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List Swapping / Solo Ad Ridiculousness

by E. Brian Rose
50 replies
I have been testing out a few different methods of list building over the last few months. The one that concerns me the most is list swapping. Far too many list swap partners have the same goal, which is to build their list up so they can sell solo ads. These are the swap partners you want to avoid like the plague... and you never want to buy solos from!

They will swap with anybody, regardless of the quality of swipe, quality of squeeze page, and quality of product being offered on the squeeze page. Targeting is not in their vocabulary. One email will be for an SEO plugin, the next for a freebie course that teaches how to win the lottery.

I asked one partner how many sales he was getting from his 200,000 subscriber list. He said he doesn't try anymore, because the list only wants freebies. Instead, he sends ten to fifteen swaps a day, so he can sell solo ads to other marketers for $500 a pop. I asked what value a solo ad buyer would get from subscribers that are trained not to buy anything. He said, "You could build your list and sell solo ads."

I'm not saying list swapping and solo ad buying is all bad. What I am saying is you need to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.... and you need to treat your subscribers differently.

If you are building your lists with swaps and solos, your goal should not be to build a list and sell solo mailings. Your goal should be to provide value to your subscribers and eventually get them to give you money in exchange for solving their problem. That is the goal of info-marketing. Anybody that tells you different is wrong.

A few tips...

* Don't blindly copy and paste swipe copy from a swap partner. Only swap with partners who have offers for the same sub-niche as you. A targeted list is always better than a list of spaghetti thrown on a wall.

* Volume does not equal quality. Do not email swaps to your subscribers all day long. One swap a day is almost too much, but no matter how many swaps you send, you must also attempt to sell. Remember, you are in business and your goal is to solve problems and get paid for it.

* Give value to your new subscribers, but don't listen to gurus that tell you the only way to give value is to give something away for free. There is value in product reviews and offers for useful paid products. If you train subscribers that everything they need is free, they will never want to actually buy anything. Also, if you give away a bunch of crappy PLR products, they will think you are full of crap. If your freebies are crap, they can only assume what you are selling is crap too.

* Quickly move a buyer off of your swap list and onto your buyer list. Once they are on your buyer list, treat them with kit gloves. Do not insult a paying customer by bombarding them with crappy freebie offers all day long. This only hurts your bottom line.

* Do not think of your subscribers as a commodity. They are actual people trying to learn something. Teach them what they came to you for in the first place. Teach them with content, reviews, or simply buy telling them what is available for sale and why they would want or need that product. Solve their problem, don't add to it.

* Stay away from anybody that tries to teach you to build lists just for the sake of selling solo ads. These people are bad for the industry and they will pollute you. Stay pure and make money the honest way of info-marketing, which is by helping people solve problems.

Anything to add? Do you agree or disagree? I want to to hear your thoughts.
#list #ridiculousness #solo #swapping
  • Profile picture of the author Lance K
    Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

    I asked one partner how many sales he was getting from his 200,000 subscriber list. He said he doesn't try anymore, because the list only wants freebies. Instead, he sends ten to fifteen swaps a day, so he can sell solo ads to other marketers for $500 a pop. I asked what value a solo ad buyer would get from subscribers that are trained not to buy anything. He said, "You could build your list and sell solo ads."
    Garbage in, garbage out.
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
      Originally Posted by Lance K View Post

      Garbage in, garbage out.
      Absolutely my point!
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill_Z
    I limit my swaps to 1 or 2 MAX per month and I am very picky about the offers I send out. Most of the offers I get to swap are pretty terrible. And when I do a swap, I change the copy and I tell them that I am going to change the copy.

    As far as buying solo's, I will buy a small blast first usually and see if their traffic is any good or if it is just a list that is built on freebies to sell solo's like you have indicated. If the first small solo goes well, I will likely buy another slightly larger one a month down the line.

    I do every once in a while send free stuff to my buyers list, but probably only once or twice a month at the most. Most of the stuff I send to my buyers are offers, product reviews, or content I have written. I stay away from PLR completely.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      Long-term list building success is reserved for those people
      who consistently add value to the lives of their subscribers.

