Solo Ads 101: The Ultimate Guide to Master Solo Advertising

Solo advertising is one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your business. Solo ads are also called solo email ads, solo ad blasts, or solos in general.

Regardless of what you call them, they allow you to reach more people more effectively than almost any other type of marketing campaign.

However, before you start creating and sending out your solo ads, you’ll need to understand precisely what they are and how to use them properly.

In this new guide to Solo Advertising, you will learn Solo ads 101 from A to Z.

What are Solo Ads?

Email solo ads are small, text-based advertisements or email copies that contain only a link and a sales pitch for an affiliate product. To obtain one, you need to purchase it from a vendor on Udimi (we’ll cover that later).

They can be used in many ways, but are most commonly sent out with subscription services like AWeber or GetResponse. They typically achieve high open rates and have been dubbed the secret weapon of online marketers by Forbes.

A solo ad is an email campaign you send to a niche email list you do not own.
You essentially “rent” email lists from someone else in your industry to send targeted promotions.
Building a comprehensive email list is the cornerstone of any successful internet promotion, sale, or business.

Whether you want to get a new website off the ground or build your email list, solo ads can make it happen. For example, you could place an advertisement on Solo advertising your webinar on how to create a 10-figure business. People click on your ad, attend your webinar, and hopefully sign up for one or more affiliate offers, as well as your main product.

Solo ads can be utilized by almost anyone looking to grow their business. This is especially true if you have a conversion-focused product that’s good at converting leads into paying customers. If that sounds like something you could use, we recommend checking out our Solo Ads sales funnel guide here.

How Solo Ads Work

Solo ads are email messages you pay to have your message or link delivered to an email list that you do not own. With a solo ad, you send traffic and leads directly to your website. You can also integrate solo ads into your social media marketing efforts, including paid posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

When someone buys something or signs up for your lead magnet, you can use a tracking link with a unique ID code in your thank-you message or email autoresponder series. When someone clicks on that tracking link, they’ll be taken directly back to their order page, where they submitted their information. That makes it easy for them (and you) to verify their order and easily reaccess all of their contact information later if needed.

Here are the basic steps on How Solo ads work:

Set up your solo ads sales funnel. It could be an ordinary squeeze page (to collect leads) along with a bridge page (to pitch the front-end sales offer) and affiliate offer, or a lengthier sales funnel with your tripwire offers and OTOs (One-Time-Offers), Upsells, and downsells. Depending on which option you choose, you may need to create additional pages, such as “Thank You.”
Build an email autoresponder series on your email marketing service. Not many services support solo ad traffic. But, GetResponse and AWeber are two of those that support solo ad traffic.
Create an email opt-in page (also known as a squeeze page) and integrate the email subscription form with your email marketing service to send leads instantly. ClickFunnels is one of the most widely used landing page builders, supported by nearly every email marketing service. Additionally, ClickFunnels offers several lead capture page templates for solo ad traffic and allows you to A/B test funnels to optimize each element separately.
Go through the solo ads funnel yourself first to experience if it works as intended and fixes all issues. You may also want to double-check CTA links and email autoresponder integrations.
Publicize your squeeze page and map a custom domain name. A custom domain name gives more than brand recognition. Sometimes, you can increase opt-ins by using a custom domain name. Clickfunnels allows using custom domains. Check if a domain name is available first (recommended: .com domains) and purchase it from NameCheap or PorkBun. Then, set up Cloudflare DNS management. CloudFlare’s free services enable you to serve content from CloudFlare servers worldwide, as well as offer numerous additional functionalities, including minifying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and preventing DDoS attacks, among others.
Sign up for ClickMagick for free over here and integrate your custom domain. ClickMagick is the best tracker for solo ad traffic. It offers features such as a traffic quality checker, a filtering bot to block unwanted traffic, link rotation, conversion rate tracking across simple to complex funnels, and cross-device tracking, among others. Next, create a project in ClickMagick and enter your squeeze page URL, Thank-You Page URL (if applicable), and any other funnel pages. Now, ClickMagick will provide you with a JavaScript tracking code. Place it on the header of each page. Embed the conversion tracking pixel on the Thank You page or Success page. Once the project is finished in ClickMagick, you will get a short tracking URL similar to: www.clmg.com/username/custom-project-slug
Find a good solo ad seller with high-quality traffic. I will cover this in more detail later.
Some sellers allow you to create the email solo ad text copy. Some do not. Select the method you prefer and proceed with placing your order. You will learn more about how much solo ad traffic you need to buy later in this guide.
Wait until the traffic is received completely and analyze your campaign’s performance.
Optimize the sales funnel to achieve a higher EPC (Earnings per click), reduce CPL (Cost per lead), and scale your campaigns by purchasing more solo ad traffic.

What Do You Get?

You’re buying access to someone else’s audience and sending them offers on their behalf, usually as an affiliate for them or sometimes even an affiliate of theirs. Solo advertising works best when you have products or services that target specific niches and offer something unique within those niches; if not, most people won’t sign up just because they received a solo ad from some random person.

First, you will need to find a reputable solo ad seller. Some will let you write the email ad copy by yourself. Once you send the tracking URL and specify the date you want traffic to receive, the solo ad seller will start working on your campaign.

The owner of the email list will then send the email to that many contacts, and if everything goes as planned, you get traffic and sales.

Your decision will depend on your business, but there are some guidelines to help determine if you can benefit from solo ads or not. You may want to consider giving it a try if you meet any of these criteria.

Why Use Solo Ads?

Most digital marketers turn up their noses at solo ads. I used to think they were a waste of money, but my tune has changed. Solo ads are an excellent way to drive sales and build relationships with potential customers. Because they’re such a great source of traffic for almost no cost, I recommend testing solo ads at least once during your career as a marketer or entrepreneur.

