Ever looked at someone else’s email and thought, “Huh! How do they DO that?”
Maybe it’s emojis in the subject line. Maybe it’s a little bit of text that shows up in email preview screens but no where else.
Maybe it’s as simple as changing up the normal graphic in an email and replacing it with a GIF or a video player.
Maybe it’s some amazing copy.
Do you make it a practice to notice these things? And if you do, what do you do about it?
Many online business owners take these things they see and create swipe files from them. Swiping something means saving it so you can use it later as your own template or to get ideas from when creating content later on. Some people have a file in the email inbox where they save “swipeable” emails, others take screenshots and save them in a folder. The idea is that looking at what someone else has done will give you ideas when it’s your turn to create something. After all, it’s always easiest to start if you’re not starting from scratch.
The key is to think of swiped copy as a template. Never copy someone else’s content verbatim. Even if they’re offering it as a swipe. I’ve never seen anyone out there who gives you a template or something to swipe with the intention that you copy it exactly or simply change a few details. Maybe you like the colors, maybe you like the layout, maybe you like the way the copy is phrased. That’s fine. Use those things as inspiration, but DO NOT COPY THEM EXACTLY.
One person who offers amazing swipe copy is the very cool and talented Tarzan Kay. She’s a high end copywriter who has probably emails that you’ve received in your inbox. If you want to receive some excellent examples of swipe-able copy, make sure to sign up for her list, her newsletters, anything you can get your hands on.
Oh! And here’s an example of emojis in subject lines:
And the shortcut to get the emoji window to open in your email service:
Windows:Press Win + period (.) or Win + semicolon (;) to make the menu pop up.
Mac: Control + Command + Space bar
Just remember…
Swipe files are not used to steal other people’s information. Use it to gain ideas, but change the words and make it your own. Don’t try to be someone else.