      Do that, and your business will last.

      To me, list swapping and solo ads are at the bottom end of
      list building practices.

      I build my lists so people pay attention - and money - to me,
      not some other yahoo.

      Most list swappers and solo ad sellers are nothing more than
      pimps willing to whore out their subscribers to the highest
      bidder.

      Dedicated to mutual success,

      Shaun
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  • Profile picture of the author retsced
    I honestly believe solo ads are one of the least effective methods for building a responsive email list. I don't care who you are, if you are building a list just by buying solo ads, you are inevitably going to need more subs than anyone else using other methods such as PPC.

    I know your point was about list swapping and it is a very big problem because I see it all the time. A lot of solo ad sellers lists are riddled with marketers with ADHD. They are constantly bombarded with freebies and a million and one different offers day in and day out. There's no congruency.

    Great thread Brian.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill_Z
      Originally Posted by retsced View Post

      I honestly believe solo ads are one of the least effective methods for building a responsive email list. I don't care who you are, if you are building a list just by buying solo ads, you are inevitably going to need more subs than anyone else using other methods such as PPC.

      I know your point was about list swapping and it is a very big problem because I see it all the time. A lot of solo ad sellers lists are riddled with marketers with ADHD. They are constantly bombarded with freebies and a million and one different offers day in and day out. There's no congruency.

      Great thread Brian.
      What are your preferred methods for building your lists?
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    Sounds like a problem that would be most prevalent in the IM niche...the market newbies start withto self-destruct their business. If they didn't make the rest of us look bad, I'd be all for letting them screw up .
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    • Profile picture of the author zannix
      Anyone mind sharing your top 3 ways of building your list (solo ads and ad swapping excluded)?
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    The biggest concern I have with most of the Solo Ad sellers is the ones that offer Guaranteed Clicks...

    When you run an ad for a product/list, there are no guarantees, and if there are guarantees, it makes me question the quality of results.

    Who cares if you can guarantee me 1000 subs? If those are not real people, or people paid to subscribe to my list, then there is NO VALUE in the exchange of cash for subscribers!!

    Another factor I have seen played in "Guaranteed Clicks" is Solo Ad vendors who refuse to run the ad you submitted, and instead they write generic blind copy to deliver clicks to your offer page... Again, this is a concern of targeting. Someone who is tricked into signing up for my list is not a "qualified prospect" either.
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      Another factor I have seen played in "Guaranteed Clicks" is Solo Ad vendors who refuse to run the ad you submitted, and instead they write generic blind copy to deliver clicks to your offer page... Again, this is a concern of targeting. Someone who is tricked into signing up for my list is not a "qualified prospect" either.
      I have heard of solo ad sellers changing the swipe copy into one line that says something like, "This is awesome click here".
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    • Profile picture of the author marketinguk
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      The biggest concern I have with most of the Solo Ad sellers is the ones that offer Guaranteed Clicks...

      When you run an ad for a product/list, there are no guarantees, and if there are guarantees, it makes me question the quality of results.

      Who cares if you can guarantee me 1000 subs? If those are not real people, or people paid to subscribe to my list, then there is NO VALUE in the exchange of cash for subscribers!!

      Another factor I have seen played in "Guaranteed Clicks" is Solo Ad vendors who refuse to run the ad you submitted, and instead they write generic blind copy to deliver clicks to your offer page... Again, this is a concern of targeting. Someone who is tricked into signing up for my list is not a "qualified prospect" either.
      Too true Bill, especially the point of "guaranteed clicks" and the sellers insisting on using their own swipe. I will never now let a seller use their own swipe, if they insist then i'll never use them. The reason is like you say they're not qualified prospects. If the swipe says check out this awesome offer which will help you get tons of traffic and my offer is in the offline niche my conversions won't be too clever. I'm also speaking from experience on this, having been burned in the past by this!

      I am not as against swaps etc. as Brian and others maybe but do agree that it's crucial to be very careful in this area otherwise you're wasting time and money. I find what's really important is to make sure they're in the same niche as you are and feel comfortable with who i'm dealing with from contacting them and seeing what they're offering for my subs.