If you search for ways to drive traffic to a URL, you will find numerous ways. Some may seem fantastic, but it is not in reality. For instance, organic traffic, also known as search engine traffic, is some of the most converting traffic.

However, getting the traffic you want in today’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization) space is not easy. There are several factors to consider, including competition, return on investment, and financial gain.

Additionally, Google Ads can be profitable if you have a marketing budget and the niche you are involved in is not overly competitive. If you are in fields such as Health and fitness, business opportunities, or personal development, solo ads can outperform Google Ads traffic for your offers.

Furthermore, Facebook ads have become so saturated that acquiring clicks from Facebook has become more expensive than Google Ads in some niches, such as e-commerce.

All in all, solo ad traffic can yield significant results if you do it correctly. Learn more in this Solo Ads vs Facebook Ads vs Google Ads comparison article.

Here are more reasons to use solo ads:

Your Niche Is Competitive

If you’re trying to make money in health, gambling, and dating, you need to rank high, or you will get nowhere.

No matter how hard you try to rank for long-tail keywords, there will always be top authoritative sites like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and other local sites dominating the top 3 places in Google SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).

A helpful hand from some good solo ad email lists would mean the world to you in this case. Because you can get clicks for $0.40 in many niches, you will attract high-quality, in-demand traffic and outcompete your competitors.

Your Niche Is Saturated

In that case, no matter how high-quality your content is, it won’t reach its full potential without some assistance.

For instance, niches such as “Make Money Online,” “Business Opportunities,” and “Health & Fitness” are saturated. As a beginner, getting even a small chunk of traffic is extremely challenging when top players have access to every tool to outmaneuver smaller players.

Ad networks do not support your offer

Google Ads, Meta Ads, and specific advertising networks do not permit ads for offers in particular niches, particularly Those Related to Gambling and Network Marketing. This makes Solo advertising the best possible choice for most marketers to get quality traffic.

You’re Starting with a Low Budget

One of the benefits of solo advertising is that it offers a beginner-friendly environment. Unlike Google Ads and Meta Ads, where you need to consider their ad policies and quality measures to avoid having your ad account locked out, Solo ads platforms have very few laws or regulations. This creates a beginner-friendly environment where a newbie can run a solo ad campaign today and gain experience without worrying about Google closing down their entire ad account.

Additionally, CPC (Cost per click) in some niches on Google Ads is in double digits. The screenshot below shows the keywords along with their CPC values for the Google U.S. database. The niche is Network Marketing.

However, you can easily find Solo ad vendors with MLM email lists who sell traffic for as low as $0.50 per click. This makes Solo advertising as a whole an excellent option for purchasing traffic on a low budget.

Make decisions immediately

Sometimes, you need your business to start growing immediately, and you won’t have months to build a solid audience base.

For instance, you will need to invest a considerable amount of time, effort, and energy to build an email list of 10,000 subscribers through organic traffic (such as search traffic or YouTube traffic).

However, since you can tap into multiple email lists every day and purchase any amount of traffic, building a list of 10,000 leads is relatively easy.

Since solo ad traffic is driven immediately, unlike organic traffic that requires continuous optimization and ranking higher on Google SERPs, you will become more comfortable with Solo ad traffic.

Build your asset at a lower cost

One of the key benefits of choosing solo ads instead of other traffic sources is the high lead conversion rate due to:

The prequalification ability is in the email subject line and email body text
The awareness of traffic (users are aware of what to do in the next step)
User responsiveness and the target of traffic

These aspects make solo ad traffic more effective in terms of CPL (Cost per Lead) compared to most other traffic sources.

Solo advertising is a better choice if you want to build a high-quality, responsive email list in a short amount of time by spending significantly less money.

There’s not much downside and lots of upsides! However, there are some rules you need to follow if you want them to succeed…

Are Solo Ads Right For Your Business

If you’re unsure whether solo ads are right for your business, here are a few reasons why they might be a good fit.

First, solo ads allow you to expand your reach — solo ads enable you to reach an audience that would otherwise be impossible. This can include email lists of thousands of people. Not every person in the world is on Facebook, Twitter, or using Google to search for solutions to their potential problems. Solo ads give you access to some of those people.

Second, solo ads can help establish yourself as an authority figure in your niche and build trust among potential customers. When someone is considering whether or not to buy from you, they will often check out what others have said about you online.

Does solo ad traffic perform well for your niche?

Since the solo ad traffic originates from email lists, it is highly targeted. However, depending on the offer, it will not be a sustainable traffic source for you.

Here are some niches where solo ad traffic typically works well.

1. Make Money Online (MMO)
2. Business Opportunities (Biz Opp)
3. Internet Marketing
4. Network marketing (MLM)
5. Crypto (Cryptocurrencies)
6. Forex
7. Personal Development (if business/money-related)
8. Email Marketing
9. Dropshipping
10. Stocks, Forex, Binary
11. Clickfunnels (products by Etison LLC)
12. Entrepreneurship
13. CBD oil
14. Health & Diet
15. Fitness
16. Travel
17. Survival & Prepping

Also, Solo ads work pretty well with specific types of offers. Here are some of them:

Digital products for SEO/Web Design/PPC/Paid Social Agencies, etc. — Ex: Graphic designing software, SEO course, PPC crash course, apps for agencies with white-labeling features
Product launches — New products that could shake the industry perform well with solo ad traffic.
ClickBank Affiliate Offers, Warrior Plus Offers, JVZoo Offers
MLM products — Ex: TECADEMICS, FourPercent,

Depending on the product, some eCommerce products can perform well too. However, if they have an element that provides immediate help (instant gratification), they will perform exceptionally well. Learn more in this article about using solo ad traffic in eCommerce niches.

Benefits Of Solo Ads

So, why should you use solo ads over, let’s say, Banner ads?

Here are three benefits of solo ads:

It’s Straightforward

One of the most significant benefits of Solo ads, in my experience, is their straightforwardness. You won’t be spending hours trying to think of catchy popups or a new blog post.

