“Creative Imitation” Boosts Your Productivity
It’s often said that “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.”
It’s also said by Alex Mandossian to “Never invent, always improve” which he also refers to as as Creative Imitation.
Peter F. Drucker, often acknowledged as the ”father of modern management” also had something to say about this important marketing principle in The Essential Drucker.
Here are two interesting examples of creative imitation:
Example 1: In December of 2006 I took Alex’s Teleseminar Secrets Training for the first time. After Module 2, I decided to jump in and held my first teleseminar on Article Marketing on December 20, 2006.
Little did I know how huge a journey that first step would lead to, nor the rocket ride to success that was coming.
By “creatively imitating” Alex I soon discovered how to launch The Article Guy TeleSeminars - free weekly teleseminars that create at least 3 streams of income for me each week.
This led to my flagship telecourse, the Article Writing and Marketing Secrets TeleCourse, which has already led to 4 spin-off telecourses which I teach once a year.
Ezample 2: There is a “creatively imitated” tele-course called Article Writing and Article Marketing Secrets TeleSeminar Training for Virtual Assistants.
Take a look at the productivity power of creative imitation by visiting and reading www.OnlineArticleMarketingCourse.com/jeff
Tags: alex mandossian, article writing and marketing secrets, creative imitation, Info Marketing, jeff herring, online marketing, the article guy
This looks suspiciously like it was copied directly from your material.
I’m a little shocked, but I guess ‘creative imitation’ is one word for it!
Jeff always says “GUTS - Go Use This Stuff” and we say that it’s “GUTS - Great Using Teleseminar Secrets” to creatively imitate with Spectacular Presentations.
Alex always encourages his students to creatively imitate him… and because we are his students, that’s what we’re doing. It helps us get a lot done faster, better with the least amount of human effort.
Thank you Alex for the “BOOST - Best Online/Offline Success Tips”!
– Pat & Lorna
http://www.PatAndLorna.com
I have often imitated Jeff’s stuff, but I also always give him credit for it or at least ask his permission for it. He has great stuff, he should be credited for it.
I think Cathy nailed it for me in that “it looks familiar” and “I’m a little shocked.”
That said, I of course like the idea of creative imitation, and am open to what it means if Jeff and Alex are talking about it.
Having taken a few online courses…I know that we are sometimes encouraged to “model” the success of others… But for someone reason - this particular course seems too close to what Jeff does.
Maybe it’s subscriber loyalty and favor… Maybe it’s just an initial shock.
Rory
http://www.theADHDparentsmovie.com
Ok - the term ‘creative imitation’ threw me at first - as a former HS writing teacher, all I could think was ‘plagiarism’ —
HOWEVER, after reading Drucker’s take and seeing your thoughts, this is more along the lines of “Rennovate, Don’t Innovate” - and I’m a big fan of that.
The shortest distance between Ideas to Income is Modeling Success and adapting for your situation. Then take action. Evaluate. Adjust. Repeat.
So - all that to say - I AGREE!!
I prefer Renovation to Creative Imitation…(only because so many folks tend to leave the ‘creative’ out and just copy/paste) — but kudos on a thought-provoking blog post!
Carrie Wilkerson
The Barefoot Executive
http://theBossMovie.com
I would also offer that this is The Power Of The Mastermind.
Many of my best ideas are those I pick up from others in other industries. I know I would not be there without Power Houses leading the way… but I would be really foolish not to head their advice.
Terry Wygal - The Quick House Buyer
https://twitter.com/terrywygal
This was an interesting article Jeff but I’m going to take a different stand on this.
Creative Imitation works in the beginning and is definitely the fastest way for a beginner to get going.
However, I think if you only focus on “creatively imitating” someone, you’re always going to be limited.
It doesn’t allow for true innovation or progress and you end up being dependent on someone else to “lead the way”.
Do you always want to be a follower?
If not, then you need to learn how to innovate and generate ideas for your industry that have never been explored before.
The world is a fun place to live because millions of people are trying different things that have never been done before.
Can you imagine how boring the world would be if everyone “creatively imitated” everyone else?
Now I know it has been said that there isn’t any “money” in being creative, but I strongly disagree.
There are a TON of examples of when someone cashed in on their creativity but here are two that we’re all familiar with…
If the guys at Google “creatively imitated” Yahoo, we’d only have a slightly better Yahoo. Instead, they went in a totally different direction with how they structured their search engine, and they quickly became the market leader.
Apple is another great example. Their iPod designs and features are unique to them. They went outside the “norm” or what was working for other leading MP3 player manufacturers. As such, they immediately stood out from their competition, people took notice and the public ultimately voted with their wallets.
Now, when you think of “MP3 players”, most people would immediately think of the iPod. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why Apple dominates the market in this product category.
My point is this…
Creatively imitating market leaders is a good thing in the beginning. It helps you grasp an understanding of what is working in that industry and it helps you get going.
However, for long-term success you need to get beyond creative imitation and start exploring your own unique ideas. Otherwise you’ll always be a follower and you’ll never lead your industry.
All the best.
Stu
Hi Jeff,
nicely done sales page… and a huge proportion of it lifted straight from your stuff.
Reminds me of the discussion of “swiping” vs. “stealing” in copywriting.
Like Carrie and Cathy, I too find that “plagiarism” is the first thing that comes to mind. Or worse.
But of course if “modeling” is the path to success, I’d like to know how to do so safely.
I mean where IS the line between a happening “new” product and a copyright infringement law suit?
There’s a teleseminar in there, Jeff!
Elisabeth
http://www.MyFavoriteSelfHelpStuff.com
There is a difference between imitating the strategy of success, which you did with Alex, Jeff, and imitating the tactics of success, which Eric Gruber did by what looks like stealing your content and look of your course. I can’t believe you’re okay with that, Jeff!
