Solo Ads - An Easy Way To List Building

If you are involved in Internet marketing or are simply part of the online community of producers, you may have heard a lot about solo ads. This term is often talked about but not often defined or even discussed realistically in terms of how it can be applied. In reality, if used strategically these ads are a great way to build up your opt-in email lists. So how do you go about this type of ad? You ask or pay someone to email their mailing list and recommend you or your company, website or whatever with an endorsement and a link to a free opt-in mailing list page. This is a simple way to expose people to you without spamming their inbox. Getting a recommendation from a trusted contact is a much better way to go than hitting someone’s inbox cold. People can then look at what you have to offer and opt-either in or not. It’s really that simple.

In order to implement solo ads effectively you will need a good marketing email service that is linked up to you website or opt-in landing page as well as an auto-response system already in place. These are important because once a contact list has been contacted on your behalf the response is going to start streaming in. This may be immediate, it may not be - you will need to be prepared for the response as if everyone were sitting next to his or her email waiting to find out about you. It’s just like anything else, you need to be prepared before you ask others to get behind you on something. Take for example a job that you see in the employment classifieds. You see the job and want to apply. Before you apply, you are going to make sure that you have a shiny, current copy of your resume and references in order. You will also want to research the company and be able to speak about why you will be a good fit and what you can contribute. The same thing goes for laying the groundwork before ads go out.

Another key factor in the success solo ads is a sort of a hook that you offer the people referred to your opt-in page. You should offer them something free for the benefit of having their email address. This can be in the form of a product, eBook or promise of useful information. It can be anything really, just make sure that it is relevant to your target audience. Give them value - they are giving you a shot at a direct line of communication with them via their personal email, so make sure you have something good to offer. If you are short on money, but have valuable email lists of your own, you might consider working with another person in a sort of reciprocating relationship. You send out ads on behalf of that person and that person sends out ads on your behalf. This kind of arrangement can be very effective and will not break the bank on an already tight marketing budget.