Instead, your brainstorming ends with writing your email and paying the vendor. The rest happens by itself.

It’s Comprehensive

Unlike banner ads, where you have a very limited number of quality website publishers, Solo advertising allows you to tap into multiple email lists anytime you want. If vendors have built massive email lists, this will be great for you if your niche is more general.

If your niche is specific, vendors will be ready to cater to you.

It’s Effective

Solo ad traffic is qualified from the very beginning. The seller knows his list’s responsiveness and hence will send the email to a highly engaged segment. People will have to read the subject, read the email body, and then click the CTA link.

When the visitor lands on your targeted URL, they are aware of what to do. Therefore, you can typically expect a higher lead conversion rate (40%+) and a higher sales conversion rate.

This makes Solo Advertising more effective than most paid ad traffic sources.

Traffic Tiers in Solo Advertising

There are numerous misconceptions about solo ads. Many advertisers who run solo ad campaigns believe they can create any ad and it will perform well, but that’s not always the case. There are many different tiers of traffic out there, and your marketing budget isn’t unlimited.

When running solo ads, you need to match up the tier of traffic with your budget for maximum results — after all, what’s suitable for your biggest competitor probably won’t be right for you! Let’s examine each tier in-depth and explore how to utilize it most effectively.

Tier 1 Traffic

The most popular and go-to traffic tier among the solo ads community. Tier 1 countries in solo advertising are primarily English-speaking, wealthy nations.

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canda
4. Australia
5. New Zealand
6. Singapore *

Singapore has been considered a Tier 1 country in solo advertising due to its higher GDP per Capita (Nominal) and high English literacy rate.

Learn more about traffic tiers in solo advertising from this article.

Solo Ads Funnels

The ultimate goal of purchasing solo ad traffic is to generate income. It involves funneling traffic to offers. Depending on how it is set up, there are three ways to utilize solo ad traffic to generate income.

1. Send traffic directly to an offer.
2. Send traffic to your bridge page and then link out to sales pages from there.
3. Send traffic to the squeeze page and then redirect traffic to a sales funnel.

Traffic to Offer

The first method is sending traffic directly to the offer. It is also known as direct linking. The main advantage of this method is that more people will see the offer page. If you buy 300 solo ad clicks, 300 people will see the sales page. This method is best for testing a sales funnel’s performance directly.

The downside of the direct linking method is that it does not collect user data. It is not recommended to direct link as you are not building your email list.

Bridge page to Offer

A Bridge page is an introductory page that warms up the traffic about the offer.

This method is more effective in terms of increasing the sales conversion rate. Using a bridge page between solo ad traffic and the front-end sales offer will reduce the number of people who see the sales page, but it will increase the number of conversions.

Squeeze page to Sales Funnel

Third, the recommended method for solo ad traffic is to send traffic to a squeeze page and then redirect it to the sales funnel. A squeeze page is a simple lead-capture page. Find a collection of the best lead registration pages for solo ads here.

Check out this article on How to Set Up an Effective Solo Ads Sales Funnel to find out more details.

Solo Ads for Affiliate Marketing

Many people purchase solo ad email traffic to generate income with affiliate offers. Solo ads and affiliate marketing perform well only if you follow the proper steps.

Two ways to use solo ad traffic with affiliate offers:

1. Send traffic directly to the affiliate offers
2. Send traffic tothe squeeze page and then redirect to the funnel with affiliate offers

The first method performed very well several years ago. But, in the current environment, it does not yield a positive ROI regularly.

That is why you must collect visitors’ email addresses first and then redirect them to the sales funnel with affiliate offers.

The Tripwire Funnel

A tripwire product is a low-cost front-end product. Usually, those are priced below $10.00.

Many affiliate products have these items:

1. Low-cost front-end offer — These are moderately valuable yet low-priced items.
2. Core Offer — These are high-value main products priced in a reasonable range—e.g., $47-$297 to $497, depending on the sales funnel. There will be different pricing tiers (Standard, Pro, etc.) for the core offer, and these may include payment plans.
3. Profit Maximizers
   1. Upsell — A value-added item that complements the core offer. A sales funnel can have multiple upsells.
   2. Downsell — If the user rejects the upsell, a lower-priced, less feature-rich offer will be presented.
   3. OTOs — One-Time Offers, or OTOs, are exclusive offers that can be viewed and purchased only once.
   4. High-end items — These account for the most revenue in the sales funnel. Mostly, they are one-on-one coaching sessions, mastermind webinars, or personal meetings, generally priced in four figures. You will receive a lower commission rate, typically ranging from 5% to 10%, on these offers.

Depending on the product, there will be at least one subscription-based service. Most recurring products give a 30% – 50% commission cut. These types of offers are great for generating passive income.

Check this complete guide to using solo ads for affiliate marketing to learn more. It covers:

How to find proper affiliate offers
How to build an email list and set up an email autoresponder
How to find big launches before they are released to prepare yourself
Tips and tricks to boost affiliate sales
Finding the best solo ads for affiliate marketing

How to Ensure Success with Solo Ads

Like every other internet marketing venture, solo advertising requires you to follow fundamental steps to ensure success.

Target Solo Ads

Regardless of the source from which you purchase traffic, it should be highly targeted to the subject matter of the offer. Otherwise, you will not get sales.

There are many ways to buy solo ads online. My favorite and recommended method for beginners and intermediates is the Udimi solo ads marketplace.

Udimi is a solo ad marketplace that facilitates connections between buyers and sellers, enabling smooth transactions. Learn more in this beginner’s guide: How to Use the Udimi Platform.

Why Udimi for Solo ads

There are numerous ways to purchase solo ads. Some vendors even sell traffic from their websites. You can find several solo ad providers in this article. But there are different reasons why choosing a solo ad directory like Udimi is always beneficial.