      N.B. Welcome back Joe it's been a long time buddy!

      Joel
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  • Profile picture of the author linkdestiny
    Thanks for the helpful information...I would still consider myself a newbie when it comes to list just because I recently started building one!....One quick question what do you mean by "switch lists"?..I would love to know more I have a list of around 5k its not alot but I feel that it is ok for 5 months of building.

    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author HostWind
    I think this would fall under the same category as the "laser targeted paid traffic" stuff..
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    Sounds like a solo ad ponzi scheme. The person left holding the bag is the solo ad buyer who spends his money with the expectation of actually making sales from the list instead of just selling ads.
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  • Profile picture of the author Todd Pedersen
    * Do not think of your subscribers as a commodity. They are actual people trying to learn something. Teach them what they came to you for in the first place. Teach them with content, reviews, or simply buy telling them what is available for sale and why they would want or need that product. Solve their problem, don't add to it.
    I couldn't agree more. I really get tired of receiving 5 emails a day from some affiliate marketers. I just label them as spam. There are quite a few Warriors that I have bought WSO's from who will email you to death. That doesn't seem smart in my book.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by Todd Pedersen View Post

      I couldn't agree more. I really get tired of receiving 5 emails a day from some affiliate marketers. I just label them as spam. There are quite a few Warriors that I have bought WSO's from who will email you to death. That doesn't seem smart in my book.
      I don't care to be bombarded with affiliate pitches either. But if you willingly joined their list the message you get from them are NOT spam. Just unsubscribe.

      There are a number of people who purposely hammer their lists with offers. As long as they can keep a steady flow of new opt ins to their list, they don't care if your unsubscribe. If you're not ever going to buy anything from/through them, they may actually prefer that you unsubscribe.

      That approach isn't for me. But I also understand that it's neither realistic nor fair to expect others to run their businesses based on my way of thinking. If it works for them, so be it. If I'm on one of their lists and get tired of their pitches...I simply unsubscribe.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Dunstan
    Solos are here to stay. They can be an excellent way of building a list, IF you go to the right kind of people.

    Some only sell solos occasionally and will also turn down your product if it does not fit what their list wants. They are trying to add value to their list and a good way to do it is to offer your product. They make money and you get sales without giving them affiliate commission. Both can win.

    I agree that ad swaps can just build up freebie seekers. That is no use to me.

    I hate it when people change my swipe too. It means that the clicks I pay for are no longer targeted to what I want.

    Like all these things, some unscrupulous people can come in and louse it up for the rest of us. However, I wouldn't want to link all solo sellers together. Those whose main business is selling solos are absolutely just interested in maximising click through for freebies. This is not a sustainable business as it will eventually kill solo selling.

    However, some will sell quality solos to their own lists, occasionally, as a way of providing value to their lists. They still want to treat their list like Gold. THESE are top quality providers.

    Not all dogs are the same!

    Paul Dunstan
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  • Profile picture of the author TheSalesTechnician
    A++ Post Brian.
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  • Profile picture of the author Todd Pedersen
    I don't care to be bombarded with affiliate pitches either. But if you willingly joined their list the message you get from them are NOT spam. Just unsubscribe.
    You did state it better. I agree it is not spam. It just leads me to place them in my spam filter. That is what I was trying to say.

    I usually don't unsubscribe, since they do send some owrthwile emails every once in a while. I just read them from my spam folder.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lance K
      Originally Posted by Todd Pedersen View Post

      You did state it better. I agree it is not spam. It just leads me to place them in my spam filter. That is what I was trying to say.

      I usually don't unsubscribe, since they do send some owrthwile emails every once in a while. I just read them from my spam folder.
      Ah...I get what you're saying.
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewStark
    This is exactly why I moved away from adswaps ~ 18 months ago. I got carried away seeing that the number of subscribers was going up and that must be a good thing.

    Then I noticed that the clicks I was getting from my mailing nosedived, and I started to find that I was making no sales at all for the promos I did. Turns out that I'd lost my best prospects, so if you value your list then go for buying solo ads vs swapping, and be wary of who you buy from.

