Why copycats can be your greatest gift

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:: 00:00

Don't worry about copycats. This is something I often find myself saying to clients along with, don't worry about copying other people and reminding them that just because someone else is offering a particular product or service, that doesn't mean you can't do because there's only one of you with your unique expertise and experience. But I did find myself feeling irritated recently because every time I opened Facebook or Instagram,

:: 00:31

they seem to be somebody promoting a content planning session. And people kept sending me sales pages for content planning classes or coworking content planning sessions, like the Getty plan sessions that I started running in my co-writers club last year. Now I'm not saying I invented any of these things. Of course I didn't. And of course, I'm not saying that, but what I do know is that every product or service I offer comes from my own unique experience.

:: 00:57

So it's either something that's worked for me or my clients or combination of the two, or it might be something I've seen working in a completely different industry for a completely different audience that I've put my own content spin on. If you like. And when I see a sales page that looks suspiciously similar to one of mine, guess what the people offering these classes or sessions are usually on my email list and have opened every darn email about the products.

:: 01:28

They seem to have been inspired by it, which is kind of irritating when you've been sending a content planner for more than five years and trying to innovate and improve every single step of the way. And when you've built a strategy that is tried and tested with hundreds, actually thousands of clients, and I'm not really proud to admit this, but the latest one I saw,

:: 01:49

which was offering coworking content planning sessions for what a tenner really kind of got my go. And it was at that point that I had to give myself a good talking to and remind myself of some advice that I often give my coaching clients don't get mad, get better because sure. You can make a few quid in the short-term by taking someone else's product or service and repackaging it for your audience.

:: 02:14

But being a follower is not a great long-term business strategy. And I'm glad to say I've never been a follower. And as I found myself saying to a friend last week, anyone who's ever created content can host a content planning session. Anyone with even a tiny bit of knowledge, 10 creates a downloadable calendar with awareness days and key dates. I first started publishing something like that about five years ago,

:: 02:40

and there's a lot more of those types of resources around now. So yeah, anyone with even a small amount of content experience could host a content planning masterclass or a coworking session, regardless of whether anything they've posted has actually had proven results that matter to business owners, like for example, sales, but very few of those people who are now offering content planning classes and content planning co-working sessions have created content for launches of every shape or size from one off downloads to webinars,

:: 03:19

to online challenges, to big complex launches for online courses and memberships and physical products to very few of them, probably none in fact, have built complex sales funnels that integrate thousands of words of free and paid marketing content with upsells and down sells and cross sells. Neither do they have experience of writing sales pages, email campaigns with multiple segments and social media content content that sells physical and digital products in the thousands.

:: 03:53

Very few have built an email list of the size needed to pull off these big online launches or even small ones. So while they might be able to make a few quid running a content planning master class, they couldn't teach people how to plan and create content for a launch and show them how to create the type of content I've just listed out to you because they haven't done it.

:: 04:17

And that's what gave me the reframe I needed. And also the nudge I needed to create something my clients have been asking me for for some time, my courageous launch content kept. It's launching very thing. I'm recording this in early February, 2022. So depending on when you listen, there will be a link in the show notes to either the wait list or the product itself,

:: 04:43

and it will include templates for all of that content. I've just shared with you, everything you need to plan and execute a successful online launch. So templates for writing sales pages for one-off products, digital downloads webinars, online masterclasses mini courses, right up to you, big online launches for online courses and master classes, product descriptions for your website or shop.

:: 05:13

If you have one delivery emails for when you deliver your course or digital product onboarding sequences for new clients or customers, upsell email sequences, cross sell email sequences, copy for thank you. Pages, popups, email marketing campaigns, templates to map out and plan your launch. And I'll also include templates for launching a lead magnet because a lead magnet is a launch.

:: 05:45

It may be free, but there still needs to be a strategy. There still needs to be a funnel. There still needs to be quite a bit of content created. And that's in addition to the actual lead magnet itself. So copy for your landing page for your hook delivery emails. When you deliver the lead magnet, your nurture sequence, your upsell offer.

:: 06:07

If you have one, your promotional social media posts, that is a heck of a lot of content, even involved in just launching a lead magnet. And that's something that often needs to be part of a launch for an online course or membership then needs to be a funnel. So if you're feeling irritated by people copying your content or your offers, I hope that this will inspire you to see it as a gift because that's exactly what it is.

:: 06:35

And that's exactly what I recognized for myself recently. And it's what led me to launch a new product, which I think is going to help a lot of people with something that's really, really hard. So instead of getting mad with your copycats, ask yourself what you have to offer that they can't copy because they don't have your unique expertise or experience. And if you feel like you don't have anything else to offer,

:: 07:00

maybe this episode has made you feel a little bit uncomfortable because you've recognized that you're being a follower rather than a leader. I hope this will be your sign to reflect on what you need to experience and learn so that a few months, or maybe years down the line, you can offer a product or service that's difficult to copycat because it really is that being a leader rather than a follower,

:: 07:28

is what will keep you in business long-term and particularly in the online space. And if you're looking for help or advice around the legalities of copycats and copycatting, I do have a fab interview with Egbe Manton. Who's a lawyer who specializes in that very area. We'll link to it in the show notes, along to the link for my launch content kit.