ID, photo, and phone verification are used to verify all sellers on Udimi, and sometimes via email lists.
Guaranteed traffic on time — Udimi buyer and seller structure ensures that guaranteed solo ad traffic is delivered on time.
Filter sellers based on the niche, track record, genuine buyer reviews, sales-driven ratio, and repeating customer rate.
Get refunds for possible fraud.
Get money back for undelivered traffic.
Optin tracking — A tool that will help you determine which solos you buy are effective and which are not.
Get email traffic — Udimi’s advanced traffic filtering ensures you receive email clicks, not other types of traffic.
Get traffic from quality solo ad sellers, not spammers — Udimi’s spamvertising and 404 email loops give Udimi a hint on if the seller’s emails landed in the spam folder. This ensures you are getting high-quality solo ad traffic.
Ability to get desktop-only or mobile-only traffic
Ask questions to sellers with the Live Chat option. Connect with other like-minded individuals on the Udimi Forum.
Udimi’s pricing for solo ads is generally more affordable than that of most other networks and alternatives.

Check this Udimi review to learn more details about Udimi, including how it works, its pros & cons, and its benefits.

Go to Udimi and create your account. You will get a $5 discount when you sign up via this link.

Now go to the ‘Find Sellers’ section and search for your query. For example, you can get started by selecting the niche, the number of reviews, or the primary traffic source.

The Vendor

The next step is to select a reputable vendor. This is particularly important, as different vendors utilize distinct email lists and methods for building and managing them. Some of those are:

• Solo ads – Yes, solo ads sellers buy solo ads from other sellers to build their list fast. Additionally, some sellers have access to private solo ad sellers who only deal with a limited number of high-volume, consistent buyers.
• Native ads – Niche-relevant ads placed on popular websites.
• Social ads – Facebook Ads, etc.
• Sales funnel clicks – Funnel clicks are another effective traffic medium for generating niche-relevant traffic.

For example, some solo ad sellers have “buyers lists” that include people who have made a purchase before.

Here is the portfolio of a solo ad seller on Udimi.

You can select the number of clicks needed when the traffic is required, enter the link or ad text, and place the order. See the screenshot below for Khaled Ibrahim’s solo ad profile on Udimi.

Most good solo ad vendors have a higher positive rating, a higher percentage of repeating orders, and “I got sales” ratings.

Here is a list of the best solo ad sellers, along with their performance statistics, including positive to negative ratings, tier 1 country traffic percentage, and sales review percentage.

The Approach

Buying solo ads is an art.

You cannot pause a campaign once it has been completed. Therefore, you must ensure that everything is in place accurately, including your tracking link, squeeze page, post-submit actions, affiliate links in emails, and buttons.

Ask questions

One of the very first things to do is to connect with the potential solo ad seller and ask them questions. Here are some of them:

1. How have you built the email list?
2. How often do you send emails to your list?
3. How often do you add new subscribers? and in which ways
4. Does your email list include buyers?
5. Do you make sales with your email list?
6. What type of offers work well with your email list?

The minimum for solo advertising

You cannot spend more and waste money on untargeted traffic, nor spend less and not gather enough data to make informed decisions. So, you should invest a reasonable amount and increase only when you’re satisfied with the results.

According to many statisticians, more data (or a larger sample size) is better. However, you have to take the middle path due to the cost involved in Solo Advertising.

For example, you can buy 100 clicks first and see if the vendor’s traffic works well with your funnel. Anything less than 100 is not enough to get a meaningful judgment.

The optimum for solo advertising

Let’s assume you have set up a basic solo ad funnel, which includes a squeeze page, front-end tripwire offer, and email autoresponder sequence.

If the squeeze page’s conversion rate is 35%, which is easily achievable if you follow the required steps, you will need approximately 300 people to view the squeeze page to generate at least 100 leads. Since people are redirected to the front-end tripwire offer once they are converted into subscribers, 100+ people will see the sales page. And if the front-end offer’s conversion rate is 2%, you will make two sales from 300 clicks.

If the EPC (Earnings per click) across the entire sales funnel is $1.5, you will earn approximately $150 from 300 clicks. In fact, many affiliate networks list these details under every product. Here is a screenshot of the JVZoo marketplace, where you can view the EPC, refund rate, and other metrics across the entire funnel.

Writing the Ad

Some solo ad vendors allow you to write the email ad text. If your service provider lets you do this, you need to write the ad. Here is why:

You can prequalify people from the email subject line and email body text
Can warm up the traffic
Introduce yourself and explain your business a bit in the email to build trust
Convince and persuade people what to do on the next page after clicking the hyperlink

Here are some tips to get the most from your solo ad by writing ad copy:

Use power words to get the reader’s attention
Write the message in a conversational tone
Write small chunks of paragraphs. It is better if each paragraph contains only one or two sentences
Avoid using the “free” word as often (particularly if you are selling something on the other side)
Sprinkle the CTA link throughout the ad copy.
Utilize P.S. to get more clicks
Use emojis to make the ad copy more exciting to read. Avoid overusing them, as excessive use can cause harm.
Use numbers and bullet points, and highlight important words with bold, italicizing, and underlining.

Hook The Readers

People receive numerous ads in their mailboxes every week, so yours needs to stand out from the crowd. The email subject line is the first thing people see.

So, use a tool like Anyword to generate attention-grabbing email subject lines. Learn more in this in-depth review. Or you can use one of these best-performing email subject line examples to test open rates on your campaigns.

Keep It Simple

There is a pattern that day internet users read. Only a tiny fraction of people read the email message. Instead, make it one to three paragraphs in length, and write in proper, straightforward language. Use a grammar checker such as Grammarly if needed.

The solo ad seller’s email list may include individuals from diverse demographics and educational backgrounds. Don’t use complex expressions and metaphors, even if they sound creative to you.

Link It

The primary reason for writing an ad for Solo Advertising is to get people to click on your link. A link to your main page will suffice, and you can include it using a call to action.

