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If you’re interested in digital marketing, you must have heard of solo ads. Solo ads are email-based advertisements that a solo ad seller sends to their list of subscribers in return for money. They help create awareness for a brand, new product, or service. 34% of Americans state they check their email throughout the day, which means solo ads are effective and produce immediate results. So if you want to make passive income, you can become a solo ad seller, a commonly used medium by online businesses.

But how?

Like any other business, you would need some capital to start. Fortunately, you don’t need big bucks to start selling solo ads. You just need a few hundred dollars! This makes solo ads a viable business opportunity, especially for bloggers who already have an organic following. Don’t worry, even if you are a layperson looking to build an email list. This guide will tell you how to sell solo ads from scratch.

How to Become a Solo Ad Seller?

There is considerable scope in becoming a solo ad seller.  If you’re starting out, here is what you need to do.

Choose a Niche

As a solo ad seller, your email list should be targeted. This is why choosing a niche is important, whether marketing, crypto, making money online, health, and fitness, finance, beauty, or others. This is a vital step because solo ad buyers choose solo d marketing to reach their target market.

After all, advertisers want to increase brand visibility to a specific gender, age, and social strata. When they see that your email list is full of their target audience, they would be more likely to avail your service. Choosing a niche increases credibility and ensures that your clients get a high click-through rate from your solo ad, increasing the chances of a repeat sale.

If you don’t have any preference, you might want to consider popular niches like ‘business opportunities’ or ‘make money online.’ This is mainly because these niches attract more traffic, so it’s easier to build a target email list for these segments. People will always spend money to learn more about business opportunities and make money online. As a beginner, you should consider these and then explore other options.

Start Web Hosting

The next step is to choose a reliable web hosting provider and start hosting. You can start a blog or content website with the right service provider. This decision is crucial as it will dictate the success of your website. A reputable web hosting service will ensure your website remains online without long periods of downtime. You can consider web hosting providers based on their hosting plans, cost, and the features that your site needs.

Here are a few recommendations of the top web hosting providers:

• Bluehost
• Hostinger
• Hostgrator
• SiteGround
• Nexcess

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Buy Email Marketing Software

Solo ads target email traffic, so this is an indispensable part of becoming a solo ad seller. Advertisers will only avail your service if you get them enough email clicks. You will need reliable email marketing software for that. If you’re starting from scratch, it is important to know what email marketing software is. 

Email marketing software enables you to build an email subscriber list, create an email template, create segmented, targeted email lists, and more. This software enables solo ad sellers to streamline their services and achieve much more than just sending out emails, including boosting your sales and upholding your email marketing strategy.

But how do you choose email marketing software? It helps to know the difference between a good and bad solo ad (to know what to look for). That said, here are a few basic features that you need to look out for:

• Email list management: the software should let you record and manage your email subscriber list.
• Segmentation: this is the ability to segment your subscriber lists so that the right people get the right kind of message for maximum clicks. For example, you can create separate lists for beauty, marketing, women’s clothing, etc.
• Limitless Email Sending Ability: As a solo ad seller, you’ll be sending out lots of emails. Hence, the software you choose shouldn’t restrict the number of emails you can send within a specific timeframe.
• Deliverability: Look for email marketing software with a 90% or more deliverability rate, so your emails don’t end up in a user’s spam.
• Reliability: Many email marketing software options restrict solo ad vendors due to some unscrupulous activities. Therefore, it is crucial to choose one that supports the solo ad selling business.

Of course, you’re free to consider features too, as long as you can afford it!

Here is our pick of the top email marketing software for solo ad sellers:

• AWeber
• Sendy
• Mautic
• GetResponse
• Omnisend

Build an Email Subscriber List

A solo ad seller will need a list of opted-in subscribers.

Landing Page

Also known as a squeeze page, this is essential to generate leads. You should create a lead capture page with the singular goal to increase conversions, i.e., turn visitors into buyers or subscribers. Just imagine you’re reading your favorite blog. While reading, a pop-up appears, asking for your email address. That is what we call a squeeze page. An ideal squeeze page has minimal text, is to the point, and has a minimal conversion rate of 30%.

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Traffic

When your landing page is ready with your email marketing software, you should acquire traffic to build your email list and sell solo ads. Some traffic sources that you can consider are:

• Solo ad marketplaces like Udimi!
• Blogger’s or influencer’s email lists
• Pay-per-click (PPC) networks like Google ads
• Push ads

Sell Solo Ads

Once all that is in place, you can start selling solo ads and generate an income stream. You have two options to sell solo ads:

1. Use a marketplace
2. Sell on your own

Use a Marketplace

If you’re a beginner and new to solo ad marketing, it is better if you choose to sell solo ads on a popular marketplace like Udimi. There are several benefits of choosing a solo ad marketplace, especially for a solo ad vendor just starting out.

• Easy for starts
• Great exposure
• Builds trust

Related reading: How to write a solo ad

A reliable marketplace will already have a lot of solo ad buyers, providing you the visibility you need to get started. Once a buyer uses your service, they might recommend it to others by word of mouth. But the marketplace is a good start to generate your first few sales to get the ball rolling. Using a platform like Udimi will gradually build your rating and reviews, and these stats will then speak for themselves.

The only downside of using a solo ad marketplace is that you’ll have to pay a fee to join and use. If you want to evade this cost, you can consider Facebook groups with solo ad sellers and buyers. However, these groups are not as reputable as marketplaces like Udimi and may not get you the exposure you need as a beginner.

Here’s a few articles which can help guide you:

• Top 5 solo ad vendors
• Best solo ad vendors for 2022

Sell yourself

Even if you’re a beginner, you may choose to sell solo ads yourself, through your website. There are benefits to selling solo ads yourself, including:

• Higher profit
• Create a unique brand identity
• Play by your own rules

If you know the works, you can evade the cut that marketplaces like Udimi keep and keep the entire cost of selling solo ads for yourself. Marketplaces have thousands of solo ad sellers, so you may not stand out to a buyer. Selling yourself, you get to create a brand identity for yourself and build a large customer base over time. Many individual solo ad sellers have managed to garner significant support this way. You could take inspiration from the likes of Igor Kheifets, Sarah Chew, and Jordy Tan.

If you opt for this route, make sure you market your website and make guest posts on various groups and related websites, leveraging the power of social media. While this may take time, it has great growth potential.

Tips to Boost Solo Ad Sales

Now that you know the basics of selling solo ads, here are some effective tips to increase solo ad sales and boost revenue.

Provide Traffic Variants

Now that there are so many solo ad sellers, give potential buyers the customization they need.  Marketers usually have different traffic needs, so offer them packages like traffic from top-tier countries like USA, UK, Canada and Australia. 

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Offer Coupons for First Time Buyers

Buyers may be hesitant to avail solo ad services from a new seller. Incentivize your offer by giving them coupons on their first buy from you.

Free Consultation

You can provide buyers free consultation, helping them create a plan for solo ad marketing. Today, buyers will jump at the chance for customized advice, which can convince them to try your service.

Free Ad Text

Offer additional services like writing free ad text to add to the email. This will take the hassle off the buyer’s shoulders and ensure they are more motivated to try your service in the hope of this free service. 

Final Word

Solo ads can sell anywhere between $0.30 and $0.95 per click, so you can easily earn between $30 and $95 for a small order of 100 clicks. You can increase your solo ad cost as you grow your customer base and earn rave reviews. With the effectiveness of solo ads, there is immense scope in becoming a solo ad seller. You can follow this guide to make your own successful solo ad empire. Of course, don’t forget to consider the pros and cons of solo ads.