by remega
65 replies
I tested out adf.ly and got slammed with opt ins. I built a list of over 1k subscribers in less than 36hrs. Click Here to see the opt in page I used.

Then came part 2 of the test. I sent out my first email to the list and and got a Zero percent click through rate and the open rate was a joke. The biggest shock was to see the massive bounce rate of over 30% and that number keeps rising.

Have you had the same results from adf.ly or have you had actual success using their opt in leads?
#adfly #huge #joke
  • Profile picture of the author Tenzho
    Used $20 on worldwide traffic. 70 subscriber. 2 open my mail regularly.
    $10 for an active mail opener. B!TC@ Adf.ly
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  • Profile picture of the author OldLodgeSkins
    Hi,

    It's waste of good money... I think we all have more or less the same experience with it.
    You can check out my review on my site if you wish (top left menu), I've done 3 tests with 10k visitors each, the last one is particularly interesting due to the stats I had on this one... 150 signups but none of them visited the download page (this was an opt-in page for a free e-book, so normally, if you sing up you're going to download your free gift! But these guys didn't).

    Seb.
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  • Profile picture of the author CodeBotics
    I've had some experience with Adf.ly and just ended up wasting money. Thankfully, I didn't spend much as it was only a test. Seems like they're a waste of time and money!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    EDIT: Sorry, bad link!
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  • Profile picture of the author jeremysteam
    Adf.ly is a waste, point blank period. If you want to impress people with boosting your stats or maybe show a client you know how to get fast traffic then I'd use it. But the quality is not there, stick with reliable methods of traffic.

    Cheap is not always the best way to go when it comes to paid advertising
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  • Profile picture of the author JKflipflop
    It is the worst source of traffic - at least if you are looking for quality traffic (which I am sure we all are). Thank God for this thread otherwise even I was a little confused regarding the anomalies happening due to Adf.ly with me as well. Pathetic quality of traffic!
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  • Profile picture of the author remega
    I believe most of the opt ins came from bots designed by black hatters who just want the freebies. I also tested a squeeze page with 3 info fields instead of 2 for the name and email. The opt in rate for the page with 3 info fields got Zero opt ins which confirms that most of the adf.ly opt ins are from bots as their bots aren't designed for opt in forms with more than 2 info fields.

    I would also be aware of people who are offering ad swaps. There is a guy I won't name who sells a product that teaches people to create lists using adf.ly and they will send out your message to the junk adf.ly list while you send out your email to your good, responsive email list. I've run into a bunch of people who try and do this on the warrior forum so it is best to ask them up front if their list was built from adf.ly to avoid getting stiffed.
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  • Profile picture of the author roosters64
    It would seem that building your list through conventional methods such as Articles, Forum posts, Blog Posts etc might be one of the better options available. These traffic sites seem to be a constant source of disappointment for people
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    • Profile picture of the author bamstk090
      Originally Posted by TheProgrammer View Post

      1k subscribers in 36 hours? i think they were bots.
      i think same too, just dummy emails
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  • Profile picture of the author nichebee
    I'm testing out this method too.. Yes like you I have got a tonne of subscribers opting in, but what you do need to keep in mind is that marketing these days is all about building a relationship with your list first and foremost (most important). It's said that the average person interested in your offer will not buy from you until he has seen it at least 7 times, so having said that I suggest you provide them with very valuable content first, and then you can ease them into buying from you. I suggest you give them a sales pitch one every 3 emails of free contents, this way your subscribers do not feel like your spamming them.
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    • Profile picture of the author stan07
      Originally Posted by nichebee View Post

      I'm testing out this method too.. Yes like you I have got a tonne of subscribers opting in, but what you do need to keep in mind is that marketing these days is all about building a relationship with your list first and foremost (most important). It's said that the average person interested in your offer will not buy from you until he has seen it at least 7 times, so having said that I suggest you provide them with very valuable content first, and then you can ease them into buying from you. I suggest you give them a sales pitch one every 3 emails of free contents, this way your subscribers do not feel like your spamming them.
      Umm! maybe I can save you some time and money, I wouldn't bother with this traffic source unless as someone has already mentioned it's US traffic. I also had over 200 options a day for five or so days provided free and good quality content which was a 15 series email followup from the highly regarded DOE, not a single optin. Solo Ads are a much better source.
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  • Profile picture of the author theemperor
    Yes I found ad.fly useless. However it was highly recommended in two separate wsos I purchased, go figure. Infact for one wso using ad.fly was the 'big secret'!
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  • Profile picture of the author nvs74191
    I have made sales using adfly.