Your call to action could be:

1. Button
2. Image
3. Text

Don’t forget to track each one of your links with software like ClickMagick.

Target Properly

Even though you’re targeting an audience interested in your niche, you gain nothing by staying too general. Start with your email subject line. Get to the point from the first few paragraphs in the ad text.

You could address a specific problem common among that group of people. This way, you will only have people reading the rest of the message who are interested in the particular topic or problem.

Then, offer an innovative solution. This could be your lead magnet or sales offer.

How to Get the Best Out of Solo Ads

The only thing that is entirely valid in solo advertising is that every visitor matters!

Here are some tips and tricks to maximize the benefits of solo ads.

Track everything

I cannot stress enough the importance of tracking in solo ads. You can scale your campaigns by ordering more when you know your sales funnel converts to your solo ad traffic.

ClickMagick offers innovative and helpful features, such as sales funnel tracking, which displays the conversion rate across the entire funnel.

Also, its Traffic Quality Checker is very helpful in determining the quality of solo ad traffic of individual sellers.

ClickMagick’s mature features, such as URL rotator, sales funnel conversion tracking, and traffic quality checker, will be most helpful when buying solo ads.

Use a high-performing landing page builder

There are hundreds of landing page builders out there. But, not all of them are optimized with high servers, CDNs (Content Delivery Networks), non-bloated coding, and offer a high uptime guarantee. Over 100,000 professional marketers use Clickfunnels for their marketing campaigns for different reasons. High performance is definitely one of them.

Retarget people who did not sign up

It costs $0.40 or more for every click on a solo ad email. Suppose your landing page’s lead conversion rate is 40%, and 60% of other people are not on your list. The most effective way to encourage them to sign up for your offer is by running a retargeting ad campaign across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google Display Ads.

Not only will you get more opt-ins that way, rather than spending more money on solo ads, but you will also ultimately get more leads for a low-cost price.

Get exit traffic to convert

One of the most effective ways to increase conversions is by displaying targeted exit pop-ups. Most On-Site Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) tools have this technology.

You need to create a mobile-friendly exit pop-up so that when people try to exit the squeeze page, they are shown a targeted signup form.

The screenshot below shows some templates from ConvertBox.

ConvertBox is an intelligent signup form builder with tons of features. Learn more in this ConvertBox review. It features personalization, targeting based on visitor location, activity, time on page, and page abandonment.

Alternatively, you can use a tool like Convertful, which features several unique elements, including content locking, gamification widgets, and advanced analytics. Learn more.

Use alert popups

By displaying a warning message when a visitor attempts to close the browser tab or window, you can attract more visitors to the page and encourage them to complete tasks.

According to the screenshot above, you can see that the alert box asks the user to either stay on the page or leave the page to view another related offer.

Traffic similar to solo ads

Do you know that there are two more traffic types similar to solo ads?

They are:

1. Funnel Clicks
2. Mixed Clicks

Funnel Clicks

Funnel clicks originate from sales funnels. People generate funnel clicks in two main ways:

1. Displaying a banner on the Thank-You page, Success Page, or another page on the sales funnel
2. Funneling exit traffic

Since the funnel clicks originate from a funnel, the audience has already taken action, resulting in high engagement (e.g., more opt-ins on your lead capture page). However, since the visitor is on a funnel, you will get lower responsiveness in email messages compared with solo ads.

Funnel clicks are cheaper than Solo ads.

Mixed Clicks

Mixed Clicks are a mixture of both solo ad traffic and funnel clicks traffic. Mixed Clicks are cheaper than Solo ad traffic but more expensive than Funnel clicks.

Learn more in detail in this Solo Ads vs Funnel Clicks vs Mixed Clicks article.

Solo Ads Conversion Rate

One key element of your Solo ads funnel should be a higher lead conversion rate. It is a critical variable; depending on that, you can scale your ad campaigns and increase profits.

For example, if your solo ad conversion rate is 40%, 60% of people will not be on your list.

Solo ads conversion rate killers

Why do your lead capture pages get lower conversion rates? Here are a few reasons:

Your solo ad email copy does not explicitly describe the call to action. One of the huge reasons for low conversion rates is the email ad copy. Ensure that you persuade potential subscribers to enter their email addresses on the next page to gain instant access.
Your lead capture page confuses readers — a good landing page with a primary focus on lead capturing does not link out to other pages, including your internal pages. Display important pages like Privacy Policy, Disclaimer, and Terms at the bottom of the email signup form.
Your landing page(s) load very slowly. Studies have proven over and over again that page speed has a significant impact on conversion rates. Firstly, use a landing page with high-performance servers and a very high uptime guarantee (fewer server downtime issues) like ClickFunnels. Then, use a script manager tool like Google Tag Manager to load external scripts asynchronously (for example, after the HTML content has been loaded). Compress images using a tool like ShortPixel and convert them to the WebP format. Test web page speed with tools like WebPageTest.org and Speed Insights to see how fast your lead page is.
You are not giving a strong reason to share people’s email addresses. What is the perceived value of your lead magnet? What value would the subscribers get in return for sharing their email?
What is your security guarantee? Is your website GDPR compliant? How do you collect data, and in which way do you process it? Do you sell collected email addresses? Mention them on the lead capture. Usually, details are provided just below the signup form submit button.
Anti-virus programs blacklist your domain — Yes, it happens! Check if your domain or sub-domain, if you are using a landing page builder, is blacklisted. Here is a detailed guide.
Your landing page is not mobile-responsive. These days, your website should be mobile-friendly and designed with a mobile user in mind. Use mobile-friendly typography, which encompasses not only font sizes, colors, and font families, but also CTA button sizes and other relevant elements.

