After looking around here a bit, and seeing some of the questions, comments, and complaints, I decided to give a little clarification for those who want it.
After you have purchased a solo ad and you start getting angry messages from new subscribers demanding that you unsubscribe them immediately and that they never asked you for information in any way, don't panic!
While it really isn't likely that they signed up for your list and then magically forgot about it a few minutes later, it is possible... Unlikely but possible.
In most cases (not always - but often) what has happened is that your solo ad seller is using a software program that basically subscribes people to your list for you.
They load a list of niche specific contacts that they have purchased from a list broker into their software, and then the software subscribes them to your autoresponder, thus filling the solo ad order.
This is often done in a mix. Their real list has some clicks in it, but not enough to fill your order, so they supplement their list with the purchased list in order to complete your order.
Ultimately you end up getting real/actual subscribers as well as people who have never seen your offer before on any level.
Underhanded? Cheating? Unfair? ... Well, that depends on your own perspective.
The reality is that most of the people who end up on your list have really interacted with your niche on some level at some point, and so they really are niche targeted even though they didn't necessarily subscribe to your offer specifically.
So, being specific, you didn't actually get what you paid for because you paid for the solo ad seller to send you real subscribers (clicks) from his real email list, and he hasn't done that entirely.
On the other hand, you now have people subscribed to your list who are interested in your niche (with the exception of the few who complain).
So although they landed on your list under less than perfect circumstances, they still landed on your list, and it has been my own experience that with some relationship building you can convert the same percentage of those subscribers into buyers as you can the ones that were legitimate.
What can you do to protect yourself from this? Nothing. As long as you are buying solo ads, there will always be risk of getting this tactic used on you.
The only way to protect yourself fully is to truly do your own list building using more traditional (and costly) advertising venues.
So, before you send your next complain, or damage your own reputation and your solo ad providers reputation, take a moment to ask yourself this...
Was my true intention to get niche specific subscribers into my list, or was my intention to only get subscribers from this one specific person/seller?
Don't be too quick to answer - Take a moment to put aside your moral standing on the issue and look only at the end result. - Once you have answered that question for yourself, you'll know if you want to continue using solo ads to build your list, or if you want to use the much more expensive and time consuming approach and built it yourself.
*For the record. I am not a solo ad seller, and I do not represent this website, it's owners, or it's affiliates in any capacity. I am simply offering clarification for those who want it.
After looking around here a bit, and seeing some of the questions, comments, and complaints, I decided to give a little clarification for those who want it.
After you have purchased a solo ad and you start getting angry messages from new subscribers demanding that you unsubscribe them immediately and that they never asked you for information in any way, don't panic!
While it really isn't likely that they signed up for your list and then magically forgot about it a few minutes later, it is possible... Unlikely but possible.
In most cases (not always - but often) what has happened is that your solo ad seller is using a software program that basically subscribes people to your list for you.
They load a list of niche specific contacts that they have purchased from a list broker into their software, and then the software subscribes them to your autoresponder, thus filling the solo ad order.
This is often done in a mix. Their real list has some clicks in it, but not enough to fill your order, so they supplement their list with the purchased list in order to complete your order.
Ultimately you end up getting real/actual subscribers as well as people who have never seen your offer before on any level.
Underhanded? Cheating? Unfair? ... Well, that depends on your own perspective.
The reality is that most of the people who end up on your list have really interacted with your niche on some level at some point, and so they really are niche targeted even though they didn't necessarily subscribe to your offer specifically.
So, being specific, you didn't actually get what you paid for because you paid for the solo ad seller to send you real subscribers (clicks) from his real email list, and he hasn't done that entirely.
On the other hand, you now have people subscribed to your list who are interested in your niche (with the exception of the few who complain).
So although they landed on your list under less than perfect circumstances, they still landed on your list, and it has been my own experience that with some relationship building you can convert the same percentage of those subscribers into buyers as you can the ones that were legitimate.
