In 1872, George Davey went down for a month’s hard labour in Wandsworth Prison.
He was 10 years old.
Before I let you know his crime, I want to confess my own – see if you can relate …
I once felt the internet was riddled with repeats of the same idea, the same arguments – even the same content.
Nothing NEW left to discuss.
“Nobody’s gonna read my article, when they could spend their time reading [INSERT FAVOURITE BLOGGER HERE].” I’d say to myself.
Now I reckon that’s all bollocks.
Let me explain why …
My favourite blogger is Demian Farnworth, chief content writer for Copyblogger Media.
He launched a podcast in 2015 – adding a new lick of paint to all his old written content.
Same ideas. Same arguments. Even used some of the same copy in his scripts.
Demian stole the following idea from Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz (1966).
But that doesn’t mean his piece was unoriginal.
See, Demian took Schwartz’s market saturation concept and applied his own examples, to explain how to use it.
He used his own language, and style, to deliver one of his most simple (and essential) copywriting frameworks to date.
Now, here’s my confession: I just stole the framework from Demian, to write this blog post.
You could bounce away from here and download Demian’s podcast. Or you could stay, see how I’m using the framework, why it’s perfectly okay for me to steal his content, and find out what 10 year-old George Davey did to land himself a month in the nick.
Staying? Good.
Here’s the Schwartz/Farnworth market saturation concept in a nutshell:
There are five stages of market saturation. Depending on which stage your product lives in, you need to adapt your headline accordingly.
I’ve never tried using the framework, but I intend to for my next post. And so I’ve published my headline ideas for it below.
— Note: Just so happens my next post also ‘steals’ a concept from Demian … which he, again, previously stole anyway. —
The 5-Stage Audience Awareness Framework that Every Copywriter Should Steal
STAGE ONE:
All you need to do is make the promise
Demian’s example headline:
Build Muscle Anywhere
Demian’s example subheadline:
This 15-Minute Routine Focuses on Every Muscle in Your Body
My headline:
Write Irresistible Intros
My subheadline:
This 3-step copywriting formula makes it easier to persuade people
STAGE TWO:
Take your promise to the next level
Demian’s example headline:
Build Muscle on Almost Every Inch of Your Body
My headline:
Write Irresistible Intros that Help You Persuade People with Ease
STAGE THREE:
Lead with mechanism, Promise second
Demian’s example headline:
This 15-Minute Chair Routine Builds Muscle on Almost Every Inch of Your Body
My headline:
This 3-Step Copywriting Formula Makes it Easy to Write Irresistible Intros and Persuade Others
STAGE FOUR:
Take the mechanism to another level
Demian’s example headline:
Now … Build Muscle Tone in Less Than 7 Minutes a Day
My headline:
The World’s Best Copywriters Use this 3-step Formula to Write Intros that Persuade More People
STAGE FIVE:
Identify with the Customer
Demian’s example headline:
Why Some Men Are So Skinny
My headline:
Why Some Writers Never Get Noticed
The Reason Why it’s Okay to Steal from Other Writers
Now, I haven’t explained how each stage works. Demian does that for you in the original podcast: How to Use the 5 Stages of Audience Awareness to Dominate Online.
Here’s what I have done:
- Listened to a podcast
- Referred back to its shownotes
- Made my own notes on its content
- Added some copy around those notes to form a new blog post
So, do you think what I’ve published here isn’t ‘new’? I’d argue that all my own headline ideas are new. The image and story of George is new (he stole two rabbits, by the way). The lesson of why it’s okay to steal content is new. Only Demian’s example headlines and the 5 stages have been duplicated referenced.
And the three-fold purpose of this post is entirely different from Demian’s:
1. To bring Demian’s work to your attention (if you don’t follow his work, your rivals do … and you’re gonna fall behind as a web writer)
2. To stick to the Content Cavern’s mantra of being 100% honest and hopefully add value at the same time
3. To demonstrate how easy it is to create something ‘new’ … if you can get over the fact that somebody else has done something similar before
If you’re still uneasy about it, remember this formula:
— Note: This ‘formula’ is 100% new and original. I’m totally making it up … and I only thought about it because I started to write this blog post. Just think, if I didn’t steal from Demian, or Demian didn’t steal from Schwartz, I may never have thought up the following (which you may or may not want to steal). —
- Have you been inspired by something?
- Do you have any thoughts about it?
- Could those thoughts benefit anybody else?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to all three, do us all a favour and write about it.
And if you really want to double-check if your content is ethically okay to publish, join the Content Cavern and send your writing to us. We’ll let you know.
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