Solo Ads Conversion Rate Boosters

Display the email signup form and call to action text above the fold — Do not let readers scroll down to the bottom to find out the email input field. Jakob Nielsen found that 77% of readers of a website won’t scroll down. Above the Fold, content receives more attention, so ensure your email input field is clearly visible.
Typography matters — Subtle changes like web-safe fonts, eye-friendly text colors, and font sizes will cause your email conversion rate to be higher than most would think.
Use whitespace — Break down paragraphs with shorter sentences and make the landing page clear to the eye and not tedious to read.
Use Power words and numbers in headlines — Power words are conversion boosters. So do numbers in the headline and sub-headline
Fewer fields to fill out — The more fields on the landing page, the lower the solo ads conversion rate would be. It’s better to capture the information in the email field, as some people may fake their names. The name field only matters in personalization.
Use conversion rate boosters — items like curved arrows, emojis, screenshots, images, and elements such as styled bullet points, progress bars, website countdown clocks, social proof widgets, testimonials, and sign-up counters will increase the Solo ads conversion rate on the lead page. Don’t overuse them, as it is highly likely that they will also break the lead conversion rate.

Apart from the above tips, you should always split-test your landing pages to find the high-converting one. Begin with the main components, such as the headline and CTA button. Additionally, if you use double opt-in, consider trying single opt-in and see the difference.

Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is an incentive used to increase sign-ups. People get your lead magnet instead of sharing their email addresses.

Characteristics

What criteria are suited for a good lead magnet? Here are some:

Highly relevant — If you are building an email list on ‘Make Money Online,’ the lead magnet should revolve around the niche.
Instant gratification — How easy is the content to process?
The value — How much impact will the lead magnet have on the user? Will it change the user dramatically?
Quickly applicable — How long and how much effort will it take to implement actions on the lead magnet?
Scarcity — Is the lead magnet a generic item, or is it hard to find online through a quick Google search?

Ideas

Here are some lead magnet ideas:

A PDF — Can be a report, checklist, guide, or anything, even the PDF version of a blog article
Videos — How-tos and other videos
Online web page — The lead magnet can be an online web page
Software
Front-end offer — If you are using solo ads for affiliate marketing, some offers have a free offer as the front-end offer.

The best part is that affiliates will earn $1 for every lead generated from this offer.

Design

Getting lead magnets for your lead funnel is easy. There are several ways.

Design it yourself — Use Google Docs, Slides, or a dedicated PDF creator tool like Beacon and Designrr.
PLR sites — Private Label Rights web directories can be a great source of lead magnets. Be aware that some offers do not permit the distribution of PLR digital products.

How to Make Money Online with Solo Ads

Buying traffic from someone is to make money. There are numerous ways to generate income from solo ad traffic.

Solo Ads and Your Sales Funnel

Do you have a sales funnel? Have something useful for others? If you use it, refer to this tutorial on how to set up an effective solo ad funnel to learn how to earn money by using your offers with Solo ad traffic clicks.

You can integrate other traffic sources and build retargeting audiences and lookalike audiences from Facebook to increase revenue.

Solo Ads and Affiliate Marketing

Integrating high-performing affiliate offers is one of the most popular ways to get a quick return from your solo ad campaigns.

Refer to this complete guide: How to use Solo Ads for Affiliate Marketing

Become a Solo Ads Seller

Starting a professional Solo ad selling business can be profitable if you do it right. Not only will you make money by sending traffic to others, but you will also earn money to build your list bigger.

Read this comprehensive guide: How to Start a Solo Ad Business from Scratch.

Solo Ad Arbitrage

Becoming a Solo ad reseller can also be lucrative if done correctly. This way, you will not only be obligated to maintain your email list but also not have to worry about obtaining the necessary clicks.

Check out this beginner’s guide: Solo Ads Arbitrage: How to Become a Solo Ad Reseller

Solo Ads Alternatives

Solo Advertising is such a unique way of driving traffic. Here are some alternatives if you are looking for ways to drive traffic similar to solo advertising traffic.

1. Email newsletter ads — You can purchase traffic based on CPM (Cost per mile or 1,000 ad impressions) or CPC models on various platforms like BuySellAds. Basically, your banner ad will be displayed in a section of the email newsletter. Since newsletters are achieving higher open rates and engagement ratios, you can achieve similar results to Solo ads traffic.
2. Sponsored email broadcasts — Some bloggers allow sponsored email broadcasts to their lists. Contact and ask for the price and other details, such as the total number of subscribers, open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and engagements, before ordering traffic. Although this method is time-consuming, it could result in many valuable opportunities.
3. Sponsored mentions on email newsletters — Some brands with huge lists provide sponsored mentions for a flat fee. These can be lucrative and perform well as solo ad traffic.

Apart from those, there are many ways to drive visitors to a URL. However, email Solo advertising is unique in its design and performance.

Weaknesses of Solo Ads

Like all other business models, Solo Advertising has its strengths and weaknesses.

Some of its main pitfalls are:

The average subscriber has subscribed to many other email lists and probably gets tens of emails every day. Chances are that your message is getting their attention at a relatively low rate, resulting in a low open rate compared to other traffic methods, such as SEO and Google Ads.
Your subscriber might have already seen your offer multiple times — the sad reality is that other email list owners push or pitch popular sales offers to subscribers every day and night. Therefore, chances are that your offers are already visible to subscribers.
The lifecycle of an email subscriber’s interests changes over time — unlike SEO, where you can acquire targeted traffic for the exact funnel you need, solo ad traffic works differently. Once a subscriber joins your list, their interests may change based on various factors.
There will never be a day when you sit down, push the send button, and repeat the process over and over again, expecting the same result. You will lose people every time you send an email broadcast. Therefore, you will need to add new subscribers on a regular basis.
Spam filters — Google and many other email clients have become sophisticated, using complex methodologies to detect if an email is spam. Your entire email-based business would be in the water if something goes wrong!

Solo Ads Best Practices

Here are some best practices to overcome or minimize the above weaknesses in Solo Advertising and get better.

