Being On The Right Email List Can Make All The Difference

January 12, 2011 - Last Modified: April 1, 2014 by Dror Bekerman 1,735

The internet marketing world is filled with “gurus” and “masters” and you probably know how hard it is to truly find someone that actually cares about his subscribers and focuses on providing valuable content and not just making another sale.

One of the most important things I learned since first getting into the whole internet marketing world is that being on the right email list can truly make a huge difference for me and my business. Just the same as being on the wrong email lists can have the same impact only in a very negative aspect.

One thing I learned I must do is to weed out the bad marketers and unsubscribe from their lists as soon as possible and create my own list of top internet and affiliate marketers that I should FOLLOW, LEARN from and PROMOTE their products to my own list.

The simple truth is that when you are getting into the internet marketing you will sign up to many email lists. You simply can’t avoid that as email lists are a very big part of this business if not the biggest one. The first thing you should do is to setup a new email account that will only be used for the purpose of signing up to email lists. This will make it much easier to control and also be sure to check that email account once a day.

Only provide your main email address to marketers that proven to you that they are worth it.

Today I want to share with you my list of top internet and affiliate marketers and more importantly, the factors I use in order to determine who gets to be on my list and who doesn’t.

The Don’t Do’s

I prefer to start with the factors that help me weed out all of the bad internet marketers that cause me to waste money and more importantly waste time.

Promotes Everything

This is pretty simple. If you are getting promotion emails on a daily basis promoting just about anything under the sun than you shouldn’t be on that list for one more second. Don’t even bother to check those promotions as I can assure you the marketer promoting them to you didn’t check them himself.

Using The Vendor’s Swipe Copy

Marketers that don’t even take the time to right their own emails in their own words are probably only looking for your money. If they are that lazy do you really think they took the time to check if the product is any good and if it will actually help you?

I seriously doubt it. It is so funny to get the same exact email in the same day from various marketers. If they don’t understand how bad it looks than I am not going to explain it as I wouldn’t waste another second on those lists and neither should you.

Promoted a Crappy Product

If a marketer has promoted a crappy product, a product that was only promoted to you in order to make some commissions without even carrying about the quality and the value it brings, than don’t stay on that list any longer.

This is a very important step to take and even if you made a mistake and bought a bad product (I guess we all did at one point or another 😉 ), you should still make the most of the situation and unsubscribing from the marketer that promoted that product is the first and most important step you should take. Making mistakes is essential and a big part of our lives and businesses just as long as you learn from them.

No Added Value

If you are not being given some added value than why should you stay on that list? I mean this is the main reason you sign up, right? You want to get some value from being a subscriber on that list.

Value can be measured in various forms and I am sure you will be able to know if you are getting value or not from being on a list and if staying on that list will be good for you in for the long term or not.

The Do’s

Now for the important factors I use in order to find the best internet marketers that being on their email list will be very beneficial for me over a long period of time and the type of marketers I would be more than happy to buy stuff using their affiliate links and promoting their own products.

Great Product or Service

This is pretty easy. If a marketer has a product or a service which is simply great and I love using it, than I want to be on his list.

At least until he proves otherwise 😉 .

Added Value

This is a must as the only reason you want to be on an email list is because you expect (hope) to get some added value.

Value can be seen differently by various people so what I might consider as added value might not be considered the same by someone else. This is why it will be all up to you to decide if you are indeed getting some added value by being a subscriber.

Freebies

This is pretty understandable and can also be included under added value but I decided to highlight it. The important thing to remember when it comes to freebies is that it can also be something negative.

You want the freebies to be of good quality and more importantly, relevant to what you are actually doing. If this is not the case than freebies will only add to the information overload problem we all have and will cause you to lose focus.

Sending freebies is very easy and many can do it, but you should only focus and stay on with those that provide really good quality freebies that will actually help you out rather than waste your time.

Engagement

Very few marketers actually engage with their subscribers. What I mean by engagement is actually trying to get you, the subscriber, to reply to his emails and provide your thoughts and opinions.

What better way to realize that someone cares about you than asking you to contribute your thoughts and opinions? I think engagement is great and I will surly try to implement it into my own email marketing.

