product.
So… maybe they are clones… or perhaps they are completely different.
But for 2 copywriting courses?
This feels too swipe for my liking.
I shared my thoughts with Daniel Throssell (arguably the greatest email marketer alive and also a participant in this affiliate promo)…
He also admitted that –
He saw the name and winced.
So… yeah, it’s a no for me.
But this did get me thinking –
When is a swipe a brilliant idea… vs a total plagiarism?
If she’s offering email marketing service to a fish vendor, saying –
“I’ll show you how to sell your fish like snow cones on a hot-as-hell day.”
I think I’d be fine.
I might even laugh.
If she’s offering email marketing service in general, saying –
“I’ll show you how to sell your products like snow cones on a hot-as-hell day.”
I think that’s okay, too.
At the end of the day, you are offering a DFY service, and it’s two completely different markets with two different avatars.
But…
If you are selling a copywriting course… to copywriters… copying a name… from another copywriter’s course… selling to copywriters…
This mouthful doesn’t feel right.
Lesson?
I don’t have one. I told you before that I created this newsletter for myself. It’s what I wish I knew 10 years ago.
And this feels like a powerful insight I want to share with my past self.
To be continued…
– WYH