I’m somebody who’s constantly watching the Solo Ad world.
I promote Solo Ads, and follow who the top Solo Ad vendors are very closely.
You might not realize this, I started email marketing largely by adding thousands email subscribers to my permission based newsletter with Solo Ads!
I’m not bragging! I only bring this up, because I love Solo Ads, and I want to demystify all of the hype and ballyhoo surrounding the Solo Ad world.
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First Of All, Let’s Talk About What Solo Ads Are.
I wrote a book on Solo Ad Security once (very niche topic, lol). One of the people who read the book then asked me what Solo Ads were… AFTER they bought the book. (Come on… Lol).
In any event, Solo Ads are a method of buying an email advertisement from someone who has an email newsletter. I believe, that Solo Ads are best used to build your own email newsletter. So in other words, you should promote your lead capture page whenever you take out a Solo Ad.
There’s a million nuances and details here, but that’s the bottom line.
So, you could find someone who has an email list, and then simply ASK THEM how much it would cost for them to send an email advertisement, OR, you could visit a prominent Solo Ad directory and conduct your business there.
What’s Better? Finding Your Own Solo Ad Deals Or Visiting A Directory?
To be honest, this piece of content is ALREADY hugely off topic, but to answer that one question (which a lot of my colleagues have asked), the best thing I can say is that it depends.
I think in a perfect world, the Solo Ad directory would be better.
It’s centralized, there’s built in security, and you can always tell EXACTLY how many clicks you get in your order.
However, as you may have guessed, what happens if the vendor doesn’t have an awesome email list?
Well, then the clicks (and subscribers) you get aren’t always going to be the best.
On the other hand, the main advantage of buying Solo Ads from a directory, is that there’s always a consistent and reliable source of leads.
So, Back To The Point, Do Solo Ads Still Work In 2016?
Face it. 2016 is already over. But, there’s never a day where I don’t see people asking if Solo Ads still “work”.
The reality is that, YES, Solo Ads work, they’ll always work.
But, there’s a few stipulations.
Solo Ad Stipulation # 01 – Your Solo Ad Vendor Has To Be Halfway Decent
A lot of people buy “cheap” Solo Ads from shady sources (lol), and then wonder why their new email subscribers totally suck.
Well, if you want my advice, it’s to SPEND TIME finding a Solo Ad vendor who doesn’t suck.
If you have a lot of marketing buddies, blogging pals, or other colleagues who have a decent email list, you could always ask them how much they would charge you to promote your lead capture page.
You never know; if they’re really cool, they might do it for free. (Okay, probably not, but they might give you a good deal, hehe).
Solo Ad Stipulation # 02 – Your Offer Has To Match The List!
I’m someone who is a TOP RATED buyer of Solo Ads from the world’s premier Solo Ad directory. (Yes, at this point I’m shamelessly ranting).
The point of mentioning this, is because I know for a fact a ton of marketers overlook this idea.
If you want my advice, it’s to ask the Solo Ad vendor what type of email list they have. What kind of offers is their audience interested in?
Of course, the majority of Solo Ad lists are in the “Internet marketing” and “Business” niches, however, it’s always important to ask – especially if you find a Solo Ad vendor via your own independent methods.
Solo Ad Stipulation # 03 – Be Sure To Have An Awesome Funnel!
You can have the best Solo Ad vendor on the planet, and your offer can be really cool, but if the totality of your email funnel sucks, then nothing good is ever going to happen.
So here’s my advice.
Don’t be afraid to sell stuff!
I think, the best Solo Ad funnel, is when you have an immediate one-time offer as soon as the subscriber joins your email list.
Even if you intend on promoting a webinar, or a complex email autoresponder on the back end of your email funnel, having a one-time offer is still ideal.
And, in my opinion, a Solo Ad buy is the best when you earn a commission immediately after your subscribers opt-in. If you don’t have a solid one-time offer, then you’ll never even have a chance to break even immediately. My advice? Is to give yourself a chance.
So Yes, Solo Ads Still Work in 2016, If You Follow These Simple Rules, You’ll Be Giving Yourself A Chance.
It’s true that Solo Ads aren’t for everyone.
When I first started building my email newsletter, Solo Ads were definitely my primary list building method, and I had pretty good results.
And, the aforementioned stipulations on this post might seem like “common sense”, but I promise, that it’s so easy to miss these ideas and end up failing dismally, so, take my wisdom, and benefit from it.
I wish I followed these rules when I first started building my newsletter.
Thanks so much for reading, and please have a beautiful day.
Mike “Han Solo” DeVincent