Solo Ads Are The Great Big Guru Secret

I have never bought solo ads myself so I don't know if they are that good as most people will claim. While it may work really well for one person, there is no guarantee that it will convert well for someone else. It all depends on what you are offering and how you present your offer through email. You also need to work with lists that have responsive subscribers.

I have seen that in some companies where someone who knows how to use solo ads or online marketing and will come out of no where to beat everyone who is on an affiliate contest.

What amazes me is that they lay low until a week before the contest in over and then you see them get 10-15-20 new sales per day and beating everyone who has worked hard for a month to get new sales.

I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there.

I don't think gurus run solo ads to win affiliate contests. Or at all, really.

"The Great Big Guru Secret" is not in what they sell to you, but HOW they sell to you.

talfighel,

I agree with you completely. Like any kind of advertising there are pitfalls here and there that can drain you.

Winning of the affiliate contests, with the right Solo Ad connections, has intrigued me to the point of focusing on them alone.

I hope Warriors who have the patience to buy some, test and track of course, will have a whole new world opened up to them.

It's fun to build a list of people with a relatively small investment.

I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Have a good one.

AW888

I think solo ads are dying quick. Those lists get burned fast.

I like solo ads. Though, I have found a better list building strategy.

I just don't think that gurus use them to win affiliate contests. I consider a guru to be a $1M per year product creator. Not a "super affiliate". (Though I am aware they do promote other people's products).

Solo ads are fantastic-- but paying for each one means copy quality counts! If you can build up a small general list first, split test different emails before running them as a solo ad.

I personally make a lot of money with solo ads. Not selling solos, but actually buying them to get traffic.

I have often doubled my money with good solo providers.

Good solo ad providers will always replenish their lists with fresh leads. You just have to know which ones.

I've bought a ton of solo ads and am a safe-swaps hall of fame member, so I know a thing or two about solos.

In my opinion, it's the best way to build a massive list, quick.

That being said, you DO have to be weary of people selling fake solo ads.

There's a million ways to cheat them, and the cheats range from novice, to very advanced.

But overall, if you find some good providers, you can build a massive list quick.

Never touched Solo Ads, I feel like I get tons of spam emails already from people who consider me as "on their list" or "willingly subscribed" but that is BS. I would cringe if my brand name came to you in an email you never asked for, and then you hit the "This is Spam" button. Sure there are real providers out there who do it right, but it's so hard to tell the difference.

Just made my first purchase 2 weeks ago. It delivered last Sunday. Out of 700 clicks I got 280 subscribers. But now I have to see how much THAT will convert out of the 280 subscribers. It's been a week since Sunday and nothing as of yet.

You're right that solo ads are a great source of traffic. And you're also right that you can find super targeted traffic.

I think anyone who says that not everyone can make solo ads work is just pulling the wool over their eyes. Of course you can learn how to make solo ads convert.

Is it going to take work? Absolutely. If you're not interested in work, go buy an automated do everything for you plugin or website and be dissatisfied later.

It's funny I saw this post from a guy who bought a complete website, product, and traffic package from a small fish guru for $997. And he came here complaining.

He literally said this. "I was under the impression when I bought that you were going to do everything for me and I haven't even made any sales!"

Think about it, why would anybody take your money and promise to do everything for you? Is it maybe because that's the most appealing thing they can tell you?

And why would anyone in their right mind drive traffic to your website for you, create a product for you, design your site for you, write copy for you...

To make YOU sales...

When they could do it for themselves. Think about it. If you're selling a $27 ebook and they're promising you $XXX a day, and they're selling you the "full package" for $997...

Then obviously they're leaving a ton of money on the table by "totally hooking you up"?

By the way, solo ads aren't dying quickly. It's the source of the solos that are dying, aka. people who sell solo ads publicly.

There's no reason why you can't buy solo ads from people who aren't advertising that they sell solo ads all the time...

Think about it.

By the way, just because you don't resonate with a traffic technique, doesn't mean you shouldn't be using it in your business.

As long as you aren't sending spammy emails, and you're sending actual legitimate offers to help and educate people, they will welcome you with open arms.

Sure, other people use it to send spammy crap that you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. That's pretty much a guaranteed situation since advertising media was born.

Just be the OTHER type of guy.

Marc

When gurus want to do a solo ad, they launch a new product

Not but seriously, solos are a goldmine if you know where to look and what your doing. I've made a ton using them, but I've stopped utilising the "go to" places such as the classified section here and other "public" sources - I've found much better sources of traffic from the private sellers (of course this makes sense)

The way I've always looks at solos is that if you've got a semi-decent list, you dont need to sell solos, the ads you send yourself will make you more than enough - solos to me (especially public sellers) are either to burned lists, freebie seekers and people that got into the actual business of selling solos.

ok so where is a good place to look for these solo ads

Solo Ads helped grow my online business (in IM that is)... but shouldn't be the first avenue for the "new to IM" individual IMO.