What can you do to protect yourself from this? Nothing. As long as you are buying solo ads, there will always be risk of getting this tactic used on you.
The only way to protect yourself fully is to truly do your own list building using more traditional (and costly) advertising venues.
So, before you send your next complain, or damage your own reputation and your solo ad providers reputation, take a moment to ask yourself this...
Was my true intention to get niche specific subscribers into my list, or was my intention to only get subscribers from this one specific person/seller?
Don't be too quick to answer - Take a moment to put aside your moral standing on the issue and look only at the end result. - Once you have answered that question for yourself, you'll know if you want to continue using solo ads to build your list, or if you want to use the much more expensive and time consuming approach and built it yourself.
*For the record. I am not a solo ad seller, and I do not represent this website, it's owners, or it's affiliates in any capacity. I am simply offering clarification for those who want it.
Posted 4 Sep 2014 at 02:14
Cliff Carrigan
47
17 posts /
12
likes
* Additional Clarification - The tactic discussed here is certainly not something that "everyone" uses. This post was intended as a general clarification for specific circumstances. NOT ALL SELLERS USE THIS TACTIC.
* Additional Clarification - The tactic discussed here is certainly not something that "everyone" uses. This post was intended as a general clarification for specific circumstances. NOT ALL SELLERS USE THIS TACTIC.
Yeah i think i just got that done to me today. I usually get about 10-15% of the subs from the solo to sign up for my PPL. With this latest seller, I got ZERO sign-ups... first time this has happened.
Thanks for the post, I will stay away from this seller from now on...
Yeah i think i just got that done to me today. I usually get about 10-15% of the subs from the solo to sign up for my PPL. With this latest seller, I got ZERO sign-ups... first time this has happened.
Thanks for the post, I will stay away from this seller from now on...
Posted 18 Sep 2014 at 20:18
Heather Alessandra
1696
/ 1
273 posts /
246
likes
Folks, this is why you need to scrutinize the heck out of feedback! This behavior is shameful.
Folks, this is why you need to scrutinize the heck out of feedback! This behavior is shameful.
Posted 19 Sep 2014 at 03:50
John Mon
15
2 posts /
4
likes
Well it's impossible to give negative feedback here. I gave this seller neg feedback, but it will not show until he gives me feedback in return (it's my guess he never will!)
Well it's impossible to give negative feedback here. I gave this seller neg feedback, but it will not show until he gives me feedback in return (it's my guess he never will!)
Posted 19 Sep 2014 at 17:18
Angelo Sayson
2679
/ 1
9 posts /
8
likes
Awesome post, Cliff! But regardless if they're real leads or not, you can't call it a 'solo ad' and get asked to pay for a solo ad price if they're software-generated optins.
There is a psychology behind the visitor actually opting in to a squeeze page before receiving any emails from you that affects followup sales in a big way. It's a micro-commitment thing.
Most of us buy solos because we expect to get paid UPFRONT while we're building our lists which is why we drive our traffic to a sales funnel instead of a blog post. Bottom line is, I want to get ROI now, not 2 weeks from now. In the case of software-generated optins though, those subs don't get see any one time offer page so it's impossible for any buyer to get his ad spend back (or even a portion of it) on the first day.
Software-generated optins of real email addresses should only cost 5-10 cents per email. This is just my .02.
Anyway, the most frustrating thing though is when these shady sellers feed bot generated email addresses in to your optin form. Email addresses that doesn't have any real person behind them. You feel awesome because you had fantastic optin rate, but you check your stats and see that not even one person out of a few hundred optins opened your first followup email.
It's hard to catch this kind of stuff because if you try to validate some of the addresses you got, you can see that they are real accounts or valid addresses, just that they're not accounts of real people.
I actually had a guy before contacted me on Skype asking if I wanted to buy 5k yahoo/hotmail email accounts. I just thought to myself.. this is probably where they're getting the email addresses that they feed our forms.
Awesome post, Cliff! But regardless if they're real leads or not, you can't call it a 'solo ad' and get asked to pay for a solo ad price if they're software-generated optins.
