How to find a good solo ad

we are in the same boat

I dont want to appear like im advertising because of my sig.

But since you asked, some info on the list like how is the list collected or built.
How old is the list. What niche is it in. [you wouldnt want to promote a different program to a not related interest group]
And what other products have they ever bought before.
[you would want to stick as close as possible to what they buy]
How often they are being advertised to.
[you wouldnt want a list that is over blasted]

hope it helps.

I have used Reed Floren's solo directory a couple of times and been happy with the result. Here is a link Reed Floren's Solo Ad Directory If you find any others perhaps you could return the favor.

what about solo ads in non internet marketing niches? for instance, skin care

Couple more questions you can ask:
-What maturity level are the subscribers, newbie/intermediate/advanced.
-What products are bought mainly, amazon/cb/WSO/etc

Sean, I'd say always go for solo's offering a guaranteed number of clicks rather than just a blast to a list of x number of subscribers.

If it's in your budget, I highly recommend joining Charlie Page's Directory of Ezines. Not only does he provide an excellent resource for finding solo ad providers, but he actually teaches you how to research and succeed with them.

Can you elaborate what you mean? I think I can help you on this..

Thank you all for your guidance provided to me and my boat partner, lol.

Dude have you checked the solo ad directories? i think Reed Floren is the best in this section. check his directory.

Yes, many marketers purchase solo ads from sellers and get SERIOUS results but many marketers are purchasing solo ads and getting traffic but not optimum traffic or results. I want to look at and consider the variables that make a solo ad purchase successful or not. Here are some things to consider when purchasing solo ads that are frequently overlooked by the unskilled or untrained marketer.

1 Is The Solo Ad Purchase A REAL Solo Ad? - It is common practice in the world of buying and selling solo ads that the seller uses a tracking and redirect method in order to get "clicks". So if that seller was completing a solo ad with buyer 1 and "finished" THEIR clicks, he might possibly be redirecting THAT traffic to YOUR solo ad purchase. In other words, those people are blindly going to your offer and consequently, the conversion are at potential stake.

If the prospect KNOWS why the SHOULD click to your offer and the DECIDE to do so because they are interested, your conversions obviously rise. Whereas, if the prospect is taken there from some generic ad copy and isn't told what they are clicking for, you most likely will get "clicks" from people who have NO interest in your offer. THOSE are the ones you want to avoid paying for in my opinion.
To combat this, ask the seller if they redirect traffic for their solos. Ask them if they have a problem sending YOUR ad copy for your offer. If they resist you with these questions, you can rest assured that they most likely use this "redirect" method. If that is determined, ask them to simply NOT use this method for YOUR solo. If they refuse, move on.

2. What kind of people are going to see your offer? - Many marketers don't ask simple questions about the "list" of subscribers that will see your solo ad. It is important to know what kind of list and interests the solo ad viewers have. You would obviously want to know how and where the subscribers of this list were created. Ask questions like "How did you build your list?". "How many purchasers are on your list?" "Would your list respond well to my offer in your opinion?" Simple questions like this can/will reveal if you want to move forward with the purchase. You MIGHT determine that your offer wouldn't convert well enough for the price of the solo.

3. What time frame will the clicks be delivered? - This is something that is important to know. Why? Well, what if you were promoting something that is time sensitive? It is just always a good idea to establish a time frame in which you can expect your solo ad clicks to be delivered. Never assume anything when you're spending advertising money and expecting results. Depending on the amount of unique clicks you buy, you normally can expect your clicks to be delivered within 48 hours or sooner. However, if this isn't discussed ahead of time, it MIGHT effect the effectiveness of your offer.

My opinion is that QUALITY clicks (not redirected or blind clicks) is MUCH more important than quickness. I would rather have my clicks spread out over time than to get redirected clicks quickly. Targeted prospects are what you're after here so keep that in mind. Quickness would only truly be relevant for a time sensitive offer of some kind.

4 Is your sales funnel set up properly? - Many marketers are not utilizing a proper sales funnel when building their list of subscribers and they are leaving money on the table. It only makes sense that if/when you know what someone signs up for, you can EASILY market to them and get converting sales. In other words, if you have someone that opted in to get a free report on writing quality articles, why not route them to an exclusive offer to a product that can assist them in this even more? These kinds of offers convert well when done properly.

For me personally, I have a series of 3 offers upon anyone signing up for any offer of mine. They all convert very well, as they are targeted exactly to what they sign up for. My offers are clear and precise so that although the new subscriber is redirected to offers, they are told at the top of each page exactly what to expect. My sales funnel goes like this...

1.) They sign up for my offer. I redirect them to an exclusive offer that they will NEVER see that is directly related to the product they signed up for. They can take or leave the offer. This also triggers my confirmation email to their inbox so the directions at the top of this offer instruct them that they have successfully signed up for xxx product and a confirmation email was delivered to their inbox. They MUST confirm their subscription to get their gift and they are explained that here as well. Then I simply ask them to have a look at this one time offer before they go.

2.) When they confirm their subscription, I direct them another exclusive offer that is related to the product they signed up for as well. Different offer but targeted offer in relation to their interest. They can take or leave the offer of course and they are instructed at the top of the page that they have successfully signed up and an email was delivered to them with the information they need to retrieve the free product they signed up for. So confirming also triggered their first follow up message that includes their download information.

3.) When they get their first follow up message, I thank them for signing up and so on of course. I also explain to them that I market to my list regularly and that I expect them to open my emails, read them, and sometimes make purchases from me. I ask them to simply unsubscribe after getting their gift if they no intention of doing any of these things. This weeds out the "freebie" seekers and explains why I have nearly 6000 buyers on my list. The provide them a download link for their free gift but THIS link also takes them to yet another targeted offer in relation to the gift they signed up for. They can take or leave the offer but grab their gift at the bottom of the page and they are instructed of this at the top of the page as to not mislead or confuse them.

So as you can see, if your sales funnel is set up properly and you ask the right questions before purchasing a solo ad, it is NOT uncommon that you make most of (if not all) your investment back from your sales funnel AND you gain many new targeted subscribers. This is one of THE most effective advertising you can possibly do online! No question about it. Good luck with your endeavors.

Equanto

in the world of solo ads you have to be a bit careful and be prepared to spend some time testing

theres lots of great solo ads out there but also many garbage ones too

some of the resources where to find solo ads have been mentioned already but dont think this is it. I have built a huge list over the last 6 months of solo ads and more are always popping up to

the average you should be looking at paying is between $35 - $65 for 100 clicks

this is the standard for around 100 unique clicks to your squeeze page so you should be focusing on creating a good converting squeeze page and a good back end funnel too

you do also need to make sure you ask some important questions too though like:

1. do you send out to your buyers list as well?
2. how have you built your list?
3. what is your list mainly interested in?

these are 3 very important questions that i ask all solo sellers so you know where you stand

if any seller refuses to answer any of these questions i would just walk away, if he is a legit solo ad seller they should have no problems answering those questions

after all you are about to pay him money lol

paul

Great thread.

I only hear one director to try to promote a Solo Ad offer.

We have a list of 30k investor leads that we are looking to possible accept some solo ads or targeted ad swaps to this fresh list.

I looked at these solo ad. Many tells you to only offer free stuff. How do you know if any of these will ever buy anything or it is just a list people & friend collecting stuff. Is that another road to nowhere?