Care

It is pretty easy to realize after a few emails if the marketer on the other side of the emails you are getting actually cares about you and his other subscribers.

Getting a little personal is something that works for me and so it might be the case for you. I simply love to get the feeling that someone actually cares about my online success. Promoting products is OK as long as you know that those products have actually been checked and tested before being promoted to you.

If the person on the other side of those emails actually cares than he will probably earn your trust which is something you really want to get from your subscribers.

My List Of Trusted Marketers

I decided to share with you some of the names of internet marketers I trust and I love being on their email lists and I am more than confident in recommending them as I am sure each of you can benefit from joining their email lists.

All of the following marketers are really the best at what they do and they all truly focus on providing valuable content. Don’t get me wrong, they all want to make money, just like you and me and everyone else in this business.

But they are not doing this by simply promoting every crappy product out there and bombarding your inbox with promotions over promotions and most importantly, they are not making me feel as they are simply trying to make money.

And here are the names:

Jonathan Leger – http://www.jonathanleger.com/
Vita Vee – http://vitavee.com/forums/
Shane Melaugh – http://www.imimpact.com/
Jason Fladlien – http://48hourreport.com/myblog/
Lee McIntyre – http://www.getmoremomentum.com/
Andre Chaperon – http://andrechaperon.com/

If you want to learn more about each of them then you can check out my “Guru” Trust section on my blog and find out why they all made the cut.

The most important thing to remember is that they are all taking a different path that separates them from everyone else and this is what makes them so great and worthy of your ATTENTION, NAME & EMAIL 🙂 .

Who’s On Your List?

I would love to read your feedback on this post and especially see who are the internet marketers that you trust and that you would love to recommend.

We are all here to help each other (at least I hope so) so here is your chance to share some good and very valuable information. Tell us all which internet marketers impressed you and that you are happy to be on their email list.

Thanks.

To your success (and mine 😉 ),

About Dror Bekerman

Follow @dbpmarketing

Dror Bekerman (me) is a full time internet & affiliate marketer and I blog about my online experiences. I try to be different from the usual internet marketing blogs you see and I focus on providing value and showing what actually works for me. I am mainly focusing on SEO and affiliate marketing and I would love to see you visit my blog! Thanks.

{ 61 Responses }

Carol says:

I haven't heard of any of your gurus! Oh no! Is this why I haven\'t made my second million yet? I'll certainly check out your people. I have my own list of gurus, but maybe for different reasons. I've only started blogging in Jan, so I needed to know all the basic stuff first. Here's my list: No 1 Yaro Starack: entrepreneurs-journey.com - blogging he started it all for me Leslie Samuels: becomeablogger.com - a mate of Yaro Gideon Shalwick: gideonshalwick.com - video marketing - mate of Yaro Lisa Angeletti: lisaangelettieblog.com - article marketing and Famous Bloggers: famousbloggers.net...of course.....and....dbpmarketing.com.... of course. :) Carol
Stella Anokam says:

Hey DB: This post is certainly a breath of fresh air (to me) - thanks, man. Thank God I am not the only one who is sick and tired of top marketers who virtually 'spam' the hell out of people on their lists (90% of the time) and, without adding much value (10% of the time, if you're lucky). It's like some Gurus take it for granted that a lot of people will subscribe to their lists and so they forget that they have an obligation to give value before selling (which they 'used to teach'). Some spam you with heavy salesy messages same day you subsribed to them, to say 'welcome to more spammy messaging'. I also have unsubscribed from these kinds of marketers because they'll waste your time reading their messages (and getting your money if you fall in). Kim Roach, Shane Melaugh and VitaVee are also on my fave list - I have learned loads from these people. Once again, thanks for a great post. BTW, I love your blog - reviews and 'Guru Trust' posts. I also have unsubscribed
Nasrul Hanis says:

To be honest, I'm one of the consumers and followers to some bad email lists.. and this is a very tough experience for me! Being bombarded with a lot of crappy products and ads everyday and sometimes I got 2-3 emails in one day from the same marketeer.. the swipe one which I already got from other marketeers! Gosh, this makes me sick. I hope the marketeers will start to realize this and start a healthier way of doing campaigns. Btw thanks DB Baker for your thoughts :)
Mitz says:

