Why Copycat Marketers Give Me The Deja-blues

I’m having a deja-deja-deja-vu…

…thanks to some copycat marketers who filled my inbox with promotions for an upcoming summit.

This story is tricky to tell because some of the copycats are my marketing pals who get my emails.

I worry they may read this and ask me to return the holiday fruit cake they sent me. 

But I gotta call ‘em like I see ‘em, and there are some marketing lessons to reveal. 

So here’s the story…

Last night, after a long day of fighting for truth, justice and the storytelling way, I poured myself a glass of Glenfarclas-17 single malt (with a splash), opened my Gmail, and began reading emails under the promotions tab.

The first email said…

Hey Tom,

You may have heard the saying “what got you here won’t get you there.”

For instance, a new coach can quickly go from zero to several paying clients by reaching out to their colleagues and friends. Which is great because it helps them practice their coaching skills and find their process…

But once their existing network is tapped out, the approach stops working.

That’s when you want to adopt a new business growth strategy. One that can take you from where you are now and help you reach the next level.

The email went on to promote a virtual summit where “40 extremely successful online business owners” will sit down with host Linda Claire Puig and “reveal the single strategy that made the biggest impact on their business.”

That sounds like a great summit, I thought, as I continued plowing through the promotions tab.

Five emails down from the first one, I opened this: 

Hi there, Tom.

You may have heard the saying “what got you here won’t get you there.”

For instance, a new coach can quickly go from zero to several paying clients by reaching out to their colleagues and friends.

(etc. etc. etc.)

“Whoa! I’m having a deja vu,” I thought.

I checked the from names in my inbox. Maybe the first guy accidentally sent me two versions of the first email.

Nope. Different senders. Same email. 

Word for word, top-to-bottom — except for “Hey Tom” vs. “Hi there, Tom.”

And then, as I made my way through my emails, it happened again…

…and again. 

Four identical emails
from four different marketers. 

(Sigh!)

For those unfamiliar with the summit game, here’s a quick peek behind the curtain. 

Summit hosts invite experts to appear on their stage. In return, the experts, promote the summit to their lists.

Everyone wins because the multi-pronged promotions increase summit attendance, and all who present get exposed to wider audiences. 

Most summit hosts make it easy for their guests by sharing marketing materials to promote the event.  

And then the experts have a choice: 

• Cut-and-paste the prewritten promotions and send them to their lists, or…
• Rewrite the promotions in their own voice. 

I’ve actually received six emails about this summit — four from copycats and two from marketers who rewrote in their own voice. 

(Shout-out to Josh Turner and Jon Schumacher who wrote in their own voice.)

I won’t name the copycats. I don’t want to return that fruitcake embarrass them.  

I share this story to make a point: 

Your voice is
one of your most
valuable assets.
Use it.

You want prospects to hire YOU. 

That’s more likely to happen if they know, like, and trust you. 

And they’re more likely to know, like, and trust you, if you put yourself out there — if you…

…write with a
unique voice

Reveal your personality. 

Share stories.

Entertain.  

In their defense, the copycats who sent the identical messages often send unique emails in their own voice.

For this summit, maybe they thought it would be easier to just cut-and-paste. Often, that pre-written copy seems better than you might generate yourself. 

But how hard is it, really, to take that pre-written copy and edit it to make it yours?

Five minutes? 15 minutes at most? 

It’s worth the small investment of time and effort.

Why? Because it can mean the difference between being just another face in the marketing crowd…

…versus standing out above the crowd.

If you want to stand out above the crowd and you’re serious about learning how to do it, let’s meet. 

Every week, I set aside a few slots on my calendar to meet with business people to discuss what’s working with their marketing and sales, what’s not, and where they could use some help. 

Sometimes that leads to us working together. Sometimes that leads me to recommend other resources. In every call, I offer actionable advice. 

If you’d like to schedule a call, reply to this email with “Let’s meet” in the subject line. I’ll reply with a calendar link so we can book a call.