    I built an optin form using bullets from a sales page in moneymaking niche, and redirected to sales page.

    I used US traffic, and got 10 sales in a day. (4000 visitors)

    Wordlwide traffic didn't work.

    Sending USA traffic to a well written sales page (impulse buy kind of thing) is likely to work, but I doubt if I will rely on this as a stable income source, though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kunj K
    Adfly is a waste of time. All leads aren't created equal, just because they're cheap doesn't make them good. I think a lot of people are missing the point here.
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  • Profile picture of the author kengperapol
    I've got 80 subscribers from over 20,000 views and used $40. They are also not responsive. Such a waste of money.
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  • Profile picture of the author Asher
    Basically... any kind of offer that gets you guaranteed
    visitors at 1 cent or something like that - ain't going
    to be worth it.

    You might as well be chasing free targeted visitors =)

    They're better quality.

    Asher
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I tested adf.ly.

    It sucks for the Make Money Online niche, but it works well for more consumer-oriented niches.

    The biggest problem with it is that you have no control over the kind of traffic you are getting. That is why it is important to select "consumer niches" instead of IM niches to promote.
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    • Profile picture of the author Asher
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      I tested adf.ly.

      It sucks for the Make Money Online niche, but it works well for more consumer-oriented niches.

      The biggest problem with it is that you have no control over the kind of traffic you are getting. That is why it is important to select "consumer niches" instead of IM niches to promote.
      Consumer oriented niches?

      Could you name a few niches? I'm not sure
      what the term targets =\

      Asher
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      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by Asher View Post

        Consumer oriented niches?

        Could you name a few niches? I'm not sure
        what the term targets =

        Asher

        Weight loss.
        Health.
        Dating.

        You know... Those things that non-IMers buy online, with a preference to things that they will keep buying over and over...
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    Used them once as I wanted to try them out - Results - 150 optins, zero sales.

    Conclusion... Don't even bother.

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author MrKeh
    I've also experimented with adf.ly...and it was a complete waste of money. Whoever these people are that sign up through adf.ly ads are bunch of dead beats and won't be making you any money anytime soon.
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  • Profile picture of the author eternalwarrior
    Most crappy sites like warez, blackhat forum uses adfly. Those crappy sites provide illegal downloads of paid software, ebooks. By building list through adfly traffic, you are basically building list of subscribers who are always looking for illegal downloads. How can you expect them to buy things which you promoted through email campaign?
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    A year ago, a client of mine took a sales page I wrote for her and started sending ADFLY traffic to it. Now mind you, this page was converting at 1 1/2% using Adwords traffic and Yahoo/Bing traffic (last time I looked) ...but she thought it was too expensive.

    She pushed a lot of adfly traffic to this proven page and got exactly....zero.

    It's either mostly bots, or people being compensated to click, imo. I'm surprised others have had any success with it, but whatever works for you!
    _____
    Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    Like everyone else I got a really good conversion on the opt-in page, but the double opt-in rate was single figures at best. Halfway through I changed the redirect to the product I was promoting, and again people joined, but never confirmed membership.

    The obvious answer is that the traffic is bots who are trained to fill in opt-in forms to try and trick the people who just look at conversions rather than double opt-in and sales made in the marketing funnel.

    Only crumb of comfort here is that direct USA traffic has worked for some, but note that the price is much higher, so if does look like you get what you pay for.

