By David Garfinkel
(c) David Garfinkel - All Rights reserved

There is. It's called "modeling." Or, as my copywriter friend
Don Hauptman calls it, "creative emulation." Others call it
"templating."

It means drawing from the successful techniques others have
used in order to make yourself more successful.

By the way, what I'm about to share with you is different from
plagiarism, and that's vitally important.

We're not talking about stealing, or word-for-word copying
of someone else's words. Let me give you an example. 

If you happened to see the film comedy "Simone," you'll know
what I'm talking about. Simone was a computer-generated image
of a female movie star. She had a little bit of Grace Kelly in her
face; a little bit of Whitney Houston in her voice; a little bit of
Lauren Becall in her mannerisms; and so on.

Because she took the best from the best - she became an overnight
success!

That's modeling. Finding winning qualities in others and including
one or more of these qualities in your new and unique creation.

Napoleon Hill wrote an international best-selling book called "Think
and Grow Rich." Dottie and Lilly Walters wrote a book many years
later called "Speak and Grow Rich."

Same idea... successful book!

How can you use this technique in your Internet marketing?

1) Use modeling with headlines.

The headline makes up 80 to 90 percent of the sales effectiveness
of your Web page. Reinventing the wheel is chancy. Modeling your
headline after another proven headline gives you a much greater
chance of success.

For example, an old headline that has proven itself over and over is
"The Secret of Making People Like You." Let's model a new headline
on the old one.

Suppose you knew how to get pay-per-click search engine traffic at
lower prices and you had an ebook on that subject.

You could use this headline: "The Secret of Slashing Costs and
Doubling Traffic with Pay-Per-Click Search Engines!"

2) Use modeling with Web site graphic design.

Most Web sites are designed to please the designer who created
them - or to boost the ego of the Web site owner.

But the Web sites that sell have a clean, streamlined and focused
look that keeps the reader's eye on the sales message.

Just look at Web sites that sell.

Anything by Jim Edwards, Yanik Silver, Joe Vitale or Mark Joyner
has the look and feel that puts money in the bank.

Use the same text width, typefaces, colors of margin areas, and
other design elements that the winners use, and your site will be a
winner, too.

3) Use modeling with copy itself.

Many years ago, when I was still learning how to write killer copy,
I used to take old sales letters with proven track records and copy
them word for word, by hand.

Why? To get the feeling for good copy into my muscle memory.
To model it by actually doing it.

It's not a bad idea for you to do the same thing yourself.

Or, if you won't do that, then at the very least study successful
copy (in print or on the Web) to see how it's put together. Notice
the following: which phrases are used; what order the information
is presented in; how testimonials are used; how subheads are used; and
what language is used to close the sale.

To sum up, it's been said that success leaves clues. One of the
biggest clues is in the way successful people do things.

Certain approaches, styles, looks, words and phrases work.

Learn what they are; learn how to use them; put them to use; and
watch your results move up to a whole new level.