There is a psychology behind the visitor actually opting in to a squeeze page before receiving any emails from you that affects followup sales in a big way. It's a micro-commitment thing.
Most of us buy solos because we expect to get paid UPFRONT while we're building our lists which is why we drive our traffic to a sales funnel instead of a blog post. Bottom line is, I want to get ROI now, not 2 weeks from now. In the case of software-generated optins though, those subs don't get see any one time offer page so it's impossible for any buyer to get his ad spend back (or even a portion of it) on the first day.
Software-generated optins of real email addresses should only cost 5-10 cents per email. This is just my .02.
Anyway, the most frustrating thing though is when these shady sellers feed bot generated email addresses in to your optin form. Email addresses that doesn't have any real person behind them. You feel awesome because you had fantastic optin rate, but you check your stats and see that not even one person out of a few hundred optins opened your first followup email.
It's hard to catch this kind of stuff because if you try to validate some of the addresses you got, you can see that they are real accounts or valid addresses, just that they're not accounts of real people.
I actually had a guy before contacted me on Skype asking if I wanted to buy 5k yahoo/hotmail email accounts. I just thought to myself.. this is probably where they're getting the email addresses that they feed our forms.
Angelo, I agree with you man. I just made the post to help clarify the situation for people and give them an open perspective to work from.
added later
Jon Mon - The udimi system is still pretty new, and I see them making tweaks and enhancements all of the time. So i'm sure that eventually they will address the rating issue.
Angelo, I agree with you man. I just made the post to help clarify the situation for people and give them an open perspective to work from.
added laterJon Mon - The udimi system is still pretty new, and I see them making tweaks and enhancements all of the time. So i'm sure that eventually they will address the rating issue.
Posted 22 Sep 2014 at 10:48
David Menzies
7
1 post /
0
likes
Great post Cliff and great responses. I'd just like to add also that most auto responders charge more the bigger your list grows. If some of that list is bot generated and doesn't respond to follow up messages it's a good idea to develop a sensible unsubscribe policy. That way if you are getting some dodgy subscribers included in your bought clicks they won't be costing you money on both ends.
Great post Cliff and great responses. I'd just like to add also that most auto responders charge more the bigger your list grows. If some of that list is bot generated and doesn't respond to follow up messages it's a good idea to develop a sensible unsubscribe policy. That way if you are getting some dodgy subscribers included in your bought clicks they won't be costing you money on both ends.
Posted 24 Sep 2014 at 10:42
Trisha Smith
12
1 post /
1
like
Another potential problem I could see this causing is with complaints against your autoresponder account. I know AWeber in particular does not like complaints at all, and a bunch of people auto-submitted to your list who have no idea who you are or why you're emailing them could easily get an account flagged, or in extreme cases even shut down.
Another potential problem I could see this causing is with complaints against your autoresponder account. I know AWeber in particular does not like complaints at all, and a bunch of people auto-submitted to your list who have no idea who you are or why you're emailing them could easily get an account flagged, or in extreme cases even shut down.
Posted 25 Sep 2014 at 01:27
Abul K Azad
3
/ 1
14 posts /
3
likes
Excellent information. I see that most of the clicks are from Web OR Direct. But I hope that it has to be from Mail..
Excellent information. I see that most of the clicks are from Web OR Direct. But I hope that it has to be from Mail..
Posted 25 Sep 2014 at 16:32
Wilson Ortiz
2
1 post /
2
likes
wow. I don't even know who to buy from now.....geeze.
wow. I don't even know who to buy from now.....geeze.
Posted 26 Sep 2014 at 01:34
Rick Ling
218
/ 3
224 posts /
41
likes
most clicks will say no referrer or mail the rest will be filtered out I presume....
most clicks will say no referrer or mail the rest will be filtered out I presume....