    I'm also saddened that people are using this a source for adswaps, you should be reporting these scumbags to the owners of the solo ad networks. People like that deserve to named and shamed.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketwarrior06
    Banned
    Why people still talk about Adf.ly? this is tremendously disgusting
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLima
    For list building its a total waste of time!! However...I have had pages where I got conversions immediately with a few cpa dating offers ( banners ) so maybe try and go that route. I my opinion and stats there are WAY better traffic sources out there!
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  • Profile picture of the author jdooley13
    Are you saying that the BOTS that sign up also confirm the sign up. I have gotten over 100 double opt ins off of adf.ly and I have a six percent open rate on my follow up emails. I haven't made any sales yet but thenI haven't really started to pitch anything very hard.
    Are my signups the exception here or have I wasted my money?
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  • Profile picture of the author remega
    Do you think it is unethical to release an info product instructing people to use adf.ly to build a crap list and dupe other honest marketers with good, responsive lists into doing an ad swap?
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    • Profile picture of the author gazzabob
      I agree with u remega I have actually purchased a WSO off here that told me to do just that, I have spent close to $100 on traffic from adfly and after taking a look at my awber stats I noticed that none of the emails are being opened and my so called worldwide traffic is mostly coming from egypt.

      I wont name and shame the warrior who sold me the WSO but I am not happy. I was actually starting to think I had found amethod that was actually going to work for once.
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    • Profile picture of the author sarlat
      Originally Posted by remega View Post

      Do you think it is unethical to release an info product instructing people to use adf.ly to build a crap list and dupe other honest marketers with good, responsive lists into doing an ad swap?

      I think this is totally unethical - I too have bought this product and thankfully didnt spend the £900 upsale - are we thinking about the same person?
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  • Profile picture of the author romanos8
    Banned
    I've never tried but I've been tempted to do so
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  • Profile picture of the author motivation2
    I want to try some cpa offers. I have heard from many that some convert very well. As far as trying to get subscribers? I won't use adf.ly for that... Received great info here... Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author daniel27lt
    You are right. Adfly is a joke. I had over 200 clicks every day and was getting only 0.00004 for each click. What a joke
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  • Profile picture of the author peewhy
    I did a test with AdFly to see what happens with $5.

    I set up a sub domain, added a tracker, created a website and hit the go button.

    $5 went, a few seconds later I received a 'project completed' email, checked the stats - big fat zero, even AdFly didn't visit it to look at the website.

    I dropped them a line to tell them I wouldn't be recommending them to my clients, a couple of days later I receive a refund.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Most of it comes from links spammed on television show sites and such, where people are looking for a specific thing and do not care about anything else, I know because I have found myself there on occasion and instantly bounce away lol

    Keep well away from it I say, it is a worthless thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author jaiganeshv
    I tried two times $5 each ($5 for a WSO showing this) and they are good quality garbage which is fit for nothing...
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  • Profile picture of the author condorx
    I think the only benefit of using Adf.ly is to increase your traffic stats.Many people using it for this purpose.To increase Alexa ranking,etc...
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  • Profile picture of the author smallbusinessguy
    If you are worried about your metrics (Bounce Rate, Time spent on site etc), never use ADFly. It will spoil your entire metrics with one go. Most of the time bounce rate is 99% or higher and average visit duration if less than 7 seconds.
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  • Profile picture of the author Elmar
    I wrote a post on my blog about my experience with Adf.ly. The results were NOT positive.

    http://www.elmarsmarketingblog.com/t...ic-junk-or-not
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  • Profile picture of the author Voopa
    I also wasted money on adf.lk. The users are not responsive they don't even open emails but I don't understand why they optin to my list?
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Petter
    The biggest problem with it is that you have no control over the kind of traffic you are getting. That is why it is important to select "consumer niches" instead of IM niches to promote.
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  • Profile picture of the author Simmeon
    Do you all really expect bank hard.
    Because you bought bargain bucket traffic?
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  • Profile picture of the author imkaren
    oh I am so sad to find it's a joke...I just tried $6 for 15000 visitors and got 80+ opt-in.
    I haven't tried to sale anything yet, but guess I don't need to expect anything from this list...
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert02011
    I wasted over $60.00 before i realised there traffic is garbage.
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  • Profile picture of the author gotti3636
    I think this should be pretty obvious but with traffic....you get what you paid for.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aswad
    Totally waste of time.

    I do used adf.ly before but the result are the same as others who comment on this thread. Non responsive subscriber - waste of money.

