It was hard enough to invent the wheel, so why would you want to try and re-invent it?

Some companies spend thousands of dollars in market research and development trying to figure out the best way to reach their market.

They've come up with killer concepts and can't-miss techniques.

And the good news is -- although your can copyright words and graphics, you can't copyright ideas.

This fact makes the Internet the equivalent of a marketing "bank vault" and you can make withdrawals any time you have a need.

The first thing you want to do is visit the website of your strongest competitor.

Find out what they're doing that you're not… What they're offering that you're not… What they're saying that you're not.

You may think you have a "killer" sales pitch on your site, but maybe your competitor knows something you don't, and that something is exactly what's making you an "also-ran."

Don't limit your research to local competitors. Check out what the "big boys" are doing, too.

Pay attention to everything from the language they use to close the sale to the navigation bar that gets people around the site.

Make a note of the colors they use, the font, and anything else that you think makes the site appealing to consumers.

The best part of this plan is that whatever you discover can be "poached" for your web copy. You can highlight the same benefits, hit the same "emotional" buttons, match (or better) the guarantee, etc., etc., etc.

By the time you're finished cherry-picking through your competitor's copy and other in-your-industry sites, you'll have the ammunition to create a double-barreled, "killer" web site of your own.

Now you can't be stupid about this.

Copying someone's sales message word-for-word isn't just unethical, it's illegal and a breach of copyright laws. Plus there's no guarantee that the sales message is going to work for you.

Ultimately you'll have to test and refine it anyway, so there's no point in ripping-off someone else's copy to save time.

Too much risk and no reward.

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