Posted 26 Sep 2014 at 08:23
David Guinn
4
1 post /
0
likes
WOW Un believable. Here is what I thought... I order from someones list for my target niche in the mlm health and wellness industry.... but most say internet marketing.... so please define IM? I assumed that this seller had a list of such and sent an email to this list... I would consider getting an un solicited email would be spam if this form is true. On one solo ad I did get a bunch of opt-ins that did have fake numbers, fake emails...only 1 sign up in my business. Thank Goodness no hate email... lol I will have to think about buying a solo ad now... from not only ppl here but anywhere... I did try to leave a negative rating on one person, however its not set up right, because the seller controls the feedback... I got no opt-ins from this nice size solo ad... I never even got a reply from him...interesting to say the least.
WOW Un believable. Here is what I thought... I order from someones list for my target niche in the mlm health and wellness industry.... but most say internet marketing.... so please define IM? I assumed that this seller had a list of such and sent an email to this list... I would consider getting an un solicited email would be spam if this form is true. On one solo ad I did get a bunch of opt-ins that did have fake numbers, fake emails...only 1 sign up in my business. Thank Goodness no hate email... lol I will have to think about buying a solo ad now... from not only ppl here but anywhere... I did try to leave a negative rating on one person, however its not set up right, because the seller controls the feedback... I got no opt-ins from this nice size solo ad... I never even got a reply from him...interesting to say the least.
Posted 1 Oct 2014 at 02:28
Terry Orletsky
332
/ 6
10 posts /
1
like
I sell ads and I buy ads, and I think this thread is way off the mark. There might be a very tiny percentage of sellers here that use these tactics. Most autoresponders will simply NOT accept new subscribers from purchased lists. If you are dealing with sellers using reputable autoresponders like aweber and getresponse, your chance of getting a lot of garbage is minimal - plus Udimi also filters suspect clicks.
I sell ads and I buy ads, and I think this thread is way off the mark. There might be a very tiny percentage of sellers here that use these tactics. Most autoresponders will simply NOT accept new subscribers from purchased lists. If you are dealing with sellers using reputable autoresponders like aweber and getresponse, your chance of getting a lot of garbage is minimal - plus Udimi also filters suspect clicks.
Posted 1 Oct 2014 at 17:41
Alan Ortega
4
5 posts /
3
likes
Hey Cliff is nice to see you again am in your list bro lol . I bought one of your products in Warrior Forum about video marketing , awesome stuff bro ...
Thanks for the Info
Hey Cliff is nice to see you again am in your list bro lol . I bought one of your products in Warrior Forum about video marketing , awesome stuff bro ...
Thanks for the Info
Posted 2 Oct 2014 at 21:17
Mohamed Hassan
19
50 posts /
11
likes
Thanks for your clarification Cliff.
Thanks for your clarification Cliff.
Posted 3 Oct 2014 at 08:07
Jeff Craigmyle
3
2 posts /
0
likes
Wilson Ortiz, Wilson Ortiz, Wilson Ortiz, Have to do like everyone does, no matter where) I am a traffic buyer and I always need to check when i buy, garbage traffic does not get a second chance.
Wilson Ortiz, Wilson Ortiz, Wilson Ortiz, Have to do like everyone does, no matter where) I am a traffic buyer and I always need to check when i buy, garbage traffic does not get a second chance.
Posted 8 Oct 2014 at 00:48
Christopher Mollo
905
111 posts /
106
likes
This behavior is absolutely DESPICABLE! It's NEVER alright to add subscribers to your list without their knowledge or permission. Not only will you get complaints from them (and rightly so), they could complain to your autoresponder company and you could be banned- all because some underhanded degenerate wanted to scam you out of a few dollars! If I catch anyone doing this I will report them to Udimi support staff immediately and I will also leave negative feedback. I have bought several solos from sellers who have glowing feedback and then the solo ended up tanking. People must start leaving appropriate negative feedback when it is warranted or what good is the ratings system at all? IMO, anyone who sends any kind of fake or unsolicited traffic to your offer should be banned immediately and never let back on Udimi.