    Totally Junk.
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  • Profile picture of the author ElaineHenderson
    I have read that adf.ly is good to get some traffic to your site, and that it can generate some sales too, but haven't tried it... Just think that people are just pass through your page, minimum time is 5 seconds but most of them are not staying for more on the advertising page. Now that I know that results are so bad, I will not give them a dollar.
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    • Profile picture of the author R. Shawner
      It's funny how everyone overlooks the post where a fellow warrior used this traffic in a way almost non of you complainers does and it converts. So it's nothing but logical that it MUST be the traffic that is so bad. It's certainly not the case that you don't know how to use it. q.e.d.

      ~ R. Shawner
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  • Profile picture of the author prismkuet
    Adf.ly gave me one of the worst experience and still found no one who has tried them 2nd time. To me, it's nothing but wastage of time and money which only bring some negative and discouraging effect.
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Quality so bad that one of our publishers paid one of his affiliates to STOP their Adfly campaign... and it was a big one ;-)

    We were tempted to blacklist Adfly.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobuzz
    Paid traffic itself is a bad idea of marketing, unless you are using PPC on Google, Bing.
    SEO will work in long term strategy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
      Originally Posted by seobuzz View Post

      Paid traffic itself is a bad idea of marketing
      ??? Tell that to those who make millions with banners ;-)
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      • Profile picture of the author mike_somerville
        Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

        ??? Tell that to those who make millions with banners ;-)
        Again, example of people wasting time. ---- Well said brother!
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  • Profile picture of the author williamk
    Banned
    Adf.ly does work but the ROI is very low normally. I had known guys who had made 100$ from just a single campaign and some related converting offers. You should try thinking out of the box.
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  • Profile picture of the author mike_somerville
    Wow! You guys spend more time writing about not making money then ... making it!

    Adfly is awesome, I've been using it for over 14 months now and I generate a crap load of money from it ...

    Here's what I see in this thread - most of you are newbies how do I know .. your upset about $40 Bucks! how about a failed solo that cost me $21K - Now that's something to rant about!

    I'll give you a tip right now, no charge.
    - I generate $2100+ per month in Adsense
    - 200 - 1900 new subscribers
    - 1000+ CPA conversions
    ALL WITH ADFLY ====> Investment $200 ...

    Start thinking OUTSIDE the box boys!
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by mike_somerville View Post


      I'll give you a tip right now, no charge.
      - I generate $2100+ per month in Adsense
      - 200 - 1900 new subscribers
      - 1000+ CPA conversions
      ALL WITH ADFLY ====> Investment $200 ...
      No you don't, lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author RyanLeonard
    Your best bet with adf.ly is to send traffic to CPA offers. I had a few conversions the first time, though I've still not been able to make a profit, but I think I'll be able to after testing a few campaigns. The traffic is low quality, but that doesn't make it worthless. Low quality leads still eat, drink, and have wants. You just have to understand the demographic you're serving.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheblogger75
    I too have tried this. I spent about $150 and ended up with almost 1500 opt-ins. I was using the Worldwide, US, and UK traffic option. My question is, if it's real people who are opting in, why would they not open any of the follow up messages you send? And why such a huge bounce rate?

    Also, you'll notice if you use single opt-in (which I definitely don't recommend doing - I've heard Aweber put several people on notice about this practice), you'll get a ton of opt-ins. Switch to double opt-in, and it will cut down about 70% (or more).

    All I can think of is it's a bunch of people surfing just looking for freebies or something.

    Anyhow, it's a lesson learned (a $150 lesson).
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  • Profile picture of the author 8485marketing
    Hi Guys, I just thought id let you in on something here because it doesnt seem to have been talked about. BTW I have trialed adfly traffic purchases but has pi$$ poor returns on the optins, needless to say I put that list into early retirement.

    With adfly you can create a publishers account where you get paid per click of the URL you shrunk. The pay rate again is pi$$ poor but......with an email list of a few thousand and a good number of emails you can have a very small pot of money for doing nothing really.

    Ive just copied my stats from adfly page and it shows
    Total: 121,980 views, $287.00151 earned

    So its money for nothing in my eyes.

    Hope that might help someone out who didnt know that...
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  • Profile picture of the author bibs
    I tested adfly for my Amazon site and I got couple of dollars. Lol. For opt-ins, I also got subscribers but I'm sure they're not targeted buyers. I won't use it anymore.
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