How To Use Ad Swaps To Explode Your Email List
Ad Swapping has been done for years and is probably the fastest FREE way to grow your list to 100,000+ people. That’s a bold claim, but I honestly believe it’s true and have seen others who’ve done it. Now, I don’t have a list of 100,000 and I don’t heavily use Ad Swaps.
Only because from what I’ve seen, Ad Swaps devalue your list. They slowly destroy the relationship you have with your subscribers. I’m one who greatly believes in building a responsive email list and having a relationship with my subscribers.
Then there are people who say that’s a load of crap, and there’s no such thing as a relationship with your subscribers because your subscribers don’t care about you or what you have to say. From my personal experience, if you give away enough cool stuff to your list, they will be forced to care about what you have to say.
They will listen to you, download everything you send them, and buy the products you recommend. With Ad Swapping, you give away your subscribers to other marketers, and they do the same. So you’re essentially sharing them. If you think about it, the more and more you share your subscribers, the less loyal they will be.
That’s my argument AGAINST Ad Swaps. Saying that, it’s an incredible strategy you can use to easily build your list in quick bursts.
So what the heck are Ad Swaps?
As the name suggests, they are swaps you do with other marketers. You swap emails that promote each other’s lists. If I had to write a definition of an Ad Swap, it would be:
An Ad Swap is where you recommend someone else’s website/offer/freebie to your list, and in return, they recommend yours to theirs.
The cool thing about Ad Swaps is that they are completely free, and you get people on your list who are definitely interested in your niche. They wouldn’t join two people’s lists in the same niche if they weren’t. Before I go any further, you need to know that you can’t do Ad Swaps unless you have a few hundred people on your list.
Nobody wants to do a swap if they’re going to get less than a dozen subscribers from it. So I recommend people use other strategies until they’ve got a minimum of 300 subscribers. You’ll find plenty of other marketers just getting started who’d be delighted to do a swap with you when you’re at 300 subs.
Generally, you do Ad Swaps with marketers who have a similar-sized list as yours. Otherwise, you agree on a number of clicks, just like with Solo Ads. That way, if one partner has fewer subscribers than the other, he or she will continue to send emails until the number of clicks is matched.
Saying that, it only works if you have similar-sized lists. If you have 3000 subscribers and the other has 5000, you look at each other’s average click-through rate and agree on a number of clicks. If on average, you can deliver 500 clicks and your partner can deliver 800, you can agree to send a second email to a smaller portion of your list until the 800 clicks are matched.
Simple enough, right?
Trust me, there’s no easier strategy you can use to build your list for free. Really, Ad Swaps and Solo Ads go hand in hand. And… If you’d like to build a list of say 100,000 people as quickly as possible, I’d tell you to use solely Ad Swaps and Solo Ads. Both strategies are very simple.
Ad Swaps are essentially Solo Ads… But instead of paying to have your email sent to someone’s list, you simply return the favor.
With all that being said, if you do too many Ad Swaps, you’ll quickly damage the relationship you have with your subscribers. I know marketers who do Ad Swaps every day of the month. Some months they start with 2000 subscribers and end with 10,000. That’s the power of Ad Swaps.
But – I can guarantee my list of 1000 buyers would outperform their list of 10,000. Seriously, it’s that bad! I know guys who have lists of 100,000 people, yet they get an average response rate of a few percent. So that’s my word of caution. This is a very powerful strategy, just don’t get greedy and do swaps every day of the week.
I’ve done swaps for a little over a year now, and over that time I’ve put together a few rules:
- Do not do more than 3 swaps per month.
- Only do swaps with partners who have high-quality and free products to give away to your list. (Their free report, product, or download must be a good fit for your subscribers)
- Get proof of list size and response rate.
- Only swap with trustworthy marketers who have responsive email lists.
Like I said, you should use Ad Swaps sparingly and only ever do them with reputable marketers who know their stuff. A great trick, if you can call it that, is to subscribe to a marketer’s list before accepting or proposing an Ad Swap. Just to make sure they don’t abuse their list and to make sure they provide enough value.
What do you need to do a successful Ad Swap?
- Domain + Hosting (Somewhere To Host Your Capture Page)
- Autoresponder (Aweber)
- Capture Page (Optimize Press)
- Freebie (Your free offer to give away – free report/product)
- One-Time Offer
You need all the list-building essentials. You don’t need a one-time offer, but an OTO is going to make a huge difference in terms of ROI. You basically need to give away a free “product” to someone else’s subscribers to entice them to join your list.
When they do, you should deliver the opt-in bait immediately and then present them with a one-time offer. A one-time offer can be an affiliate product or your own at a “special price.” Your OTO must be related to your freebie you give away too.
So where do you find Ad Swaps?
1. Warrior Forum JV Section (works, checked as of 2024)
The Warrior Forum is the oldest, most famous, and most popular Internet Marketing forum in the world. In the JV section, you can post a thread asking for Ad Swaps. You just have to list your list size, the average number of clicks you can send, and your exact niche. Or just browse through the existing threads of marketers who’ve already requested Ad Swaps. Super simple, I don’t need to explain further.