This behavior is absolutely DESPICABLE! It's NEVER alright to add subscribers to your list without their knowledge or permission. Not only will you get complaints from them (and rightly so), they could complain to your autoresponder company and you could be banned- all because some underhanded degenerate wanted to scam you out of a few dollars! If I catch anyone doing this I will report them to Udimi support staff immediately and I will also leave negative feedback. I have bought several solos from sellers who have glowing feedback and then the solo ended up tanking. People must start leaving appropriate negative feedback when it is warranted or what good is the ratings system at all? IMO, anyone who sends any kind of fake or unsolicited traffic to your offer should be banned immediately and never let back on Udimi.
After you have purchased a solo ad and you start getting angry messages from new subscribers demanding that you unsubscribe them immediately and that they never asked you for information in any way, don't panic!
While it really isn't likely that they signed up for your list and then magically forgot about it a few minutes later, it is possible... Unlikely but possible.
In most cases (not always - but often) what has happened is that your solo ad seller is using a software program that basically subscribes people to your list for you.
They load a list of niche specific contacts that they have purchased from a list broker into their software, and then the software subscribes them to your autoresponder, thus filling the solo ad order.
This is often done in a mix. Their real list has some clicks in it, but not enough to fill your order, so they supplement their list with the purchased list in order to complete your order.
Ultimately you end up getting real/actual subscribers as well as people who have never seen your offer before on any level.
Underhanded? Cheating? Unfair? ... Well, that depends on your own perspective.
The reality is that most of the people who end up on your list have really interacted with your niche on some level at some point, and so they really are niche targeted even though they didn't necessarily subscribe to your offer specifically.
So, being specific, you didn't actually get what you paid for because you paid for the solo ad seller to send you real subscribers (clicks) from his real email list, and he hasn't done that entirely.
On the other hand, you now have people subscribed to your list who are interested in your niche (with the exception of the few who complain).
So although they landed on your list under less than perfect circumstances, they still landed on your list, and it has been my own experience that with some relationship building you can convert the same percentage of those subscribers into buyers as you can the ones that were legitimate.
What can you do to protect yourself from this? Nothing. As long as you are buying solo ads, there will always be risk of getting this tactic used on you.
The only way to protect yourself fully is to truly do your own list building using more traditional (and costly) advertising venues.
So, before you send your next complain, or damage your own reputation and your solo ad providers reputation, take a moment to ask yourself this...
Was my true intention to get niche specific subscribers into my list, or was my intention to only get subscribers from this one specific person/seller?
Don't be too quick to answer - Take a moment to put aside your moral standing on the issue and look only at the end result. - Once you have answered that question for yourself, you'll know if you want to continue using solo ads to build your list, or if you want to use the much more expensive and time consuming approach and built it yourself.
*For the record. I am not a solo ad seller, and I do not represent this website, it's owners, or it's affiliates in any capacity. I am simply offering clarification for those who want it.
After you have purchased a solo ad and you start getting angry messages from new subscribers demanding that you unsubscribe them immediately and that they never asked you for information in any way, don't panic!
While it really isn't likely that they signed up for your list and then magically forgot about it a few minutes later, it is possible... Unlikely but possible.
In most cases (not always - but often) what has happened is that your solo ad seller is using a software program that basically subscribes people to your list for you.
They load a list of niche specific contacts that they have purchased from a list broker into their software, and then the software subscribes them to your autoresponder, thus filling the solo ad order.
This is often done in a mix. Their real list has some clicks in it, but not enough to fill your order, so they supplement their list with the purchased list in order to complete your order.
Ultimately you end up getting real/actual subscribers as well as people who have never seen your offer before on any level.
Underhanded? Cheating? Unfair? ... Well, that depends on your own perspective.
The reality is that most of the people who end up on your list have really interacted with your niche on some level at some point, and so they really are niche targeted even though they didn't necessarily subscribe to your offer specifically.
So, being specific, you didn't actually get what you paid for because you paid for the solo ad seller to send you real subscribers (clicks) from his real email list, and he hasn't done that entirely.