I disagree. The Great Big Guru Secret is knowing your audience.

Oh, and if you can get some Google love, even better.

I don't think you're talking from experience because solo ads -- unless purchased exclusively -- are washed out traffic that doesn't convert. The people who sell solo ads are usually sending solo ads to freebie-seeking subscribers who they know really won't buy anything. They are literally bombarding them with solo ads and trying to make a lot of money off selling these ads. There is a reason they are selling solo ads and not using the list themselves.

The only solo ads that are actually effective are those purchased exclusively from list owners that don't maintain their list for the specific reason of selling solo ads.

can you get solo ads in the relationship niche?

I guess you have better luck than me with solo ads. Seems like everyone is killing there list with freebies and I have less than a .25 percent click rate when I send them an offer.

they click like crazy when its free though lol.

I am looking to get some Solo ads to start out with. Does anybody know a good source?

Solo Ad Directory: Ezine Advertising, Email Marketing

Regards
Dave

Well, there's no doubt solo's have their place, obviously lots of people use them. But with reference to "Veterans" winning contests all day in and out I can assure you it's not from solo's....but of course I guess it's all depends on which affiliate contests, products and price points we're talking about.

Solos may work for lower ticket products but for higher priced products they won't win contests (they may pay back the cost of a solo and make some extra cash) but to go against a marketer with 50k, 100k, 200k list that is taken care of..... a solo has no chance unless the purchaser has $10k + to invest (which a lot of brand new people coming into the market don't have)...that is unless it's the guy who owns the big Solo Ad list that is mailing...lol (but I'm assuming you're referring to the peeps who pay for the solo ads)

A lot of the veteran so called "Guru" marketers build relationships with their lists which in most cases have been built via a cross promotion (reciprocal) between their lists (which is different than a true ad swap). That relationship and the value they provide are what wins the contests...along with the fact that they have large lists. There are also those who burn their lists no doubt.

I know several warriors who have awesome lists that they have built...AND TAKEN CARE OF vs hammering them. Put a warrior with a strong list that is well taken care of against a solo....I guarantee the well groomed list wins every time.

There are 2 ways to look at it. Build a list of 10k subscribers that are being hit from 82 angles from 82 different people (solo's / swaping) all day who are less responsive and harder to convert (usually lower price points) & increase your overall costs (relatively speaking)

...or build a Strong responsive list of 10k people, provide value, don't blast them all day which increases conversions across the board and your overall subscriber value.

As with anything in this industry there are a thousand ways to skin a cat (make money, build lists etc) ...it just depends on what your business model is I guess. I don't build lists just to build a list. I'd rather have 50 people who love my content and buy than 500 people who aren't going to do much and increase my costs because they're clogging up my email account.

All the best
Sean



@Ben, great point! That's another term that I feel gets thrown around and misused in this industry. The word "Guru" by it's true definition means "Teacher" ...you don't have to make $1Million per year to be a "Guru"

For some Mother Theresa was a great teacher AKA "Guru".....how much did she make per year?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru

Test different solo ad providers. Even on safe-swaps they provide feedback and ratings of solo ad providers. If one provider doesn't work for you, dont throw in the towel yet. Keep testing to see which ones are reliable and that aren't.

I've had a lot of success with solos. However, I'm glad there are so many naysayers here to discourage the competition.

Yes, i agree with all opinions. Just to add on some point as provider, and someone who buys some solo ads for Internet Marketing/Make Money Online Niche Offers.

1) If the provider able to let you know his/hers list on how they build up and not using Adswap, regularly rinses supplier its great and percentage of users country that are responsive to his/her potential offer.

2) Solo ads is only good as it is being used to squeeze page, if more to direct to sales page, conversion goes down. A good solo ads provider would be able to let you know on it based on their past subscriber send out and experience.

3) Put a face value of test, if you are looking to spend 50 USD to test a traffic, do your self estimation of opt-in rate and ask yourself whats suitable return. I do comparison with Facebook and Google Ads traffic cost per click, in some niches, solo ads are better option to go as Google can be expensive if the niche is very competitive, and takes time for people to respond to offers. Time is also essence in order for you to gauge respond and what to tweak in your landing page opt-in.

4) Agreed with some above, test and measure your campaign results with opt-in, sales at backend is plus point if you have other marketing funnels like email autoresponder in place.

If anyone is keen to ask me further questions on solo ads or what sort of list I have too, do drop me a PM on it, I am happy to address any questions.

Ya it's all about who you're buying traffic from. If you can get buyers list or funnel clicks those are high quality. You can't just buy or swap with anyone and expect it to be quality traffic even if you get a bunch of leads.

Just join a few Skype or Facebook solo ad groups and speak to the people on safe swaps check out their testimonials and speak to them before. Get on their list even to see how they mail out.

Wrong. The secret is buying hyper-targeted solo ads.

You can't just buy a solo ad and automatically get hyper-targeted traffic. You have to buy the right solo ad from the right person with the right list.

