Recently a reader of this blog asked me to comment about those in the industry that are known primarily as internet marketers.  While most in the strength training and fitness industries talk about these people with disdain, I’m not sure I totally feel the same in all cases. 

I suppose the biggest issue that some people have with the internet guru who doesn’t work with someone in person is that they can’t possibly know anything about how things work in the real world.  To this I say bullshit.  My good friend Erik Ledin works primarily with bodybuilders and fitness competitors online and many of them are very successful.  Maybe you don’t want to be doing rehab online, but I’m not about to discredit anyone who is doing something or selling something that works regardless of whether or not they’re currently in contact with people.

Guys like John Berardi, Alan Aragon, and Lyle McDonald all come to mind when talking about making money online and I have no doubts that they’re all putting out good content.  As long as the content is good and it works for those who purchase it, I could care less who you’re working with.  There are a LOT of shitty trainers who actually work with people so I’m not sure how this suddenly became the criteria we use to determine whose products are worth buying and whose aren’t.

 
It seems to me that with many trainers and coaches if you’re making a lot of money online you’ve sold out and you’re not given the respect you might otherwise deserve.  To some trainers it appears that there is some sort of nobility to working endless hours until you’re burnt out and making minimal dollars until you reach the top.  To me, if you’ve created a fat loss product and it works (and it isn’t full of typos and plagiarism – you know who you people are) you deserve every cent you make whether you’re working with a single person or not.

On the other hand, the people that piss me off are those with huge lists who become affiliates of everyone on the planet who has a product launch and endorse them without any concern about whether or not the new product is a giant pile of dog turd.  These people, even if they have good products themselves, go on my blacklist because I have no respect for anyone who sells junk strictly for the sake of money.

 
Good products for money = Respect.  Bad products for money = Blacklist.

 
And for the record, none of this is meant to discredit any of the guys killing it in the trenches and still putting out great products.  You know who you are and these are always the top products on my list.

 
What are your thoughts on internet marketing and fitness products?