Be Careful Who You Copy

We all do it.

We see someone successful, doing what we think we want, and our brain goes.

"I’ll just do what they did."

Seems logical, right?

Set your eyes on something. Figure out what they did. Do it yourself.

Logical, for sure.

Except… that’s not a strategy.

That’s blind imitation.

And it’s one of the biggest reasons people fail in marketing (someone would argue in life as well, but let’s not go that far…yet lol).

Anyways, here’s why.

Problem #1: You Don’t Have Their Resources

If you copy someone who’s already successful, you’re not really copying their process.

You’re copying the results of everything they did before they got here.

In other words, you don’t have the full picture.

So the risk is essentially you comparing your Chapter 1 to their Chapter 14.

Let’s take DJs as an example since I see this all the time in the dance music space.

People look at someone like James Hype and think:

"Oh, he blew up because of a few viral videos."

However…

Did he? Really?

Let’s look at the full picture.

➢ James Hype had a signed record hit in 2017 (“More Than Friends”). Years before that ‘viral moment’.

➢ He was already touring Europe, playing clubs and festivals before he went viral - the clip that actually got him millions of views came from him doing a trick at a festival.

➢ He had likely built relationships with managers, agents, producers, press, and industry gatekeepers long before a TikTok moment ever happened. You don’t book these festivals without contacts in the industry (ex. an agent).

So yeah, those viral videos helped…

But to say that’s why he blew up is missing 90% of the story.

Look at all the ‘resources’ I just mentioned telling you his backstory.

If you try to copy THAT as a “strategy”?

Well… you don’t have the same foundation, so how can you expect the same results?

You’ll just end up frustrated and disappointed.

Problem #2: What You See vs. What Actually Happened

This happens in marketing all the time.

You see a creator, influencer, or business mogul…

And you start reverse-engineering their content, their funnel, their offers.

“Funnel Hacking”, they say.

If you’re not familiar with the word, funnel-hacking is a process made famous by Russell Brunson in which you try to figure out someone’s funnel so you can ‘model what’s already working’.

Now, don’t get me wrong—funnel hacking is useful. 

Done it myself plenty of times.

It helps you understand structure, positioning, and trends.

But blindly copying? 

That’s a different story.

Let’s say you want to sell something.

And following the exact same principle, you found someone selling something similar.

Can you ‘model’ their offer? Funnel? Messaging?

Yes….but not really.

You might fail to see many variables that aren’t exactly obvious at first glance.

For example, you could be trying to sell the exact same offer.

However, you might fail because:

❌ You don’t have the authority they have.

❌ Your audience doesn’t trust you the way theirs trusts them - or maybe you don’t even have an audience at all (and you need to use cold traffic).

❌ You need a stronger hook, a better guarantee, or a different positioning to make it work.

Or any other valid reason why.

The Point: Do You

At the end of the day, you’re not them.

So instead of copying, focus on what YOU know how to do, can do, and will do.

That’s how you build something that actually works for you, without chasing shadows or wasting months on a strategy that was never meant for you in the first place.

The rest?

It’s good for learning. But likely just noise for marketing purposes.

Talk soon,

Nick