This requires you to buy them ONLY from people who can tell you what kind of people are on their list. Every time I try to buy a solo ad from someone, I have this conversation where I want to know who is on their list and they keep telling me how many clicks I will get.

But a click from the wrong person is a waste of my time and lowers my conversion rate. If I hand a link to ten thousand people and only one of them buys, I would PREFER that the other 9,999 didn't click on the link. If you send me a bunch of clicks that don't convert, you don't just not make me any money, you mess up my stats and now my product is less attractive to affiliates.

Which is why buying from the guy with the huge list and using a blind-copy ad to get lots more clicks is a Bad Idea. It's not the size of the list. It's the cost per conversion that counts.

The best thing for traffic is quality SEO.

secret...........hmm i used them in 1999.

Solo Ads are brilliant, highly recommended

How come any body called it solo ads if they can have more than one solo ads?

The guys winning affiliate contests are not building their lists with solo ads. They are building their lists by selling products and getting a ton of buyers on them.

Solo ads are getting pimped out big time these days. I can only imagine their effectiveness is declining.

Solo ads are dead, since owners of the lists usually segments buyers from non buyers. They made money from buyers and since there's no way of making money on non buyers, they thinked their way to sell a lead
Also, another tip... don't be impressed with the price, there's absolutely no difference (or at least, there is little difference) between 80$ for 100 clicks, and 35$ for 100 clicks.

Best thing to do: look for facebook ads... You will get few times better results than with solo ads... Fb ads are present and future... At least this moment

Hey AW888 I agree. I have been using safe-swaps.com to safely purchase solo ads. Great for beginners as they track links, rate sellers etc. After struggling for years, I am seeing the incredible benefits of solo ads.

All the best! Kenny

I also believe solo ads are the best way to build a list fast

My partner Jim Cockrum and I won a big affiliate contest
and we never used solo ads.

We did have a very large email list of people who had learned
to trust us over years of interactions.

So there's certainly great money in a list of people you've built
trust with.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I agree with Andrew, most best sales comes from recommendation and strong relationship building.

This takes length of time to build credential, and people must be able to see results of your work to the next step.

I think a lot of people here defending solo ads are looking at it all wrong. Most people who say solo ads work say that because... "Hey I bought 1,000 clicks solo ad and 250 signed up to my list! It's great!" Well no, it's not great...

Those 250 people most likely aren't even buyers. Most are freebie seekers and eat up anything they can get their hands on and disregard anything else you email them. That's if those 250 people are even real people at all... (Those 250 people could easily be bots or 250 paid signups by some guy in India who got paid $20 to do it).

If you're buying solo ads you have to ask yourself why would someone sell access to their list for chump change... The list is either saturated and they can't make any money themselves, or the list is fake and the guys selling the ads are selling bogus signups for easy money, Or... just maybe... you found someone desperate enough to sell out their list because they can't make money with it themselves.

Most likely its option 1 or 2... but who knows, you might find someone who's willing to sell out their list for a quick buck.

Now mailing lists are different. So don't get that confused. I'm speaking strictly about small fry solo ad sellers.

Hello can anyone guide me how solo ads work ? I would appreciate.

I think solo ads and ad swaps is the best way to get traffic on your website and promote your product faster !

Lets say I want to win a launch with no list just solo ads, how many ads do I have to buy say $2000 worth. After all that how many are on my list? 0 right? They all went to the launcher's website not the guru buying the solo ads.

It's better to get them on my site first then email them to check out the launch, right?

Solo ads can be a great way to build your list if you:
1. Have a decent startup capital
2. You spend your capital wisely, picking only trusted sellers with good reviews

Imagine a business model where a group of 10 or more people, say a mastermind group, can get together and each open 25 or 30 email accounts and add more every day if they want. A group like this could certainly "guarantee" all the clicks and signups in the world. Their swipes would be very appealing because they're both writing them and then readling them.

And when the money starts rolling in they could even afford to buy a goofy ebook every now and then to keep the suckers, er, customers happy. Of course, this doesn't happen here on the Warrior Forum.

Solo Ads CAN WORK GREAT, if you know how to USE THEM correctly.

Solo Ads these days have turned into a business so it's always good to evaluate each seller.

1.) Check out what kind of relationship they have with there subscribers.
2.) Where are most of the subscribers coming from?
3.) How often do you sell solo ads?

Make sure to always build your list with solo ads, if you are just sending traffic to offers
than you are wasting your money. Always start low and scale if you are buying clicks.

There are still some good sellers out there, but BEWARE of the garbage out there as well.

I see some of these sellers and that's all they do for a living is sell solo ads.
You think I wanna buy from someone who is known just for selling clicks all day?

Also be sure to track clicks and make sure you aren't getting burned with fake traffic.

And lastly be sure to thoroughly check out all reviews on the solo ad seller.

Solo Ads as with any traffic method can be nice, but you must have money to experiment and scale.

Hope this helped.

Matt