Ok, ok…so I realize the title of this article can come across as a bit hypey.
How are solo ads the “fastest way to achieving wealth online” and what the heck ARE solo ads?
Basically, with solo ads you’re essentially “renting” someone else’s email list.
They’ve done the hard work of building up a captive audience, and then you just come in and say “Hey! I’d like to pay you to mail my offer to your subscribers”. And the whole goal of buying this “solo ad” meaning you’re the only offer they’re promoting in that email, is to siphon some of their subscribers onto your email list.
You’ve probably heard the saying that “the money is in the list”. And so that’s what we’re doing…we’re building a list, which we can then remarket to over and over again.
And, compared to other traffic sources and advertising methods out there, solo ads is generally one of the fastest and least expensive ways to build your list, especially for non-techy people who don’t really want to sit down and figure out advertising networks like Facebook.
What Are The Main Components Of Buying Solo Ads And What Do You Need To Know?
There’s about 5 pieces that you need to have in place in order to be successful and profitable when buying solo ads.
1) You need to have a solid offer – now, you don’t have to be some legendary seasoned copywriter to pull this off, but since your whole goal of investing in the solo ads is to build your email list, you need to come up with a very compelling offer that is going to get somebody to take action and opt in to receive that thing.
This can be as simple as swiping the same headline off of a product or site and using it for your optin page and then sending the visitor directly to the sales page of that product you’re an affiliate of.
You don’t have to overthink this, but if you want to build a more extensive and elaborate funnel you can.
2) Squeeze page tool – the term squeeze page was coined several years ago and refers to “squeezing” the email out of the visitor in order for them to receive your ethical bribe on the next page. A squeeze page is synonymous with landing page or optin page.
But we’ll need some sort of mechanism or software to help us collect that email and add it to our autoresponder (the tool you use to collect emails and communicate with your email list).
The best squeeze page builder I’ve found is ClickFunnels, which is extremely intuitive, newbie-friendly, and has an easy-to-use drag and drop editor.
And the most simple and intuitive autoresponder I’ve found is ConvertKit.
3) Traffic – so once you’ve got your offer and optin page created and you’ve got your autoresponder connected and ready to collect emails from the visitors who see your page, the next thing you’ll need is traffic.
Now, just like any product or service out there, traffic comes in all shapes and sizes and qualities.
As I mentioned earlier the absolute fastest way to build your email list from scratch is by purchasing targeted traffic from reputable solo ads vendors.
So, that’s what we’re going to do.
There are several good vendors out there, but if it’s your first time buying a solo ad, I would recommend starting here.
4) Link Tracker – this is a tool that some might think they don’t need, but I can tell you after years of experience and from getting screwed several times, it’s pretty much essential IF you’re serious.
So, a link tracking tool does several things:
- It tracks clicks and tells you where they came from
- You can use it to direct traffic from one geo one place and traffic from another geo to a completely different offer
As well as several more powerful features…
But the whole reason I suggest investing in one when buying solo ads, is so that you don’t get screwed…or at least don’t get screwed twice.
See, with solo ads, you’re buying clicks. And the vendor may tell you that all your clicks are going to come from tier 1 countries (US, UK, CA, AU, NZ) but then might end up sending you some garbage traffic from India instead.
And if you just gave the vendor your raw squeeze page link you wouldn’t be able to tell.
But with a link tracking tool you would. And you could call them out on it or you would just know not to buy from that person in the future.
There are several tracking tool options available, but of all the ones I’ve looked at, the one that has the most features, was created specifically for affiliate marketers, and is surprisingly cheaper than all the other solutions is ClickMagick.
Again, ClickMagick has a ton of other features you may want to check out. They have great video tutorials that explain how to use every feature. But, for the purposes of buying solo ads, you’ll mostly just be using one or two of the features. You mainly are going to be using it to cloak your raw squeeze page URL and you’ll then give the solo ad vendor your ClickMagick URL. And once the vendor starts sending you traffic you’ll be able to see exactly where the traffic is coming from and exactly how many clicks are delivered.
5) A follow up sequence – the last thing that is pretty essential and that a lot of people just starting out tend to leave out when they first get started is a solid autoresponder or email followup sequence.
See, most people that opt in on your squeeze page are simply not going to buy whatever product or service you’re trying to sell them.
You might get a couple of sales…but most people just aren’t.
And making a profit from buying solo ads…at least in the first couple days isn’t even the goal…because it usually just doesn’t happen.
The whole goal of building your list with solo ads is to ideally “break even” meaning cancel out the cost of the solo ads.
That’s why you present the visitor with an offer.
If you can invest $1000 in solo ads and then you make $1000 back, either the same day or in a couple days…congratulations.
You just broke even and now you have a list of customers, which you can remarket an advertise to over and over again…and it cost you zero dollars to acquire. Because you made your $1000 back.
But you’re usually not going to do that with just direct linking to an offer.
You need a followup email sequence that automatically triggers once that user opts in to your list.
And you don’t necessarily have to be a super fantastic “copywriter” to pull this off. Many affiliate products will have their own “swipe copy” or series of emails that you can use to plug in to an autoresponder followup sequence and you can have those emails delivered one day at a time, until that prospect ideally invests in the product you’re promoting or unsubscribes.
