Frankencopy: scarier than the monster under your bed
“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realise I should have been more specific.”
Copy projects, particularly for website copy, sometimes show up in your inbox disguised as a ‘just needs a polish’ project.
Six times out of 10, you can assume what you’re being handed is Frankencopy – random body copy parts hacked from a bunch of competitors’ sites and roughly stitched together. You can tell by the generic messaging and inconsistent tone of voice. Also, the fonts are all over the place.
Even setting aside ethical concerns, swiping copy from a competitor is a business risk.
When you look and sound just like everyone else, you’re failing to give customers any reason to choose you over others. You know how they say we become the average of the five people closest to us? Well, that’s how this one plays out. And who the fudge sundae wants to be average?
🔎 Related: The art of original thinking
Like Ms. Tomlin said, it doesn’t pay to be just somebody in your market. Your brand must be distinctive and therefore easily identifiable. In terms of your brand’s copy, that means it must sound like itself. Every time. Everywhere.
You also have no idea if your competitor’s copy is actually working for them. It’s like cribbing the answers off a classmate, only to be awarded a matching D minus.
Since this Frankencopy can, at best, be counted as research, I quote the job the same as I would any other. After all, I’ll be pressing ctrl-alt-delete and starting over.
I don’t always win those projects. But then, neither does the client. Their copy is doomed.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s useful to look at your competitors’ creative. I always do. It helps me focus on ways to make you stand out.
🔎 Related: Should you try to emulate your competitor’s content?
But, for me, Frankencopy is scary – a big red flag. Businesses who resort to this tactic often can’t answer the most basic, foundational marketing questions:
Who are our ideal customers – the ones who buy quickly and are happy to shout about us from the rooftops?
How can we reach them?
How can/do we make their lives better?
How can we boil that down into a clear, meaningful statement (i.e. a value proposition)?
Why would someone choose us over our competitors?
There’s little point in putting pen to paper (or, rather, hands to keyboard) until you can rattle off the answers to those questions in your sleep.
As a copywriter with a marketing background, I can definitely help you get closer to that point, but we’ll never get there by simply polishing (at the risk of sounding coarse) a ‘Frankencopy turd’.
In the words of one of the smartest women in business today, Dolly Parton:
“Figure out who you are, and do it on purpose”.
If that ain’t a brand strategy for the ages, I don’t know what is.
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