    It's also worth checking to see what sort of refund policy is in place. If you know that your funnel converts at 10% and you get a 0% will you be able to claim a refund? It's getting to the point where this subniche will implode due to scumbags not caring about the customers.
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    • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
      Originally Posted by AndrewStark View Post

      This is exactly why I moved away from adswaps ~ 18 months ago. I got carried away seeing that the number of subscribers was going up and that must be a good thing.

      Then I noticed that the clicks I was getting from my mailing nosedived, and I started to find that I was making no sales at all for the promos I did. Turns out that I'd lost my best prospects, so if you value your list then go for buying solo ads vs swapping, and be wary of who you buy from.

      It's also worth checking to see what sort of refund policy is in place. If you know that your funnel converts at 10% and you get a 0% will you be able to claim a refund? It's getting to the point where this subniche will implode due to scumbags not caring about the customers.
      I never had high hopes for swaps, but I like to test things before I speak negatively about them. Now, I can say that I have no interest in ever swapping again. The quality of leads was worse than any other source I have used in the past.

      Solo ads, on the other hand, have done well for me... but like I said earlier, you have to kiss a lot of frogs.
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    good post brian

    this is why i don`t hardly ever do ad swaps

    if i come across someone that is like me and hardly ever does an ad swap then i may consider it as long as what they give away is good and they are not just going to spam my subscribers with garbage

    i would rather generate 5 lazer targeted leads a day then 50 with ad swaps any day

    paul
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    • Profile picture of the author RogueOne
      Originally Posted by paul nicholls View Post

      i would rather generate 5 lazer targeted leads a day then 50 with ad swaps any day

      paul
      Me too.

      In all my test, for ROI, nothing beats PPC.

      I also tell all my subs. upfront, how to unsub. and to not confirm if they do not want to receive future emails from me.

      IMO quality will provide a higher ROI than quantity every time.
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      • Profile picture of the author E. Brian Rose
        Originally Posted by RogueOne View Post

        In all my test, for ROI, nothing beats PPC.
        I would actually concur with that. Out of everything form of online marketing that I have done, PPC has consistently brought me the best ROI.

        When I first started with PPC, it seemed like I was throwing money down the toilet... and I was. I suggest reading up on the best techniques before you start. It's not hard to get the hang of, but going at it blind is not wise.
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  • Profile picture of the author um1001
    I've been on E Brian Rose's list forever and he makes it look easy. He has the right balance of information and pitch. You'd be wise to listen to him.

    I'll add to what he said. The best way to get a great list is to sell products. If you have quality stuff, people will happily buy over and over. Why would you want to pollute your list that's gone through the sales funnel with ad swaps? It just doesn't make sense.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dan Curtis
    Outstanding post. Posts like this are the real value of the Warrior Forum.

    You make some very important points:



    Your goal should be to provide value to your subscribers and eventually get them to give you money in exchange for solving their problem. That is the goal of info-marketing. Anybody that tells you different is wrong.
    This is refreshing. Providing value is the essence of marketing. It is easy to lose sight of this in the effort to make money.

    * Give value to your new subscribers, but don't listen to gurus that tell you the only way to give value is to give something away for free. There is value in product reviews and offers for useful paid products.
    I like this. I am not in favor of chasing people with free offers. I am not that desperate. And I don't want to cater to those who are not willing to exchange anything. Only criminals and psychopaths want everything for free.

    Teach them with content, reviews, or simply buy telling them what is available for sale and why they would want or need that product. Solve their problem, don't add to it.
    This really simplifies it. "Simply telling them what is available for sale and why they would want or need that product." It doesn't get any more straightforward than that.

    * Quickly move a buyer off of your swap list and onto your buyer list. Once they are on your buyer list, treat them with kit gloves.
    Kid gloves?

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  • Profile picture of the author RobKonrad
    Awesome post Brian!
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    There is definitely a science to building a quality list with solo ads and ad swaps...

    I personally buy LOTS of solo ads and I do two ad swaps a week (usually in the 200-600 click range)...