Hi there I have a list of GURU'S I follow but they are nothing like yours...In fact I have never heard of the ones you mentioned so I might check them out... There are so many out there, it's hard to choose the ones that won't waste your time!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Mitz, You are correct, there are so many out there and it is very hard to find the great ones. Feel free to share with us your list of trusted marketers :)
Tantan says:

People did "The Don’t Do’s" and the result is the subscribers decide to unsubscribe. It just like what I did recently; click unsubscribe link on the crappy emails. Nice post Baker!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Thanks for great feedback Tantan.
Hung Hong says:

I still get update from some people i signed up from 2008.
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Hung, The important question is what kind of updates are you getting...
  - Hung Hong says:
    
    Most of theme are promotion emails but it's cice because i can know new products launch
  - Hung Hong says:
    
    Most of theme are promotion emails but it's nice because i can know new products launch
Mike says:

Very nice blog post, buddy. What you said totally goes against what I have learned about affiliates. Basically, I learned that you need to create everything ready for affiliates, from email swipes to banners and articles. Affiliates are busy people and they don't really have time to create those things to promote for products. But, I agree with you that if I were an affiliate, I would not just copy everything from the manufacturer page. I should modify them somehow to make them my own. And I all agree with the all of the Do's in your list. They are really great!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Mike, As a vendor it is very important to create everything for your affiliates. As a vendor you shouldn't really care if they are lazy or not and as you are hoping to get as many affiliates as possible it is a very smart thing to make it as easy for them as possible to promote your products. But as an affiliate you should try to be different and provide some added value and actually "work" a little instead of just copying and pasting what you get from the vendor.
Jason Fladlien says:

Thanks for the recommendation. One secret I will let you into is I sign up for everyone of my affiliates email lists with a special email account and I keep and eye on what's working for them and anything I like I implement in my own list :-) Keep up the good work!!!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Jason, Thanks for your great feedback and awesome tip! Don't have affiliates just yet but I will surly write this tip down. Thanks again.
mark says:

This is something that I have been working on improving recently. I have subscribed and unsubscribed to more lists than I would like to admit. Having said that, I have learned a ton about what I react to positively and negatively from being on an email list. Oddly, I have never been on the lists you mentioned, so I will need to look into them. Have a great day!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Mark, The only way to learn what works for you and what doesn't is by subscribing to many lists... I don't see any way not to subscribe to dozens of lists when you are getting into the internet marketing world. But the important thing is to learn from each list as you did. Thanks for great feedback.
Isabel Rodrigues - Pro Blogger Journey says:

Good information. You need to find the right List to keep yourself regularly. I prefer to subscribe to newsletters of top bloggers from my niche.
Harsh Agrawal says:

I have a habit of subscribing to Email newsletter.. (Usually weekly newsletter)... Though many of them starts sending promotional Email after couple of useful Emails and I find it annoying..!! I'm also subscribed to Daniel (Dailyblogtips) Email newsletter and I have found it most interesting and most valuable till now.. I was also subscribed to shoemoney Email newsletter but now it turned out to be just promotional Emails... One thing which I have learned over time..(For those who send Email newsletter).. try to send 1-2 Email every week with different Subject, this way people will get used to your Email newsletter else they might just hit the delete button .....
Ishan says:

Freebies? What are they? I don't remember when I subscribed because of a free e-book or something similar. Your first don't is something that almost 50% of the marketers do. Daily mails and most of them similar to others(using swipe copies!). I now subscribe to a handful of people who provide useful tips and promote only good products.
Alex says:

I don't usually go for the freebies bait but I do subscribed to some list (especially those with courses and stuff). Some were good and really provided some great courses (of course with some affiliate products recommended) but others just send an email with a pdf and then started the affiliate assault. I don't really mind that, I know that (most) people are doing list for money and not to help their subscribers, but one thing that they should worry about it monotony. After the 7-8 email I tend to instinctively skip the emails that I know are sales pitches. So, those that have this kind of email lists, that they just blast with offers should know that it's not the way to go and most likely after a week or two, their CTR will drop like a bomb over Hiroshima (not to mention sales).
Brankica says:

