I’m not a big fish – in fact, I barely qualify in the crustacean category – but I do get approached by random marketers on a regular basis. For additional context: I used to run a team that reached out to influencers in hopes of working with them (actual influencers, well above the crustacean category) and I genuinely hope they never sent emails like the ones I receive. Still, if there’s a great service or a team out there that wants to work with me, I want to hear about it. I don’t think marketing in itself is bad, I just despise it when it’s done poorly (you are the one, after all, who is filling up my inbox – I didn’t ask for this).

Yesterday I got an email from someone claiming to love my YouTube videos and asking if they could send me information on their promotional network. I decided to bite, because we’d all love an effective promo network and a team behind it that cares. Still, it’s a marketing email and I’m not going to dive straight in without a little vetting. If you’re going to tell me you ‘love’ something I do without offering any proof, I have a sh*t test for you: I agreed on condition that she describe why she loved my videos so much.

Unfortunately, she didn’t do very well. Thus, I’ve decided to treat this as a teaching moment that I hope someone, somewhere, in some distant corner of a cubicle farm in New Jersey will take to heart.

Email 1: The Approach



Hi, I’m [Name] from [Company].

I studied your YouTube channel today and loved your videos. That was some trippy travelling you got right there!

[Company] is a San Francisco-based company. We’ve helped many YouTubers get noticed. Sony, Ted Talk, Universal and over 30,000 marketers use our video advertising technology.

Is it cool if I send more info?







Response 1: The Sh*t Test

Sure, if you can tell me why it was you loved my videos.

Email 2: Proof She Loves My Videos

Hi Jay, nice to hear from you. I like your channel because its interesting. From seeing Portugal, Wales, your interesting introductions, and your adventures around Paris