    However - everything said above is absolutely true!

    My goal is to let the "pimps" sell me as many "whores" as possible...

    I then do my best to teach those "whores" to be respectable ladies - you know - take a shower, get a job, pay the rent type of gals...

    The key is definitely in being very very very picky - both in WHO you purchase solo ads from and even more so with who you do Ad Swaps with...

    I also take extreme effort to get as many people as possible to be moved from the "freebie" list to the "buyers" list and NEVER NEVER NEVER send an ad swap to my buyers...

    The key is to provide value - these folks aren't used to getting value (usually). So by giving them a little attention and showing them they matter they often convert to very loyal buyers...

    Long story short - take the time to give value and you will get value - even from things that seem to have "little" value...

    Happy list building to all :-)

    Cheers,
    Coby

    P.S. Good Post EBR
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  • Profile picture of the author John Atkins
    Great post. There are several people with unresponsive lists
    nowadays. They could learn a thing or 2 from this post.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Autrey
    This is a great discussion BUT....... where does a NEWBIE get content (free products or just info) to write for his subscribers list?

    We need some ideas... Maybe "The Top 3 ways to do ________(this)" or "The Top 10 Reasons you should never do ________(that)"

    But I'm a newbie so I'm not sure what to write... I guess I can talk about me and what I've learned so far in the industry... Dunno??
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    Not us... Not marketers. We live far above mediocrity. Always keep this in mind at all times..

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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Carlson
    Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

    I have been testing out a few different methods of list building over the last few months. The one that concerns me the most is list swapping. Far too many list swap partners have the same goal, which is to build their list up so they can sell solo ads. These are the swap partners you want to avoid like the plague... and you never want to buy solos from!

    They will swap with anybody, regardless of the quality of swipe, quality of squeeze page, and quality of product being offered on the squeeze page. Targeting is not in their vocabulary. One email will be for an SEO plugin, the next for a freebie course that teaches how to win the lottery.

    I asked one partner how many sales he was getting from his 200,000 subscriber list. He said he doesn't try anymore, because the list only wants freebies. Instead, he sends ten to fifteen swaps a day, so he can sell solo ads to other marketers for $500 a pop. I asked what value a solo ad buyer would get from subscribers that are trained not to buy anything. He said, "You could build your list and sell solo ads."

    I'm not saying list swapping and solo ad buying is all bad. What I am saying is you need to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.... and you need to treat your subscribers differently.

    If you are building your lists with swaps and solos, your goal should not be to build a list and sell solo mailings. Your goal should be to provide value to your subscribers and eventually get them to give you money in exchange for solving their problem. That is the goal of info-marketing. Anybody that tells you different is wrong.

    A few tips...

    * Don't blindly copy and paste swipe copy from a swap partner. Only swap with partners who have offers for the same sub-niche as you. A targeted list is always better than a list of spaghetti thrown on a wall.

    * Volume does not equal quality. Do not email swaps to your subscribers all day long. One swap a day is almost too much, but no matter how many swaps you send, you must also attempt to sell. Remember, you are in business and your goal is to solve problems and get paid for it.

    * Give value to your new subscribers, but don't listen to gurus that tell you the only way to give value is to give something away for free. There is value in product reviews and offers for useful paid products. If you train subscribers that everything they need is free, they will never want to actually buy anything. Also, if you give away a bunch of crappy PLR products, they will think you are full of crap. If your freebies are crap, they can only assume what you are selling is crap too.

    * Quickly move a buyer off of your swap list and onto your buyer list. Once they are on your buyer list, treat them with kit gloves. Do not insult a paying customer by bombarding them with crappy freebie offers all day long. This only hurts your bottom line.

    * Do not think of your subscribers as a commodity. They are actual people trying to learn something. Teach them what they came to you for in the first place. Teach them with content, reviews, or simply buy telling them what is available for sale and why they would want or need that product. Solve their problem, don't add to it.

    * Stay away from anybody that tries to teach you to build lists just for the sake of selling solo ads. These people are bad for the industry and they will pollute you. Stay pure and make money the honest way of info-marketing, which is by helping people solve problems.