And once they go through one autoresponder sequence you can send them through another for a different product. And keep repeating this. This is why I love ConvertKit, because it makes this extremely easy to do.
But, I’m sure you’re thinking, “But, what if the product I’m promoting doesn’t have swipe copy for me to use…or what if I’m promoting my own product or service?”
I’m glad you asked 🙂
Previously I would tell you to either go find a writer and pay them some money, or just buy a bunch of direct response books and courses, go through them, practice, and become a proficient copywriter yourself…
But luckily now there is a better, faster solution.
It’s called Funnel Scripts.
Funnels Scripts was designed for people just like you, that label themselves as “non-copywriters” crank out high-converting sales copy for any sort of objective you need online…in just minutes…with the click of a button.
I know, I know. I’m super skeptical about done-for-you copywriting programs and formulas because it just doesn’t seem like it could work or be that simple. But just trust me when I say Funnel Scripts is different.
So, if you could use help when coming up with sales copy, emails, bullet points, etc. that are proven to convert, definitely check out Funnel Scripts.
Ok, now let’s getting into some more juicy topics about Solo Ads
Where Are Some Other Good Places To Buy And Find Solo Ad Vendors?
So, there are tons and tons of solo ad vendors out there. And they have them for any niche. So, first I’m going to start out my sharing some places to find solo ads for the business opportunity / MLM / make money online niches.
Here are a few criteria I look for when selecting a solo ad vendor:
– Do they have REAL reviews (ideally from other marketers I’m familiar with)
– Can I scale with them? (it’s no use, even if they have great traffic, if I can only buy 200 clicks)
These are my top picks for biz opp solo ad traffic
Igor Kheifets
Trafficforme
GetRealClicks
Danny White
Additional places you may want to check out for solo ads are: Udimi, Warrior Forum, Fiverr, Blackhatworld, and Facebook groups.
You can also check out the vendor list at this solo ad directory.
Biz opp solo ads can be use to promote any sort of related offer, but these are a few of the most popular business opportunities that people use solo ad traffic to send to:
☑ iPas
☑ MTTB
☑ MOBE
☑ Karatbars
☑ Project Breakthrough
☑ Tecademics
☑ 4 Corners Alliance
☑ MCA
☑ Traffic Authority
☑ Pure Leverage
☑ LikesXL
☑ High Traffic Academy
☑ JVZoo
☑ Easy 1 Up
☑ Big Idea Mastermind
☑ DS Domination
☑ My Advertising Pays
☑ Power Lead System
Solo Ads VS Facebook Ads?
This is a popular argument in the Internet marketing community…solo ads or Facebook ads…which is better?
Well, ultimately I would say Facebook Ads, since you can laser target the exact people you want to add to your list…
But in terms of simplicity…definitely solo ads.
The main reason being because with solo ads you don’t have to worry about images, ad copy, etc…and Facebook ads are generally going to require lots of testing and are going to be much more expensive per lead right out of the gate.
What Other Niches Can I Buy Solo Ads For?
So, you can buy solo ads for pretty much any niche out there. Anybody that has a list can technically sell you advertising space with that list.
The big three niches are: making money online, health/fitness/weight loss/dieting, and relationships.
But there are certainly more specific lists that you can find outside of these niches.
A couple of places you can start if you’re looking for solo ads for things like: forex/binary offers, health offers, survival/preppers, or personal development and finance are:
How Much Do Solo Ads Cost?
Solo ads can vary in price and especially from niche to niche, but in at least the Internet marketing/biz opp niche, typically expect to pay between $0.50 – and $2.00 per click.
What Is The Average Conversion Rate Of Solo Ads?
Again, the main goal of investing in solo ads is to build YOUR own email list.
And the conversion rate or the percentage of number of people that take action and opt in to your list is going to depend largely on how effective your sales copy and offer are.
But if you get that part right, you can usually expect to see between a 25-50% conversion rate, depending on the quality of the vendor you buy from.
To increase my chances of success when buying solo ads I always try and select vendors that guarantee clicks and also, if possible, are sending clicks from a buyers list instead of just a recycled list of just freebie seekers.
How Do You Get Started Selling Your Own Solo Ads?
Most vendors got started in this industry by shadowing under another solo ad provider.
There aren’t a lot of people that offer solo ad coaching, but if you do a quick Google search, you can find some. Or you can just reach out to vendors directly and ask around to see who they recommend.
Another option for getting started selling solo ads, even if you have zero experience or expertise, is solo ad arbitrage.
As I mentioned above, solo ads vary in price a lot. And there are some really good vendors out there that have really affordable pricing.
So, what you can do is create ads and offers in places like: Solochecker, Udimi and Facebook groups and mark up the prices of your source. When people place an order, you can fulfill it through the vendor you use, and pocket the difference.
This is a great idea for a very low maintenance income stream and business that’s pretty simple to run, maintain, and scale.
Recap
That about wraps up everything you need to know about solo ads, how and where to buy them, and how to get started selling them as well, if that’s something you’re interested in.
Here is a list one more time of the essential tools I recommend if you’re planning on investing in solo ads:
ClickFunnels – drag and drop squeeze page builder
ConvertKit – recommended autoresponder
Igor Kheifets – recommended solo ad vendor
ClickMagick – recommend link tracking tool
Funnel Scripts – push button software that automatically creates high-converting sales copy in minutes