Copy Cats? Stay paws-itive and keep up the mew-mentum by Pat Rullo
When I think of copycats, I think of grade school. Denise rolled her socks the same way I rolled mine. Year after year, Sarah bought the same notebook as Roger. Sandy used the same red Sheaffer cartridge pen as Wendy. And when we complained, the teacher always said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
Say, what? What does that mean? I got the gist of it as a kid, but I didn’t want to be flattered; thank you very much.
I recently realized that copycats don’t end in grade school.
Last week I came upon a book cover that reminded me of another one I had seen. The title and the author’s name were different, but the image, layout, font, and colors were not just similar – they were the same. The same. Was the work from the original author? I looked back in my files to find the previous cover. Sure enough – a different author copied the cover of another author. Sorry teacher, but it’s not flattering. And a reason not to use a stock photo, I guess.
Lately, I see myself coming and going even though I no longer roll my socks in a neat roll down to my ankles. Weird kid!
My head shakes in disbelief when I find new book and podcast awards popping up with the exact descriptions, prizes, and other ‘this and that’s taken directly from our website. Sorry teacher, but that is not flattering either.
Now that we’re all grown up – or supposed to be – what to do?
Probably nothing. There are very few unique ideas. And while it’s easy to copy, it’s much harder to replicate success with nothing but a copycat strategy. These cats are so focused on what others are doing they can’t focus on what they are doing. These cats are not cool!
Unless it is a clear-cut copyright infringement, move on and stay paws-itive. Always strive to be innovative and creative. Love what you do. Take care of your clients. Be honest. Be sincere. Be kind. Be true to yourself. No one can copy your heart. No one can copy your force, your energy. No one can copy that kind of mew-mentum.
Now – about those socks …
PR
