Marketing Gurus

Legit or Snake Oil?

Every industry has gurus, but marketing? It’s overrun with them.

You’ve seen them—self-proclaimed “experts” pushing courses, frameworks, and LinkedIn hot takes like they’ve cracked the code to unlimited leads and viral growth. But are they actually legit, or just selling recycled advice in a shinier package?

Here’s how to tell the difference.

1. Do They Make Money From Marketing or From Selling Courses?

Real marketers make money by doing marketing—not just by selling you a $997 program on “how to scale to 7 figures.”

• Legit: They’ve actually built and run campaigns that delivered real business results.

• Snake Oil: Their main product is selling you knowledge that’s just repackaged from Google.

If their biggest success story is themselves, that’s a red flag.

2. Do They Give Actionable Advice or Just Buzzwords?

Test this: Scroll through their content. Do they actually explain how to do something, or just throw around vague hype?

• Legit: “Here’s how we ran a LinkedIn campaign that generated $500K in pipeline, step by step.”

• Snake Oil: “The secret to scaling your business? Mindset, consistency, and omnipresence.”

If their “advice” could fit in a motivational poster, it’s useless.

3. Are They Willing to Say ‘I Don’t Know’?

Real experts admit when they don’t have the answer. Gurus? They pretend to know everything.

• Legit: “That strategy doesn’t always work, but here’s when it might.”

• Snake Oil: “This ONE hack works every time, guaranteed!”

Marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all. If they claim to have a universal formula, they’re selling dreams, not results.

4. Do They Show Receipts?

Talk is cheap. If someone claims to be a marketing genius, where’s the proof?

• Legit: Case studies, real client wins, actual numbers.

• Snake Oil: Screenshots of Stripe payments with no context.

If they can’t back up their claims with real data, don’t trust them.

Final Thought: Follow Practitioners, Not Performers

There are legit marketing experts out there—but they’re usually too busy running real campaigns to spend all day flexing on Twitter.

The next time a guru promises “explosive growth” in 30 days, ask yourself: Are they making money from marketing—or just marketing themselves?

That answer tells you everything you need to know.