To get the best out of it, there is much to learn about building, cultivating and managing your mail list, one of the best learning mediums available on the mailing list net is the: "How To Make Big Profits from a small mailing list report". If you have tried, and given up on you're mail list building then don't waste a moment to secure your report to read how you can get the best from you're list building efforts. Spending the time and effort building a loyal list will repay you ten-fold in the long term, no matter what kind of business you operate.
And yes, I've unsubscribed almost 70 to 90% of them after being hammered relentlessly with disguised affiliate links. Trust me, anybody mailing list could smell that it's an affiliate link even from a distance. Even if you're a well recognized, credible individual, the increasing frequency of selling tones in your mailing emails won't do good for your reputation in the long run.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that you shouldn't subscribe to any mailing lists anymore, as there's still a huge number of great individuals who prioritise their subscriber's level of satisfaction, hence giving the reason why they're mailing list standing tall today with tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of subscribers in their lists. I'm also not in anyway pointing out the fact that you cannot "recommend" products through your list, as I believe some of them do come from really irresistible joint venture offers.