Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you sign up through it, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I think will help solo ad buyers.
Here's a mistake I see every week.
Someone decides to try solo ads. They're excited. They've got an offer, maybe a lead magnet, and they're ready to buy clicks.
Then I ask them one question.
"Where are your leads going?"
Silence.
No autoresponder. No follow up. No list. Just a plan to send traffic somewhere and hope.
That's not a business. That's a donation.
Solo ads don't sell your product. Solo ads build your list.
The click is the start. The person lands on your squeeze page, enters their email, and joins your list. Your emails do the selling from there, over days and weeks.
No autoresponder means no list. No list means every click you paid for disappears the second that person closes the tab.
An autoresponder does three jobs:
You can't run solo ads without one. So the only question is which one.
If you're just starting out, you don't need to pay for email software before you even know your funnel works.
AWeber has a free account, and it's not a stripped-down trial that disappears in two weeks. It's a real account with no expiry and no credit card needed.
Here's what you get:
For someone buying their first solo ad, that covers everything you need to capture leads and follow up with them.
Get your free AWeber account here
I'm not going to pretend free means unlimited. Here's the honest picture.
500 subscribers. Once your list passes 500, you'll need to upgrade.
3,000 emails per month. This is the one that catches people. It's total emails sent, not per subscriber.
Do the math before you order. Say your first order brings in 250 subscribers. 3,000 emails divided by 250 people is 12 emails each per month, about three a week. That's enough to run a welcome sequence and test your offer. It's not enough to mail heavily.
AWeber branding stays on your emails. Small thing, but you'll see it.
So think of the free account as your testing ground. Build your funnel, run your first order, learn what your leads respond to. When your list grows or you want to mail more often, upgrade. By then you'll know your numbers and whether the investment makes sense.
AWeber is strict about one thing, and so am I.
Only mail people who signed up on your own page. Solo ad leads opt in directly on your squeeze page, so they're your subscribers. That's exactly how it should work.
What you can never do is import a list you bought, scraped, or got for free from somewhere else. That's against AWeber's terms, and it's the fastest way to get your account shut down.
Solo ads done right never need you to do that. The leads come to you.
Do all of this before the clicks arrive. Once the traffic starts, you want every lead going straight into a system that's already working.
Solo ads fill your list. Your autoresponder is the list.
You don't need to spend money on software to find out if your funnel works. Start free, run your first order, learn your numbers, and upgrade when your results tell you to.
Solo ad buyers often blame the traffic when the real problem is deliverability: new or cold sending domains land in spam when they suddenly start mailing hundreds of fresh leads. Email warmup builds sending reputation ahead of time. InboxAlly stands out because it engages with your real campaign emails, not generic warmup mail, and shows you where your mail actually lands before you send.
September 23, 2026 · 4 min read