Increase Web Traffic and Sales with Solo Ads that Work

What are Solo Ads?

Solo ads are a form of email marketing that allows you to reach a list of targeted potential customers. The email list owner sends an email to their subscribers promoting your materials. The only contents of this email are your current promotional materials.  Embedded links in this email drive traffic to your website or funnel, where you can make sales, capture email addresses, and begin to build your own email marketing list. 

Deploying solo ads that work is cheaper than other forms of advertising. However, these ads must be polished, usable, and highly responsive to see the desired returns. Check out this website for more information on developing and deploying email marketing solo ads. 

Traditionally, solo ad campaigns are most beneficial to affiliate or information marketers. However they can be applied to almost any industry and help website owners and small business owners get more exposure for their website. If you are not an affiliate or information marketer, a solo ad campaign is still a viable strategy. Solo ads quickly reach many prospective customers, and it is a robust and effective marketing strategy worth knowing. 

Are Solo Ads Right for You?

A solo ad campaign is a fast and cost-efficient method to reverse a conversion slump by reaching new untapped audiences. Perfect for niche website owners in an oversaturated or hyper-competitive market. With solo ads, you can interact with prospective customers faster and more affordably than other marketing alternatives. Solo ads also appeal to a large group of niche-related prospective customers in a short amount of time. 

Website owners can run a solo ad for as little as $10. This single investment purchases one ad that reaches thousands of prospective customers. For those with more marketing funds, run some test ads and see what works best for you.

Those that rely on cost-per-click conversions greatly benefit from solo ad marketing. Running an email solo ad is cheaper than AdSense or Amazon Associates Program, lowering your cost basis for cost per click. 

Launching a new product or feature is also the perfect opportunity to launch a solo ad campaign. A solo ad is an ideal vehicle for directing the spotlight to a new product, or feature, building hype for a product launch, and ultimately, conducting a successful marketing campaign. The features and tradeoffs of solo ads make them perfect for website owners who need to see a fast return on their marketing investments. 

The Value of Solo Ads

In this section I am going to tell you how valuable solo ads can be for your business. Solo ads are easy to implement and deploy. Finding an email list holder in your niche is the most challenging part of creating a solo ad campaign. After finding your email list, all you have to do is create an email with enticing sales copy that represents your objectives. 

Solo ads put up massive numbers and returns. While also building a sizable amount of followers. The speed at which solo ads build followers is perfect for those who are just starting out and have a small following and don’t have the time to build out their email list. A solo ad will also jumpstart the growth of your email list, by driving traffic to your homepage, where you can capture email addresses. 

Getting Started with Solo Ads

First, now that you have decided a solo ad is the best marketing tool for you, let’s discuss getting started and deploying your first ad. Always be on the lookout for good deals, but if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Walk away. Never be afraid to walk away from a deal you have negative feelings about. 

Second, do some research and find out what works. Check popular forums in your niche and start talking to people. Find out what they want, what kind of problems they have, and what they like to see in their inboxes. This information helps you craft a wonderfully effective solo ad. 

Do not overextend yourself on your first ad. Start small and see what works. Test out different lists and find the ones that work for you. Once you find an effective strategy, scale it to capitalize on its success. 

Design email ads with clickability in mind. You want as many clicks as possible through these emails. Keep in mind, though, some niches will have lower overall clicks than others. 

Interact with email list owners. Ask questions about how they built their list, how often they send ads out to their list, and what sort of returns similar ad campaigns have received. Always inquire about what type of offers do well on their lists. If an offer you have in mind is not faring well with their audience, look for alternative list holders. 

Finally, ask email list owners about their policy on hard bounces. A hard bounce is when an email is unable to be delivered because of an invalid email address or domain. Most list owners remove an address after a single hard bounce, sometimes two. If the list owner says they do not track hard bounces, find a different list owner. 

Once you have found a list you like, test it! Test the list on the smallest scale the list holder will let you and see what kind of returns you get. If you are dissatisfied with the results consider changing the copy or promotional content of the ad. Good copywriting is key to high conversions through email marketing. If you are satisfied with the results, launch a larger campaign. 

Finding success through a solo ad is great, but do not overdo it. Plan to send a solo ad about once a month, sometimes twice. 

The Cost of Solo Ads

Determining the overall cost of running a solo ad can be difficult. Some list owners charge per click and others charge per ad. The important variables to consider are what the minimum buy price is, what the open rate is, what the cost per click is, the conversion rate, and ultimately, the cost per conversion.  

Tackle the complexity of the conversion rate by calculating a conversion cost that you feel is reasonable. Then, look for providers that you think will get you to that number. 

Remember, if you think a deal is too good to be true it most likely is. Go here to take a quick look at some solo ad pricing. 

Finding List Owners

Finding email list owners that are willing to send out your promotional material is fairly straightforward. Reach out on forums in your niche to find potential matches for email list holders. Also, check out some popular bloggers in your niche and reach out to them. They may be receptive to running solo ads for their readers. 

There are also dedicated marketplaces for running solo ads. Udimi is a popular solo ad marketplace. At Udimi, all transactions are processed on the marketplace to keep scams to a minimum. Be advised though, not all lists may be as they appear. Always test a list before fully committing. 

After you find a list owner you think is suitable, remember to test your list. If the results of the solo ad are not what you were anticipating, do not be discouraged. The recipients on the owner’s list may have not been your target audience. Try a different list to see what kind of results you get. 

Get Out There and Start Marketing

Staying abreast of constantly evolving marketing trends, strategies, and technologies is key to flourishing as an online business and is a heavy indicator of long-term continued success. These fluctuating elements never cease with the evolving economical and societal trends. To keep up with these variables, do your market research and analysis, and determine if an email solo ad campaign is a fitting marketing strategy for your discoveries. The SBA has terrific information on conducting market research and analysis.

Any business or website owner can find success through solo ads. Set your expectations and goals for your solo ad, seek out an appropriate list, and test your strategy. If your results are less than desirable, tweak your approach. It may be the ad copy, your promotion, or your list that is out of sync. Test these variables until you come up with a working formula. 

If you are having issues, reach out to a third-party agency. They have the training and experience to help you take your solo ad campaign to the test level. Get started today, and remember, if a deal sounds like it is too good to be true, it probably is.