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Are “Copy and Paste” Coaches cloning your content?
I belong to a number of online discussion groups for Coaches. This past weekend one member of a particular discussion group posted a message that made my jaw drop. She had found that 3 other coaches had stolen her website content and placed it on their own websites. One of which had called her for a sample session. I find this to be shocking behaviour for Coaches who are trained in the distinction of integrity.
Others on the discussion group gave her a tool to use to find any other sites that copied her website content. What she found from this tool was disturbing. A past client of hers had, you guessed it, had “copied and pasted” her content. Now, I understand that some phrases stay in your head when you like them and you use them without even noticing. But this was a line by line copy and paste job.
Now this story takes an interesting and almost hilarious spin. One of the websites that had copied her website content had forgotten to change the links and so when you click on the link to “find out more”, you are directed to the original site, you know, the site that the text was copied from in the first place!
Now how can you find any “copy and paste” Coaches who are copying and pasting your content? It’s easy. Go to www.copyscape.com and enter your website’s address (and individual pages as well). This tool will search the internet for any websites that have similar terms, phrases, sentences, paragraphs…you get the picture.
If you like this post, please consider buying me a coffee.Written by Sandra De Freitas
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3 Comments Add your own
1. Andrea Dale | December 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
As a freelance writer and marketing consultant who works primarily with coaches, I have no doubt that coaches are copying content from each other.
In the last six months, I’ve reviewed about 30 web sites by coaches and seen WAY too much copy that sounds alike.
The content on your web site *is* an extension of who you are. And if it’s not authentic, prospects sense the disjoint within the first five minutes of their conversation with you, and move on.
*See Andrea get off her soapbox*
Sandra . . .Thank you very much bringing this issue to light!
2. Karen Skidmore | December 2nd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
When you are running a business around your coaching skills, the most important USP is “you”. And totally agree with Andrea’s comments about your site being an extension of you.
It’s not just lazy copying and pasting other people’s website copy, it’s plain crazy!
3. Sandra De Freitas | December 2nd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Andrea, I totally agree. Clients will see through your inauthenticity in no time. It’s not worth the copy and paste approach.
Karen, it is crazy. It’s not worth the headaches you will get later on because of your copy and paste job.
Those who “copy and paste” tend to fall flat…you can’t depend on this tactic forever and it will bite you in the behind…and boy will that hurt!
If you are copying and pasting because you aren’t a confident writer then hire someone to write for you. There are plenty of people who LOVE to write copy, they are great at what they do and they should be paid for their awesome work. So support a writer and save your behind
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