    Anything to add? Do you agree or disagree? I want to to hear your thoughts.
    Brian,
    I fully agree with you.The problem with ads swaps/solo ads is that in most of the cases,you build a list of freebie seekers with them.

    Yes,they can generate a lot of clicks and you may get many subscribers but at the end of the day generating sales is what matters.

    A few months back,I tried a well known ad swaps exchange platform and while I added a couple thousand subscribers,it diluted my list more than I could recover from the new subscribers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bill Hugall
    I totally agree. I tend to only buy solos so that I can take those people and actually give them something other than make $10k a day in their inbox. I think adswaping is the quickest way to ruin a a list. I have seen the quality of solo's go down lately as well.

    It worked for a while now its time to use some good old methods. Great post by the way.
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  • Profile picture of the author vger596
    Great Post, Brian.

    I had been doing the IM biz relying mainly on Google bringing the traffic to my sites. Occasionally I would do some FB ads to bring traffic to my list. The negative thing is that I don't have control on the campaign.

    Everyone is telling me that "the money is in the List". Well I had just started to build my list. And in order to build my list quick, I don't have any choice but to buy solo ads. Any recommendations on where I could get good quality solo ads suppliers specializing in the "making money online" niche?

    Thanks again for the great post.
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  • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
    I'd be very interested in that one too. Mind you, if I did have an amazing source of solo ads I probably wouldn't want to post it on WF...
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  • Profile picture of the author AigulErali
    Awesome post Brian, Exact and to the point!

    the purpose of building a mailing list is to make money. It is NOT about giving away free content. When you build a list on the premise of giving away free content - You build a list of purely freebie seekers.

    Everyone gives away free stuff and most of the time its not worth reading. My research tells me that lots of people have a separate email account that is a throw away account for these "Free" offers. A list built with this type of prospects produces no future sales. Its not the size of the list its the quality.

    You cannot make money from a crowd of freebie seekers.It's all about your funnel and we all know that the money is not in the size of your list, Money is NOT in the list.

    MONEY IS IN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LIST!

    I also think it's a bad idea to buy solos/do ad swaps just to build a list to sell solos from like many marketers do now, because then you have the true effects of list dilution and you train the list to want freebies...

    Aigul Erali
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  • Profile picture of the author KingMedia
    Lot of good points.

    If you give a freebie out, make sure it's good! that will build a relationship which you can then promote good products that you use or would use, etc.

    Build trust and don't be a schmuck.
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    • Profile picture of the author Reginia
      I understand and agree with some of what has been posted here.
      I do notice however that nobody is offering any real answers or alternatives for people that want to build their lists.
      I never made any money online until I started buying solo ads to build my list and make sales.
      I have looked for alternative list building techniques, but I haven't found anything else that really works.
      There have been at least 3 people that have asked for other ways to build their lists in this thread, but nobody bothers to answer them.
      I for one would love some real concrete ways to drive traffic without solos.
      I am on some of your lists and have been for quite a while.
      Where are your answers to list building??
      I hear a bunch of people that have already found success online selling people like me worthless crap suddenly deciding we should clean up IM and they don't seem to think anyone should use the strategies they used to be successful anymore.

      I am still waiting for someone to tell me a workable alternative, but for some reason all I usually hear are crickets.
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      • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
        Originally Posted by Reginia View Post

        I understand and agree with some of what has been posted here.
        I do notice however that nobody is offering any real answers or alternatives for people that want to build their lists.
        I never made any money online until I started buying solo ads to build my list and make sales.
        I have looked for alternative list building techniques, but I haven't found anything else that really works.
        There have been at least 3 people that have asked for other ways to build their lists in this thread, but nobody bothers to answer them.
        I for one would love some real concrete ways to drive traffic without solos.
        I am on some of your lists and have been for quite a while.
        Where are your answers to list building??
        I hear a bunch of people that have already found success online selling people like me worthless crap suddenly deciding we should clean up IM and they don't seem to think anyone should use the strategies they used to be successful anymore.

