But it also means if you (GP) don't mind stepping on a few toes, you can turn this in your favor.

Start attracting attention by writing articles about

"What the big brand bloggers don't tell you about email marketing" and start showing some numbers on how much traffic a blog needs before the ConvertKits and the MailChimps start making economic sense.

"How to make $X by selling affiliate products" - with a link to each of these bloggers public income figures. And then you add a little message at the bottom that says "But for the beginner, my service is so much better because..."

If you think that the big name bloggers are genuinely the gatekeepers, you can actually use this to your advantage in your marketing.

Although having said that, you are probably not going to be attracting the best type of customers for a business. The more a customer pays, the more invested they become in their own success and indirectly into the success of whomever they do business with. That just seems to be how human nature works.