Out of the listed people you recommend I am McIntyre's list but not really wow-ed by it. Nothing great or special about it, even thought of unsubscribing. But it still beats the spammers that just copy and paste. I must say that the worst list I have been on is John Chows list, every day an e-mail that is a sales pitch, even for products I know that suck!! Have no idea how come all those people follow him!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Brankica, Lee's list is indeed the most active one out of those I mentioned and he promotes more products than the rest, but they are all good products from what I know. Besides, one main reason I am on his list is because I know he is very successful and I am trying to learn from the best in the biz. I was also on John Chow's list and also escaped after a very short period of time :)
Patricia says:

Hi DB I have gone on lists in the hope of learning, only to unsubscribe when it has been reduced to spamming me with their "must have" gizmos to succeed in business. And they are not even original. Sometimes its a heap of emails from different spammers all with the same heading in the subject line! I hit delete and do not open any of them. Much more discerning now and the lists I am on offer great tips and only occasionally offer products. Patricia Perth Australia
Timo Kiander says:

Good post! Lee/Jason/Andre are on my list as well of respected marketers. On top of that I follow marketers like Kim Roach, Chris Farrell, Josh Spaulding and John Thornhill. Those trusted marketers have an access to my primary e-mail address. I also subscribe to other lists as well, but I try to send their mail to a separate e-mail address, which I read less frequently.
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Timo, Thanks for sharing your list of trusted marketers. Truly is appreciated.
Pritam Nagrale says:

Most of the email marketers sends cheap and copied emails and that too on a repeated basis. I generally don't subscribe to them with my main email ID and if I think someone with better values then I change the subscription to my main ID.
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Pritam, That is exactly the way I do it.
Tia says:

I've learned so much about Internet Marketing from being on bad lists. I actually hate the idea of the list. I hate being part of "lists." To me, it represents a relationship that is selfish on both ends, but of course more so on the marketer's end. From listening to some "gurus" (and some really high up, and you would recognize their names), it seems that they actively promote fostering a fake relationship with someone in order to get them to buy from you. However, like you mentioned, I have learned a lot from being on the right lists, too. I don't think I'm on Jonathan Leger's list but I know some about him, and he's the only one I recognize of your set there. I know Leger makes good products.
- DB Baker says:
  
  There is no doubt you can learn alot by being on the wrong list just as you can learn alot by being on the right lists. The important thing is to actually learn something, no matter what list you are in.
Dean Saliba says:

I found the second part of this article interesting as I'm launching my own mailing list. :) Do people really just copy and paste the original sales page text? That is shocking and vr ylazy. :/
- DB Baker says:
  
  Best of lack with your new list...
Mani Viswanathan says:

Yes, It's always good to add something other your usual stuff. As you rightly mentioned Freebies can seriously attract many people.
Vivek Parmar says:

email marketing is a good thing and offers you a lot and if you are in affiliate marketing ti works as another gold coin in your pocket. working on learning email marketing hope i can get something from it
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Vivek, No doubt that email marketing is an essential part of any online business but in this post I focused on being on the recipient side of the list rather than being the one controlling it.
Dennis Edell says:

I recently unsubscribed from a list I was on for 3yrs...nothing but freebie after freebie with a cost based product here and there; not nearly as fun as it sounds.
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Dennis, I can relate. Getting freebies and free content is great as long as that content has some added value. If this is not the case, than all that free stuff is not worthing anything.
The Bad Blogger says:

Well, I had subscribe to quit a lot of Gurus and Masters, but only a few did done their job right by giving real powerful content that really matter to me and they are... Frank Kern, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Copyblogger and Micheal Fortin... Although most of this Gurus and Masters are specifically towards copywriting stuff, but in blogging or online, everything you need to really get money on... does need some copywriting knowledge behind every sales...
- DB Baker says:
  
  You simply need to focus on being on email lists that are related to your niche or close to it.
- Radu Tyrsina says:
  
  Hey, I always wanted to ask you - why this name :) The bad blogger ?
  - The Bad Blogger says:
    
    Well... that's an easy question... cos is easier to be remember ... lol... just joking but it did make sense after all... actually when I started out... this nick just flash my mind and since I started out talking about sexual stuff that's how the name came by...
    - Radu Tyrsina says:
      
      It stands out of the crowd, that's for sure!
Dr Natura says:

