Did you ever notice that certain posts or headlines or ads or images get your attention? Maybe you don’t, which is fine. In that case, start paying attention. And then start collecting them. I first heard about this from Tim Ferriss in his podcast almost a decade ago. It’s called a “swipe file” and he would literally rip things out of magazines (even if they were in the dentist’s office) to keep in a hard folder. Well, we are in a digital age now so you can find an easier to swipe and save this stuff.
Why do you want to do this?
- To copy and tweak headlines for your posts (and get better openings).
- To help in spur your creativity for future posts.
- To make you think and understand why some copy works and help you rework it for your next FB, IG, Tik Tok, or other post.
- To see which words are the best to use in the headlines or body of a post.
When you are swiping, you are not violating copyrights, trademarks or intellectual property. You are just analyzing and reverse engineering what’s already working. Then you interrelate that knowledge and come up with new unique solutions.
This stuff is very complicated and there is a whole industry made up of companies that analyze these things. I don’t think you need to fall into that rabbit hole. Just spend a week and start swiping and saving and see what gets your attention and then try it with your posts.
If you find some great ones that work please send it my way so I can share it with others.
(The image is from the book Steal Like An Artist.)