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Wanted - Sheep for the Marketing Flock?

Hoo boy, I am sticking my neck out here! Ready for the chopping block I am - but it needs to be said and here it is: "Marketers - wake up! Get back to basics and get original"

So what is this all about?

The other day I got an e-mail from a marketer: Intriguing subject line, but also a little disconcerting. "Leon, Don't ever trust me again". Wow, this is really thin ice stuff. I must say it really intrigued me. A powerful statement and unique. Methinks that this marketer had a lot of faith and kudos' to him for a very original opening headline.

So what did I do? Of course I opened the mail and had a look!

Why did I open it? It was a mail from one of my trusted marketing acquaintances in the marketing world. It was from someone that has built credibility and trust with me over a period of time. And yes, the headline or subject hooked me - why should I now suddenly not trust this marketer?

Yes it worked

Now comes the crunch - why, o why must everyone copy - like sheep, I tell you.

In the next 24 hours I received another bunch of mails with the same heading/subject from other marketers! O dear me - how un-original can you get - A flock of sheep following a leader! My unsubscribe button worked overtime. It now was becoming an irritation - not an attention grabber.

Come on marketers - it worked for the original creator of this headline. It is a unique headline - like a signature, but for the originator only. Not for copycat purposes.

What has happened to creative marketing? What has happened to re-packaging? What has happened to original thinking? What has happened to you, dear fellow marketers? I am using a specific example of an e-mail in this article, but unfortunately it happens all the time. I see this happening continuously - the same marketing messages/headlines/subject coming through from different marketers. It is so obvious.

The originator of this created a great attention grabbing headline/subject for the marketing e-mail. It also worked for him because he had already built a trust relationship with his customers. Because it was so unique, it stood out - like a brand.

Other marketers that copied this - word for word I must add - fell flat on their faces - it worked against them as it was obvious that there was not even a hint of originality in their thinking. By all means copy the method, even the manner, but copying the exact words as well ?

So please marketers - be wary of what you copy. And when you copy someone's message please check the spelling.

Please marketers - be original, be yourself, take a little time to be creative - repackage the message to fit your style and your list.

Please marketers - be aware that you have customers on the other side and not just a list of names that needs to be fed regurgitated copy.

Please marketers - stop copying and start marketing to your customers!

Leon Williams has been involved in corporate internet marketing for many years. He is passionate about the psychology behind web marketing and has now decided to live and work his dream by training entrepreneurs on the applied techniques of web marketing psychology.