Mix your email messages with both value-oriented content and sales content
A/B test your ‘From’ field – Sometimes, your personal name will work better than your business identity. Alternatively, you can try mixing both (e.g., Chamal from Pitiya) and test which one performs better.
Get people to whitelist your email address or add it to their contact list. Show a dedicated web page that explains how to do this. See our whitelist page for inspiration.
Be everywhere — Have a blog, and display social media profile links so that your subscribers can get to know you well.
Stop promoting low-quality products — One of the quickest ways to lose trust in you is by recommending low-quality products that even you won’t use. Never do it.
The first touch matters — Your welcome email might be one of the highest open rates among all. Do not lose the chance to be friendly and get them to explain their problems so that you can become a problem solver.
Minor tweaks make a significant impact — Instead of just increasing the size of an email list, aim for improving email engagement metrics like CTR (Click through rate) and EPS (Earnings per subscriber)
Numbers matter — The larger the size of the list, the more money you will make. It is as simple as that.
Use scarcity and urgency as emotional triggers to increase engagement — By providing exclusive discounts and bonuses to the first several buyers, people will hurry up, and your total sales will increase. By running affiliate promotions (more on that later in this ultimate guide to Solo ads), your sales will increase a lot.
Promote recurring products — An engaged email subscriber’s average life span, particularly those who came through solo email ad traffic, is low. Therefore, your ultimate goal should be to generate passive income while providing excellent value to your potential customers. Search for high-quality products with subscription pricing, allowing you to generate revenue in the months to come, and buyers will receive fresh content on a regular basis.

Affiliate Promotion Strategies for Solo Ads Traffic

Since Solo Advertising is a crowded space as a whole, you will have to use different tactics and strategies to stand out from others and make money with solo ad traffic.

Redirect traffic to a targeted offer after converting to a subscriber. Check out this ultimate guide to using solo ad traffic with affiliate offers to find out more.
Prepare for big launches with buyer bonuses — Get in touch with big launches in your niche and prepare by setting up email messages that include first-time buyer bonuses, bonuses for OTO purchases, and more.
Warm up the traffic by sending related emails that discuss the big launch beforehand — Smart marketers contact their list and hint at a potential offer before it’s even launched. This allows you a large audience who anticipate the day it’s launched, so you can start dominating affiliate contest leaderboards. Use IM product launches through Muncheye or one of Muncheye’s alternatives.
Do not promote offers with a lead capture sales page — Although many product owners claim credit for every sale, you cannot trust everyone. So, it’s better to care for your email subscribers than give it away to a marketer who will bombard the subscribers’ email inboxes with many promotions for free.
Start a blog and write reviews — Product reviews and showcases can be really useful in working as a bridge page and a medium to drive organic traffic. You can start a WordPress blog, a Brizy Cloud blog, or even a free Blogger blog.
Utilize targeted popups in your blog — When you are ready to push for big affiliate promotion, create targeted CTA widgets by using a tool like Elfsight’s Popup widget to boost sales. Alternatively, you can use tools like OptiMonk, OptinMonster, Poptin, and Wisepops.
Retarget on Facebook — Not everyone will open your emails. Therefore, utilize alternative advertising methods, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest ads, to encourage people to read your product reviews. Additionally, you can create a lookalike audience to obtain more affordable targeted clicks.

How to make Solo Ads work

I highly recommend that before investing money into Solo ads, you first:

1. Learn copywriting
2. Choose great products
3. Write a 90-day autoresponder sequence

Copywriting

Copywriting is the holy grail of online marketing. If your copy is poor, no one will buy from you.

The BEST way to improve your copy is to subscribe to other affiliate marketers’ (the best in the world) email lists. So, you see someone running a YouTube ad, click on it, and give them your email address.

If you are not from the USA, consider using a VPN, visit marketing blogs, watch relevant videos, and sign up for their email lists. And then, READ their emails and learn from their approach. You can also find great copywriting books on Amazon.

Offer selection

The first product recommendation matters a lot. Depending on which, the subscribers’ trust in you will be decided greatly. Ensure that the first product you recommend is the best one. Here are some affiliate networks where you can find good offers.

1. Clickfunnels Affiliate — Great to find a variety of high-quality digital and physical products related to Internet marketing and Business Opportunity niches.
2. ShareASale Affiliate Network — Get access to hundreds of high-quality services and products. Learn more.
3. ClickBank — One of the oldest and most popular places to find high-quality offers in different niches
4. JvZoo — Get product launches by marketers mostly in Internet Marketing (I.M)
5. WarriorPlus — An affiliate network similar to JVZoo

Autoresponder series

This must be done, or you might give up along the way and stop writing emails, as your investment will literally go down the drain once that happens.

Prepare 90 days in advance so that you can focus on buying solo ads and optimizing your solo ad campaigns.
Mix both sales emails and value emails
Promote evergreen and high-converting affiliate offers
Test the optimal time to send autoresponder emails. For some people, mornings (about 7:00 am – 9:00 am) work fine, while others perform quite well in the evenings (5:00 pm – 7:00 pm).
Test by sending multiple emails per day against a single one. Sometimes, sending multiple emails per day is effective for different lists. You never know unless you experiment!
Link your email sequence by writing emails conversationally. Talk about future emails and what to expect.
Utilize dynamic email countdown timers to promote evergreen products effectively.
Use engaging and curiosity-based email subject lines to increase open rates across autoresponder series to maintain engagement.

Solo Ads Tools

Similarly, you will need to utilize SEO tools for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and Mangools. Additionally, you will need to use tools for solo advertising.

Landing page builder

Currently, you will encounter many landing page builders. Choose one intelligently and stick with it. Here are some landing page builders for email Solo advertisers.

