The Different Types of People I Like to Learn From – and You Should, Too.

When you’re starting out (or struggling), you have NO idea who to trust. Everyone you see who is very vocal and prominent on leaderboards seem like scumbags, to be honest. “But they’re making money.”

Right. So let’s be real about how scumbags make money. They have great sales pages – the graphics, the 100% vague copy where you have NO idea what you’re buying, the fake testimonials (meaning they’re just other scumbags reciprocating), and the screen shots of “income,” only that income is often from other projects, like the sales of their last course, not the method they’re teaching you.

Keep in mind I used to ghostwrite for dozens of the top marketers behind the scenes – John Reese was a stand-up guy – a genius in marketing, really. Jimmy Brown knew his stuff, too. He was also a great teacher. Many others were just total scumbags. They’d instruct me to be vague, to leave out details so the buyer would have to purchase more, etc.

Just gross people. Anyway – back to the point of the post. How do you go about finding good people to learn from? Here are the ones I have learned from over the years…and continue to do so:

The Scumbag

Yes, you read that right. Just because someone is dishonest doesn’t mean I can’t learn a thing or two from them. The key is to discard the scummy tactics and only look at the things they’re doing right.

For example, these guys knew how to network. They knew how to build out a lucrative funnel, too. They had their sales copy perfected. There are lots of things to learn from them.

The One Who’s Kept His Name

If you keep coming back under a new pen name or brand, then something’s fishy. Chances are, you’ve burned a lot of bridges, done shady stuff, and I want to avoid you at all costs.

I thought it was funny one time when a PLR vendor I used to promote turned shady out of nowhere (got desperate) and screwed over a bunch of customers and months later popped up as someone else.

I figured it out and they acted like it was just normal and not suspicious at all. This is why I don’t promote (or buy from) sales pages with a name like “PLR Empire” or whatever – if there’s no name and picture of who it is, I’ll pass.

When I see someone who has been in business for years and still uses their name AND has their reputation intact, it’s a good sign.

The Quiet Ones

There are many quiet people actively working on their business. Every day they’re inventing strategies and testing to see what works, and what doesn’t.

When these people come out with a course, I like to know about it. The behind-the-scenes people often have a diligent work lifestyle and they’re methodical.

One good example of this I can think of is Erica Stone. She’s not a loud mouth, braggart – she’s just consistently working on strategic stuff to share with her customers.

The One Who Shares Trends and Details

There are people who always pay attention to what’s selling and how people are making money. Then they do step-by-step courses for the rest of us who may not have been paying attention.

Alessandro Zamboni is good at this, as is Charles Harper with his PLR. Another good one for this is PJ Coleman. I’m busy and sometimes I haven’t heard about a strategy, so when someone has done the work to compile it for me quickly, I appreciate that.

My Direct Competitors

The people doing what you’re doing often have some great ideas. You never want to rip anyone off and steal their ideas. There’s a right and wrong way to do things. You can see what’s selling, what your list responds to whenever you promote certain people, etc.

My Customers and Affiliates

Feedback is GREAT! I once had a top affiliate come to me and inform me that he really wanted to promote, but I had no upsells. I thought I was doing customers a favor, but it ended p that they liked the extra content at a discount, too.

It was a win-win when I began listening to them and creating better product launches that appealed to both groups.

People in Other Industries and Niches

Sometimes, you learn something by looking outside of Internet marketing completely. You might learn something based on an experience you have.

For example, if you experience a professional service that somehow gives you insight about add-ons, customer service, or even sales copy, you might pick up on that.

I’ve gotten where I am constantly naturally looking for marketing methods. I don’t try to do it, it just happens.

And while all of these people are great to learn from, you can also learn what not to do, too.

You can look at the people blowing up their business (in a negative way) and go, “Yikes! He’s a cautionary tale.” If you’re constantly getting drunk and ranting on Facebook and gaining a reputation as a mean alcoholic, that’s probably not too good for business – even if it’s not directly related to your business.

~Tiff