Great post.. and you definitely have some great points. Everytime I sign up for a mailing list, and I start getting daily emails from the list, I immediately unsubscribe. Most of the time if you're emailing me everyday, you're not adding much value to me. It's better to email me once a month with very valuable info than email me constantly and spamming my inbox
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Dr Natura, Thanks for the feedback. I agree that usually the marketers that email on a daily basis are not contributing to you and you shouldn't stay on those lists.
Fran Aslam From Onlinewriter says:

Hi DB: You have written a nice post here. All the points you have in the post are very important to be successful in affiliate marketing as a beginner. List building, is very important and it needs to be done properly to have a team that is behind you all the way. Great information fran A
- DB Baker says:
  
  Thanks for the feedback Fran. It is truly appreciated :)
TJ McDowell says:

I think you're right on track about providing great content in email lists. I wish I had thought about creating another email address just for the purpose of getting these types of emails early on. Live and learn right?
- DB Baker says:
  
  It is all about learning :) It is never to late to open a new email account...
Ryan Biddulph says:

Hi DB, All great points that need to be taken to heart. Top shelf marketers offer immense value. As you note, if you don't receive value on a consistent basis why stick around? Hit the unsubscribe button and find an authority. Listing building the right way requires a mix of promotional material combined with adding value continually. Buy from people who share their knowledge with you for free,, BEFORE asking for your hard earned dollars. This is a tough point for many green internet marketers. They give with strings attached. The whole "I will only give you value if you give me something in return." That's a scarcity consciousness at work work, and this type of marketer will never grow their list substantially or make much money because they want to get before they give. You must give freely before you receive generously. One thing I would note is to make sure that the freebie offers value too. I've seen more than few freebies that were cheapies too: sure, they didn't cost you anything but they offered no value. So where's the value in that? Thanks for sharing your insight DB. RB
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Ryan, I am pretty sure I mentioned that the freebies you get should be valuable as if they are not, they those freebies are a total waste of time. In any case you are 100% correct and thanks for the feedback.
Dirc says:

Thanks for the article. Many people do not follow your "added value" suggestion.giving the users added value can be the whole difference between success and failure, do things that people will be interested in, sounds simple but it's not ...
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Dirc, Adding value is the "hard" part in email marketing and this is why so many fail to implement it. It is much easier to simply copy ready made swipes and promote products all the time... But I think the extra effort is well worth it in the long run.
Hesham says:

This is a good reminder.. I've been doing some email clean up since the last 2 days, unsubscribed to many of the crappy email lists! Thanks for the recommendations!
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Hesham, Thanks for the feedback. Glad I helped :)
Andreas says:

As long as you are not on too many email lists, being on lists of some leaders in your industry may give you all the information you need to get ideas and be successful in your niche.
- DB Baker says:
  
  Hi Andreas, I agree with you that being on too many email lists is without a doubt not a smart decision and will only confuse you and cause to lose focus. But, I actually don't think that being on the lists of "leaders in your industry" is the best thing. Usually those leaders are not the best to learn from. As you probably saw, none of the marketers I follow are included in among the leaders in your industry and usually the new guys or less familiar guys offer the best value. At least this is what I experienced.
Wasim Ismail says:

Hey This is great One thing is following and receiving emails from the top notch mailing list, and the other thing is taking out time and then practising what they are saying. There are hundreds of online Gurus that you can follow, but there's no point following all of them if you don’t get a chance to read and go through their advise, I only follow a handful so that I can absorb what they are saying, some of the few that I follow are: Yaro Starak www.entrepreneurs-journey.com Darren Rowse www.problogger.net Rand Fishkin(SEOMOZ) www.seomoz.org Follow a few so that you can take action on what you receive in your inbox.
- DB Baker says:
  
  True! I also try to only focus on email lists that are 100% related to my niche as anything else simply causes me to lose focus. Thanks for the great comment and added value.
TrafficColeman says:

DB..the great marketers "Like Myself" LOL only teach and give value to people..we don't try to sell some new affiliate program or try to trick people on the back end. When that time comes to push something people will more likely buy from you. "Black Seo Guy "Signing Off"

Being On The Right Email List Can Make All The Difference