Another copywriter put together a “Top 100 Copywriter Email Lists of 2021” list.
Now, just in case you think this email is going to be a tad braggy, let me be clear…
I THINK THIS IS TOTAL SHIT.
Why? I’ll get to that in a moment.
First off, the spoiler…
My little “email club” – the one you subscribed to to read this email – is apparently the 88th best copywriting list… ON THE BLOODY PLANET!
(Actually, 10 of us tied, so if I wanted to flex even harder – always a risk at my age – I COULD technically claim to possess the 80th best email list… ON THE BLOODY PLANET!)
Before we pop the champagne and open the Vol au vents (3 for 2 at Iceland), let’s get back to my “I THINK THIS IS TOTAL SHIT” comment.
Here’s why I’m not getting too excited:
1. The copywriter who compiled this list only asked his own subscribers to vote. One person running a competition is bad enough, but when you only poll your own subscribers… that boosts the bias factor up to 1,253!
Of course, you MIGHT end up with a fair winner at the end of the day under these conditions, but there’s a far better chance of…
2. The copywriter compiling the list WINNING the competition!
… which is exactly what happened when he scooped over 40% of the vote.
3. In 88th place, I’m ahead of legendary writers such as Bond Halbert, Ken McCarthy, Jon Morrow, Ryan Deiss, Marie Forleo, Chris Haddad, and Neil Patel.
And, there’s no delicate way to put this…
That’s just total bollocks.
If this was a true list, I’d be nowhere near 88th.
880th?
Maaaaaaybe…
8,800th?
Now you’re getting there…
(Although, gotta be honest… I’m not even close to being comfortable saying I’m in the “Top 10,000 Copywriters”…)
Thing is, despite my “THIS IS TOTAL SHIT” assertion, there is ONE stat in this whole thing I’m really interested in.
For me, it’s the only stat that truly matters.
It’s the number 4 – the number of people who took the time to reply to the survey and say something to the effect of:
“John Holt’s pretty OK at emails…”
(and if you WERE one of the four, thank you. And hit reply and let me know!)
Paying attention to social posturing competitions like these can be fun, but…
It’s nonsense like this that gets in the way of you building the business you really want.
Time spent looking at stuff like this is time you could be:
– Learning more about your audience and your market
– Building your list
– Creating offers
– Writing emails that bring in sales
88th… 880th… 8,080,808,080th…
Who cares?
Marie Forleo seems to be doing OK.
I’m sure Ryan Deiss isn’t phoning the Samaritans because an odd chap from Cheshire got one more vote than him.
Like I say, stuff like this can be fun (and make for great email content!), but don’t let it distract you from stuff that really moves the needle.
John “for god’s sake, don’t search the urban dictionary for potentially comical ‘88’ references to use in your email signature” Holt