Solo Ads for Affiliate Marketing – Good or Not?

If you are completely new to solo ads, you may be wondering if solo ads for affiliate marketing are worth it. That’s because solo ads are often frowned upon by some affiliates while others use them often.

Before we get started, let me say that if you want to buy solo ads for affiliate marketing in the hopes of making instant commissions, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It isn’t that you can’t make instant commissions, it’s just highly unlikely.

Don’t despair! If you are willing to put a few things into place first, you’ll be able to better understand the benefits of using solo ads.

Solo Ads for Affiliate Marketing

First, let’s describe what solo ads are. A quick definition is that you are renting another email marketer’s email list to send a marketing email on your behalf.

There are many internet marketers who have large email lists that they grow on a daily basis. They nurture their list and most of the time the subscribers are targeted to a specific niche. For example, the MMO (make money online), BizOp, or Health & Wellness niche.

Some of these marketers rent out their list and this is referred to as buying solo ads. In most cases, you can write the email message that will be sent or you can request that the list owner write the email for you.

However, since you know the offer you’re promoting better than the list owner would, it’s ideal to write your solo ad yourself.

If you’ve never written a solo ad, you can use AI such as ChatGPT to help you out.

Benefits of Solo Ads

Opinion varies on whether or not there are actual benefits to using solo ads. Yet, the biggest benefit is being able to grow your own email list with targeted subscribers.

Super affiliate and online business coach, Jonathan Montoya has said many times on his YouTube channel that he utilizes solo ads for affiliate marketing on a regular basis.

Many beginners to affiliate marketing do not have a traffic source yet so launching their online business is made easier by buying solo ads.

One thing to keep in mind is that it is not likely that you will make any sales on the front end. It can happen but it doesn’t often.

You have to remember that many of the people on these lists are accustomed to receiving marketing emails (affiliate offers) in the MMO niche on a regular basis.

That is why it is important that you have a good autoresponder sequence in place so that you can possibly make affiliate commissions on the back end.

Another benefit is that you can build your email list faster and at a better price than running paid ads elsewhere such as on Microsoft ads or Google Adwords.

Besides that, the clicks you get are going to be within your niche. Keep in mind that most solo ad sellers build lists in the MMO or health niches. You can find solo ads for the dating niche as well.

How to Buy Solo Ads

There are many places where you can buy solo ads and some are better than others. The biggest thing you want to avoid when searching for a solo ads marketplace are scammers that send you bot traffic or do not build their lists with true top-tier traffic.

For example, I would probably not buy solo ads from Fiverr. There is no way to know the validity of the solo ads vendors on that platform. I’ve bought solo ads from two reputable services. Udimi and Traffic for Me. Udimi solo ads are simple to use and the solo ad sellers are rated by Udimi users.

The price per click varies depending on the seller. However, you get all of the clicks that you order, whether you order 100 or 500 or more. The email campaign will run until you have received your ordered clicks.

You can communicate with the solo ad sellers on Udimi. Many of them are super responsive and will review your landing page or even offer suggestions on where to get a landing page if you don’t have one. It’s a nice feature to be able to message them so that you can ask questions.

Traffic for Me is also really easy to use and they ensure that all clicks from the lists they have are bot-free.

Track Your Solo Ad Clicks

Another way to be sure you are getting legitimate clicks is by tracking your clicks yourself using click-tracking software. Two good options to consider include ClickMagic and Qliker.

Make Money On the Backend (Your Autoresponder)

The common mistake many beginner affiliate marketers make is to use solo ads to send people directly to their affiliate link. Considering that not many people buy right away, it is like throwing your money down the drain.

It’s better to send solo ad subscribers to your sales funnel landing page. Some will opt-in to your email list and then you have the opportunity to continue sending marketing emails to them.

Before you attempt to buy a solo ad, make sure your autoresponder messages are all set up. If you don’t know how to set up a sales funnel or how to set up an autoresponder, check out Funnel Freedom.

To repeat, it’s always best to build your own email list anytime you buy solo ads.

Things to Consider Before You Buy Solo Ads

As mentioned earlier, buying solo ads is often frowned upon by some internet marketers. I can understand why but I also understand why they are still a popular option. Here are some things to consider before you buy solo ads:

• Traffic Quality: Verify that the list owner has top-tier traffic.
• Cost: The cost of solo ads can add up. It’s easy to want to keep buying them so budget to help avoid overspending.
• Don’t expect front-end sales: Making immediate sales is possible but it isn’t the norm.
• You’re still buying cold leads: Although the leads from a solo ad may be in a specific niche, they are not familiar with who you are.

My Closing Thoughts On Solo Ads

Before you buy solo ads for affiliate marketing, it’s a good idea to have your sales funnel with your autoresponder set up.

Also, start off with a small budget for testing. As I mentioned above, making immediate sales with solo ads is not the norm. It’s best to test first and track your campaigns so that you can figure out what you may need to tweak in your sales funnel.

Only buy clicks from reputable sellers. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of scammers who send bot traffic. You can check out my recommended Udimi sellers (I’ve bought from them.)

I hope this post has offered clarity on using solo ads for affiliate marketing. It isn’t the best traffic but it is possible to make it work if you have a good follow-up email sequence.