Clickfunnels — #1 choice of most professional marketers. ClickFunnels equips you with many tools that you will find no need to purchase any other tools. It also provides several funnels for solo ad traffic.
Brizy — A low-cost yet very powerful landing page builder with cheap pricing. Check this Brizy review to learn more.
Unbounce
LeadPages
Kajabi
Kartra

Link Tracker

Link tracking is an essential part of solo advertising. If you use a platform like Udimi, you will get a link tracking report. However, it is recommended to have dedicated link tracking software in your arsenal.

1. ClickMagick
2. Voluum
3. LinkTrackr
4. ClickMeter
5. Improvely
6. RedTrack

URL shortening tools like Replug, PixelMe, and Bitly aren’t equipped with features like funnel tracking. So, using a link tracking tool like ClickMagick in your solo ad campaigns is recommended.

Email Marketing Tool

Email marketing tools can be divided into two main groups.

1. Self-hosted — Hosted and managed by you
2. Hosted — Hosted and managed by a third party

Feature	Self-hosted	Hosted
Customization	Yes	Limited
Use different email sending services	Yes	No. You are stuck with one provided
Use dedicated email sending IP addresses	Yes	Depending on the plans
Pricing	Cheap	Expensive

Self-hosted email software for solo ads

Many self-hosted email marketing software allow you to integrate Amazon AWS SES (Simple Email Service), Sendgrid, PostMark, and MailGun, and send an email for a very cheap price.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Save money	You need to maintain the platform
Customize email marketing software as you need	Might need technical skills
Use custom domains and the Whitelabel email platform	Lack of features compared with hosted solutions
Use dedicated IPs, sending profiles, and more	You are on your own. You will need to determine what to do in the event of an emergency. No support is provided.

Self-hosted email software solutions

The list is not in any particular order. Read reviews online and give them a try.

1. Sendy
2. Mautic
3. MailWizz – A self-hosted email software script that can be bought from Codecanyon
4. Mailster – A newsletter plugin for WordPress

Hosted email software for solo ads

If you are getting started with solo advertising, hosted email marketing services are recommended, as they require very low technical skills.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Many email marketing tools have many features and integrations with other apps.	Price can be heavily based on your list size.
Customizable email form builders and newsletter editors	Get additional features including landing page builders, CRM, web visitor tracking, and Live Chat solutions.
No need to worry about the technical side of the email marketing tool	Lack of features compared with hosted solutions
Some email marketing tools do not welcome solo advertisers. So you have a limited selection of tools.	Some email marketing tools do not welcome solo advertisers. So you have a selection of tools.
Support. Most services offer live chat, 24*7 email, and even phone call assistance.

Hosted email marketing solutions

This list is also not in any specific order. Please visit the official website, read the reviews, and try them all. Most of these offer free trials that do not require a credit card.

1. GetResponse
2. Aweber
3. ConvertKit
4. ActiveCampaign
5. CampaignMonitor
6. iContact
7. Ontraport

Additionally, some all-in-one funnel builder software solutions offer hosted email marketing services.

1. Actionetics by ClickFunnels — Connect your email sending service, such as SendGrid, and start sending emails affordably—an excellent value for money.
2. Emails by Kartra — Another funnel builder and an alternative to Clickfunnels that provides email marketing services.
3. GrooveMail — Groove.CM is another all-in-one platform for internet marketers. GrooveMail is a subsidiary of Groove, specializing in email automation.

On-Site Conversion Rate Optimization

Increasing conversion does not happen automatically. You will have to optimize the site or landing page for it. In Solo ads advertising, every click matters. Here are some tools to increase conversions on leads and sales.

Notification and signup form builders

The first type of CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) tool is notification & signup form builders.

These allow you to:

Display targeted popups based on page abandonment and other behaviors
Display targeted coupons and discounts
Show a countdown timer at the top to increase urgency

Here are some of the best form builders:

1. ConvertBox — One of the best form builders for professional marketers. Learn more.
2. Convertful — Another beast when it comes to on-site conversion rate optimization tools. It is equipped with amazing features such as gamification widgets (spin wheel, scratch card) and giveaway forms. Convertful’s targeting and integrations are also second to none. Learn more in this Convertful review. Check out this Convertful Agency review if you are interested in the white-label solution.
3. RightMessage — Yet another personalization-based CRO tool.
4. Optimonk
5. OptinMonster
6. Sumo

Cart builder

Whether you use solo ads to promote your stuff or sell solo ads, you will need good online cart software.

1. ThriveCart — One of the best online checkout software with tons of features like JV partnerships, Smart taxes, landing page builder, and an affiliate platform. It supports PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
2. SamCart — Another cart builder for marketers with many features.
3. PayKickStart
4. GrooveSell — The subsidiary shopping cart product by Groove.CM for selling products.

Social Proof

Social proofs, such as FOMO notifications, testimonials, reviews, and real-time buyer showcase widgets, can increase solo ad conversion rates.

Here are some online tools that let you display social proof widgets on your website.

1. Elfsight — Showcase customer reviews in a slider, promote your offers with an announcement banner, and do more with 90+ Elfsight widgets.
2. Common Ninja — Showcase social proof notifications, put reviews from Google on your website, and more with 200+ website widgets.
3. Powr — Powr is similar to Elfsight with over 50 apps. Learn more about Elfsight vs Powr.
4. HoverSignal — Display targeted social proof signals on your solo ads landing page and increase conversions.

Final Words on the Ultimate Guide to Solo Ads

If you read every word on this updated guide to Solo ads, you basically learned every necessary aspect of the Solo advertising business.

Like anything in business, it is not easy to make money. However, due to the higher ROI on email marketing, Solo advertising can be your ultimate money machine if you do it right.

You can…

1. Make money with your list by promoting your offers, affiliate products
2. Earn money by selling email clicks
3. Grow your email list further day by day with collaborations, email swaps, and even buying traffic from solo ad sellers.

So, what is the one thing you most like and dislike about Solo ads? Please share your thoughts and concerns in the comments section below.

Frequently Asked Questions