On the other hand, you now have people subscribed to your list who are interested in your niche (with the exception of the few who complain).
So although they landed on your list under less than perfect circumstances, they still landed on your list, and it has been my own experience that with some relationship building you can convert the same percentage of those subscribers into buyers as you can the ones that were legitimate.
What can you do to protect yourself from this? Nothing. As long as you are buying solo ads, there will always be risk of getting this tactic used on you.
The only way to protect yourself fully is to truly do your own list building using more traditional (and costly) advertising venues.
So, before you send your next complain, or damage your own reputation and your solo ad providers reputation, take a moment to ask yourself this...
Was my true intention to get niche specific subscribers into my list, or was my intention to only get subscribers from this one specific person/seller?
Don't be too quick to answer - Take a moment to put aside your moral standing on the issue and look only at the end result. - Once you have answered that question for yourself, you'll know if you want to continue using solo ads to build your list, or if you want to use the much more expensive and time consuming approach and built it yourself.
*For the record. I am not a solo ad seller, and I do not represent this website, it's owners, or it's affiliates in any capacity. I am simply offering clarification for those who want it.
Thanks for the post, I will stay away from this seller from now on...
Thanks for the post, I will stay away from this seller from now on...
There is a psychology behind the visitor actually opting in to a squeeze page before receiving any emails from you that affects followup sales in a big way. It's a micro-commitment thing.
Most of us buy solos because we expect to get paid UPFRONT while we're building our lists which is why we drive our traffic to a sales funnel instead of a blog post. Bottom line is, I want to get ROI now, not 2 weeks from now. In the case of software-generated optins though, those subs don't get see any one time offer page so it's impossible for any buyer to get his ad spend back (or even a portion of it) on the first day.
Software-generated optins of real email addresses should only cost 5-10 cents per email. This is just my .02.
Anyway, the most frustrating thing though is when these shady sellers feed bot generated email addresses in to your optin form. Email addresses that doesn't have any real person behind them. You feel awesome because you had fantastic optin rate, but you check your stats and see that not even one person out of a few hundred optins opened your first followup email.
It's hard to catch this kind of stuff because if you try to validate some of the addresses you got, you can see that they are real accounts or valid addresses, just that they're not accounts of real people.
I actually had a guy before contacted me on Skype asking if I wanted to buy 5k yahoo/hotmail email accounts. I just thought to myself.. this is probably where they're getting the email addresses that they feed our forms.
There is a psychology behind the visitor actually opting in to a squeeze page before receiving any emails from you that affects followup sales in a big way. It's a micro-commitment thing.
Most of us buy solos because we expect to get paid UPFRONT while we're building our lists which is why we drive our traffic to a sales funnel instead of a blog post. Bottom line is, I want to get ROI now, not 2 weeks from now. In the case of software-generated optins though, those subs don't get see any one time offer page so it's impossible for any buyer to get his ad spend back (or even a portion of it) on the first day.
Software-generated optins of real email addresses should only cost 5-10 cents per email. This is just my .02.
Anyway, the most frustrating thing though is when these shady sellers feed bot generated email addresses in to your optin form. Email addresses that doesn't have any real person behind them. You feel awesome because you had fantastic optin rate, but you check your stats and see that not even one person out of a few hundred optins opened your first followup email.
It's hard to catch this kind of stuff because if you try to validate some of the addresses you got, you can see that they are real accounts or valid addresses, just that they're not accounts of real people.
I actually had a guy before contacted me on Skype asking if I wanted to buy 5k yahoo/hotmail email accounts. I just thought to myself.. this is probably where they're getting the email addresses that they feed our forms.
521,887 Active Leads with Hungry Buyers - 96% USA Traffic - Up to 35% Over-Delivery
added laterJon Mon - The udimi system is still pretty new, and I see them making tweaks and enhancements all of the time. So i'm sure that eventually they will address the rating issue.
Thanks for the Info
Thanks for the Info