        I am still waiting for someone to tell me a workable alternative, but for some reason all I usually hear are crickets.
        You already know the other ways:

        1) Squeeze page
        2) Sidebar Opt-In
        3) Pop-up Opt-in
        4) Co-reg

        That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
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        Free Special Report on Mindset - Level Up with Positive Thinking
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  • Profile picture of the author johndetlefs
    At the risk of copping some flak here, I don't think that there is anything wrong with giving something away for free.

    In fact, if it's really good, actionable content, that provides real value then it can improve the response of your list because they know that you're not going to be selling them crap.

    I got a nice email yesterday (and I quote)

    "I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that your report was probably one of, if not the best piece that I've read in the 2 to 3 months that I've been researching the subject. I know there wasn't that much to it (besides great info)as in all the shiny bells and whistles but you were HONEST and I've been noticing alot that there isn't very much of that in this industry, hardly any. So with that being said it was like a breathe of fresh air to read your report. Have a nice day and hope you succeed in all your ventures."

    So, regardless of how or where you got your subscribers from (and I get all of mine from solo ads and swaps), I think that there are plenty of real people on your lists, but they're waiting for something of real value before they want to talk to you or buy your stuff.

    These days IMO you have to not only be an exceptional marketer, but also give serious value to be successful. There's too much crap floating around that you need to rise above before you make any real money.

    That said, I also think that the internet marketing "info product" days are numbered anyway. They have been commoditised down to almost nothing because of all of the recycling and cheap PLR etc.

    This is especially so on the WF where WSO's have reduced info products to $5 or free. Not saying that's bad, just how I see that it's heading.

    Picks and shovels and coaching seem to be the way forward as far as I can tell.

    Above all though, a little bit of integrity and as little bullsh!t as possible.
    Signature

    You only get one shot at life - make it awesome.

    Everyone else also gets just one crack at it - help make theirs awesome too... or, politely step out of their way.

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  • Profile picture of the author ExpertSEOServices
    I have tried building list with a free product, building a list with solo ads, and building a list from buyers.

    The buyers list may be smaller but converts the best HANDS DOWN!
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    [SOLO AD] REVIEW PRICES - Buyer Lists Included - Quality Solos - LIMITED GOING FAST!!
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  • Profile picture of the author OTrap
    This is why, years ago, when I was running regular ad swaps, I was pretty specific about the kind of site I'd promote and the way it would actually work.

    - no freebie captures except via a downsell page for either of us (so only after they had a chance to buy)
    - promotion was done through affiliate links so we got paid well if we sent quality traffic
    - no more than 1 swap per month with the same person
    - if either of us didn't like the other's offer, we called it off, which was fine

    It honestly made for some pretty darn good traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Devin X
    Banned
    Originally Posted by E. Brian Rose View Post

    Anything to add? Do you agree or disagree? I want to to hear your thoughts.
    My friend, Bill, had some good thoughts on this subject. Solo Ads: Do your homework!
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinDahlberg
    Just started building my list using solo ads. My offer is converting at 40%, which is pretty cool, but it's far from tested. After reading about building your relationship with your list, I set up my autoresponder with as much content as I could think of.

    My goal is simple. Copy the guys who are making the real money with their lists. They aren't sending out a ton of emails every day promoting a bunch of products. They are promoting their own products and a select few others that they really believe in.

    I also looked at the lists that I had unsubscribed from and decided that I would do the exact opposite of these lists.

    Solo-ads and ad-swaps may be a dud, but I won't know until I try them out.
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    Don't Get a Real Job and you will never work a day in your life - Confucius
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  • Profile picture of the author shulink
    When they sell Solo Ads, how do they avoid complains from Aweber or any other email marketing services? I mean if they the list is not targeted, the complain rate must be high, isn't it?
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  • Profile picture of the author korwil
    Love this information. I have unsubscribed from MANY lists over the past several months because it seems like I am getting different offers and only trying to be upsold.

    I always think to myself that I want to join a list where I get 3 emails a week that can update me on new information in that niche. I only want 2-3 emails max per month that are offering me something to purchase. This is how I plan on building my own list.
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