Yes, it is the difference between “swiping” and “stealing.” (Good point, Elisabeth!) I believe wholeheartedly in “swiping,” which is true creative imitation: Taking someone’s work and using it as a take-off point for your own unique (and, as Alex teaches, improved) twist. Stealing is simply taking someone else’s work and changing a few nonessentials, as Eric did, and calling it your own. It’s lazy and I don’t think it’s convincing.
Diane Eble, “Your Book Publishing Coach
[...] just posted a couple of comments on Alex Mandossian’s blog (Jeff Herring’s post), and Stu [...]
[...] just posted a couple of comments on Alex Mandossian’s blog (Jeff Herring’s post), and Stu [...]
Hey Stu -
Thanks for taking the time to contribute your comment to my guest post on Alex Mandossian’s blog. I think we have the beginnings of a really good discussion here, and I hope we can keep it going.
The curious thing is that you and I are on the same page about creativity. My post was not intended to frame “creative imitation” as an end-to-end solution to be used at all times.
My definition of creativity goes like this:
“Creativity is simply looking at something that has always been there and seeing something that has never been seen before.”
From that definition I pull these two additional definitions:
“Creative activation” - what most people would call invention, I look at as seeing something that has never been seen before and creating something new. A good example would be the work of Walt Disney.
“Creative imitation” - learning from someone else’s work and using it as a jumping off point for putting your own, sometimes better, twist on it.
Having said that, there was another point being made in that blog post.
I don’t know if you had the time to look at the link to Eric Gruber’s course or some of the other comments.
The intention of the two examples given were twofold:
1. To highlight how my “creative imitation” of Alex Mandossian helped me to launch my teleseminar business and all I have been able to create in the short time since then.
2. The second example was intended to highlight how someone has taken my work with http://www.ArticleWritingandMarketingSecrets.com and done something other than creative imitation. I’ll let others and the comments of others on this blog name what they think that something might be.
Again, Stu, thanks for taking the time to contribute your comment and for starting a discussion about this on your own blog.
I hope we can have a discussion that benefits us all.
And all the best to you too,
Jeff
[...] is a good post on Alex Mandossian’s blog dealing with this very issue. Alex teaches not to create but to improve. I agree. But there [...]
Nicely done Jeff. I like the way you laid the two examples out just to see what the reaction would be.
I am curious though about the whole “swiping vs. stealing” topic. There are a number of headlines that have been copied for decades such as the classic Caples headline “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play!”, with just a few words substituted for many other products. So the question is this, If one takes another’s headline and inserts a different non-competing product name in the headline (or sales copy) is this swiping or stealing. Is it creative imitation or plagiarism?
I do “get” the concept of creative activation and creative imitation as you described in your comment above - and I can think of many examples where I have used both in the process of learning, yet the words were all mine. I’m I’ve been studing copywriting to improve my reader appeal and have paid careful attention to see the formula and use it rather than copy the words of others.
I’d like to read more on this so I’m sure to have a well rounded understanding.
I really admire the way you handled the original topic of your post.
Marketing at heart is all about creative imitation…or I would prefer this:
CREATIVE INNOVATION.
The trick is to be slightly different/better while using the elements of the original that worked to generate revenue and remaining identifiable as part of a larger market so that you reap the benefits of same. A book should look like other books so we know it is a book…a teleseminar should look like other teleseminars, etc.
There are other ways to market (the ipod discussion) but CREATIVE INNOVATION is the far more common one.
The rest can be addressed by law. If material is copyrighted, and no license or other permission has been granted, then taking the words and reusing them are theft. The “fair use” doctrine allows limited quoting only, not wholesale reproduction.
HOWEVER, The creator of the words retains rights ONLY if he or she (a) claimed them in the first place and (b) polices infringements. If he or she does not choose to police use their work for whatever reason, then they can lose their right to them.
So, I wonder what the copyright situation was in the works in question. If the original person did not claim them…then have at it!
However…in the long run, we come back to the same principle we started with: You have to do something DIFFERENT to be successsful over the long run, to have something about you that is unique…so you have to internalize everything you learned by imitation so that you can generate your own original work.
Or at least that is how I see it!
I agree with Stu. Imitation is a good thing, but this borders on outright copy. I’d have to look at the two pages side-by-side, but it looks strikingly similar. To me imitating is just that, modeling the concepts, but not copying the style. You’ve got to be unique.
I’m modeling Alex concepts, but using my own unique style. It’s the principles you want to model, not verbatim copying.
I guess I should have reviewed website link before I posted… how my xml sitemap got in there is beyond me…
I agree with Stu, imitation is a good thing, but you also have to be creative. Model the concepts and principles but don’t outright copy. I’d have to see the two sites side-by-side, but this does look strikingly similar.
I’m modeling Alex’s concepts and principles on some of my pages, but using my own unique style.
How does one handle a situation like this? It feels a little too much like plagiarism to me or at best an “also-and or me-too” product.
Who wants to buy an “also-and” product. And worse, who wants to sell a “me-too” product. Creative imitation works to an extent but boy can that become boring. Sort of like living in a world consisting only of shades of gray. Where’s the color and with color - creativity?
My suggestion: model principles but stand on your head to see them from a different perspective. That’s when the juice flows and great stuff happens. My own interpretation of creative imitation.
Amelia Brazell
Melody - I recently used a version of that title in the video sales letter for my Article Profit Systemes TeleCourse:
“They laughed when I sat down at the computer to make money with my articles”
That title exists as a title suggestion in many copy writing books, so it fits into the definition of something from your “swipe file” and the definition of creative imitation.
If I were to take the exact same title or exact same set of words and claim as mine without attribution or permission, that is defined as plagiarism or stealing.
Hope this helps, and thanks so much for you comment and support.
Jeff