2. Safe-Swaps (safe-swaps.com) (discontinued, alternatives: AdSwap.com, SwapList.com, ClickSwap.com)
Safe Swaps was an incredible service that allowed you to quickly and easily find Ad Swap partners. It was a paid membership deal and was around $25/month to get started. You joined, plugged in your list, filled out a few details, and then people could see your exact niche, the number of subscribers you had, and the average number of clicks you could send.
Besides that, just look around. Find websites and blogs that are actively building a list. Contact the owners and propose an Ad Swap.
In Prosperity,
David Wood
P.S. Leave me your thoughts, comments, and questions below.
Comments
Peterinperth, November 10 2011, 13:45
Hi David
I am involved as a Licensee for a very reputable and popular product and as a result of a Solo ad campaign, I have accumulated quite a few Opt-Ins. The problem is that my product Owner’s system ONLY forwards me the email addresses of the Opt-Ins (just as evidence of their integrity, I daresay) but NO Names to go with them.
Can I use THAT as a list to swap with others (I presently have about 200) or is it ESSENTIAL to have names as well? In MANY instances, the actual names are fairly obvious from the email address alone. Actually, people quite often give a false name in many instances on the internet, mostly for privacy reasons, but rarely a false email because that would be rather pointless if you wanted the freebie that is on offer.
Peter, — in Western Australia
Mike Krumlauf, November 11 2011, 09:15
Thanks for the suggestion Dave. I’ve used Ad Swaps before too and had some good results. It’s definitely a way to add subscribers to your personal list.
I like your suggestion for only 3-4 Ad Swaps per month too. I’ve done it more frequently in the past and had a fair share of unsubscribes. I think it’s important to pre-screen all the ads and make sure that not only are the ads appropriate for the list, but that they’re high quality. Ad swapping is also a great way to try out different ads and see your conversions.
Thanks again for the great advice!
Mike Krumlauf
Etieno Etuk, November 12 2011, 16:30
I’ve never heard of Ad Swaps until today. I feel it’s a great strategy but should be used sparingly because if you do it too much, there’s a tendency for the people on your list to get offended and unsubscribe or just not respond to anything you have to say in your emails.
Thanks for sharing, Dave.
Gabriel Johansson, November 13 2011, 11:25
I did swaps once a day for a month and over doubled one of my lists from 200-500.
I had 2 people write me emails saying they didn’t like it, about 10-15 unsubscribes, and a few people buying stuff from my thank you page.
It was a fun run that I had with safe-swaps, but I stopped doing it because I pretty much just raised my autoresponder bill with not much more profit to justify it.
Then again, I learned Ad Swaps from a certain group who’s earned up to 2k per day from Ad Swaps, but the issue is if they stop doing Ad Swaps, they stop earning money as they send their subs elsewhere.
I really like your Ad Swap advice though! 3-4 per month is perfect.
Thanks, Gabriel Johansson
Amelia Turner, November 14 2011, 08:10
This is exactly what I needed to read today, David! Your insights on Ad Swaps are incredibly helpful, especially as I am just starting out in building my email list. The point about not overdoing it resonates with me. I’ve seen lists get spammy really fast, and that’s the last thing I want to happen with mine. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Oliver Hayes, November 15 2011, 10:30
I really appreciate this post. It was an eye-opener for me! I’ve been on the fence about trying Ad Swaps, but your post gave me the confidence to give it a shot. It’s great to hear about the pros and cons directly from someone who’s been there. I’ll definitely keep your tips in mind and aim for quality over quantity. Thanks, David!
Sophia Barrett, November 16 2011, 12:05
Hi David, I have a question about the quality of lists used in Ad Swaps. How can I ensure that the list I’m swapping with is as high-quality as mine? Are there any signs or metrics to look out for before agreeing to a swap? Also, is it okay to ask the other party to provide proof of their list’s performance? I want to make sure I’m making a smart decision.
Henry Lucas, November 17 2011, 14:20
While I appreciate the strategy behind Ad Swaps, I feel like it could be risky if not done right. The idea of potentially losing the trust of your subscribers because of frequent swaps concerns me. Have you considered alternative strategies that might be less intrusive or damaging to the list? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Liam Anderson, November 18 2011, 16:45
Hey David! Long time no talk. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you. I just got back from a short trip, and I’m eager to discuss some ideas with you. Let’s grab a coffee sometime this week if you’re available. I’d love to pick your brain on some email marketing strategies. Hope you’re doing well!
Grace Mitchell, November 19 2011, 18:50
Reading this post reminded me of when I first started building my list. I was so eager to grow it that I signed up for every possible Ad Swap opportunity I could find. While it did increase my list size, it also led to a lot of unsubscribes and a decline in engagement. Your advice on keeping swaps to a minimum is spot on. I wish I had known that back then!
Lucas Walker, November 20 2011, 21:15
I found a tool recently that might be of interest to those looking into Ad Swaps. It’s called ListBooster, and it’s designed to help you assess the quality of email lists before engaging in a swap. I’ve tried it out, and it’s helped me make more informed decisions. You might want to check it out!
Ella Brooks, November 21 2011, 23:30
I’m not entirely convinced that Ad Swaps are as effective as some claim. It seems too good to be true that you can build a list so quickly without consequences. Do you have any real-world examples or case studies that prove the effectiveness of Ad Swaps? I’d love to see some concrete evidence before I consider giving it a try.
