- Hey guys, my name is Christian Taylor,
welcome back to "Craylor Made",
where I like to talk about all things,
branding, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
A while back, I did a video talking about
the best Linktree alternatives.
I tested several free and paid options
but none really stood out to me
and gave me what I was looking for.
I ultimately decided to build my own responsive
WordPress page that could function
like a bio page for Instagram.
This looked awesome, but over time
I needed a more convenient
and faster solution to maintain.
Having to deal with the WPBakery Page Builder
each week when I release a new video was not fun.
So I abandoned the page for a while.
I just didn't want to deal with it.
I also realized that the design I created
was maybe a bit much for mobile devices.
I insisted that I wanted to have full size,
16 by 9 images as an option
so people could see the full video thumbnail
when they went to the link in my bio.
Over time, I started to understand why none of these
other platforms offer it.
It's just too much.
Bio pages need to be compact, fast to load and intuitive.
Full-size images just take too much room on a phone
and chances are your followers
have already seen the full-size thumbnail
on a post or story and all they need to do is be able
to recognize the small preview when they go
to your bio to watch the video
or link to whatever media resource you've posted.
There's also the consideration of page loading time
and a solution like Linktree is optimized to load quickly,
thanks to the basic page design and small images.
Once I started to realize this
and see that my WordPress landing page was maybe not ideal,
I got to work looking for the right solution.
After my video on Linktree,
the co-founder of solo.to reached out
and asked me to give his platform a try.
I was interested because as I replied to him
and had some discussions with him,
he showed a big interest in what I had to say.
And most importantly, he showed that Solo
is a real company who is committed
to what they are doing.
This may sound like a weird statement
but I've noticed there are tons
of no-name Linktree competitors that are using
off the shelf scripts and seem like an exact clone
of dozens of other options.
Sometimes I wonder if there's even a human behind it
or if it's a legit company,
or if somehow it's some scam to get
personal information out of you.
The Solo team is committed to adding features,
listening to feedback and offering
a great alternative to Linktree.
So it got my attention.
This video is not sponsored by Solo
but they did just launch their affiliate program
and since I've personally been using Solo
for the past few months, and I'm very happy with it,
I figured this would be a good time to make a video
showing you what it can do.
The free version of Solo gives you 10 links,
which should be enough for most people's needs.
Unlike Linktree, Solo features a responsive page design
that looks great on desktops.
This makes sure visitors have a wonderful experience
if they're coming from Instagram for web
or if you use your bio page on Twitter and Facebook.
The free version of Solo forces a thumbnail
of the Solo logo next to every link.
This bothers me.
I feel like it's a bit much when the Solo logo
is already in two other places on the page.
I wish the free version would just have no image
in favor of a generic button,
but this isn't the biggest deal.
The paid plans are where things get interesting.
For $12 a year, you can get 20 links,
social buttons, highlighted links,
dark mode and a custom background image.
Unfortunately, you still can't get rid
of the Solo logo next to each link, which bugs me.
There's also no themes like Linktree offers.
I have mixed feelings about this plan
because you're not really getting rid
of the excessive Solo branding by upgrading,
but you do get a few extra features
to make the page your own.
If you find wanna spice up the top section
with your own background image or have highlighted links,
I think these would be valid reasons
to upgrade to this plan.
Solo also has a $6 per month plan
which competes directly with Linktree pro.
The entrepreneur plan gives you
up to 50 links with scheduled links as an option.
You can also have up to two unique Solo pages
and both will have all the upgraded features.
Now here's where Solo sets itself apart
from Linktree, the embedding features.
Artists, content creators, and podcasters rejoice,
you can embed rich media like YouTube videos,
Twitch streams, Spotify playlists
and Apple podcasts widgets directly on the page.
The entrepreneur plan also unlocks custom link thumbnails
and six months of advanced analytics
for the ultimate bio page experience.
This is the plan I've personally been using
for the past few months and for full disclosure,
Solo has provided the account for review purposes.
So is it worth $6 a month?
Well, it just depends on where you're at with your business.
If you're just getting started,
I think the free or $12 per month plan will be just fine.
If you're at a place where you can justify
the added expense for the extra features,
I think Solo offers a good package at this price point.
I can honestly say that if I didn't have a free account
for review purposes, I personally would be just fine
with paying $6 a month for the package I'm on.
I think it's worth it with where I'm am with my business.
Finally, for $15 a month,
you can have up to five Solo pages,
email list opt-ins and Facebook pixel tracking.
These are advance features that you'll likely only want
if you're a bigger company or if you're a podcast network
or someone who needs
multiple bio pages with advance features.
If that's you, this becomes a really great value.
So should you use solo.to over Linktree?
What about other bio page options?
I think it's a great alternative to Linktree
that offers better value
and more of the important features most people
are looking for in a bio page system.
It may not be the best bio page platform out there
because there are hundreds, if not thousands that exist.
But one thing really stands out about Solo.
There are genuine people who are working hard
to constantly improve their platform.
When do you get a team of people
fired up who have a mission they're excited about,
it always amounts to a fantastic customer experience.
Let me tell you something about Linktree .
I tried their pro version a few months back
to see how they had evolved
and what features they've added.
In effort to not get charged again and forget to cancel,
I decided to cancel my subscription immediately
after I paid for one month of service.
You know we all do it.
Sign up for the trial, except in this case
I paid for a month of service and go in right then
and cancel so that we can enjoy the month of service
but not forget and not risk getting charged later.
Any logical person would assume
that they have full access to pro for the full month.
Then it simply won't renew
at the end of the month.
(laughs) Not Linktree!
Not only did they immediately terminate my service,
they refused to offer a refund when I emailed them.
They charged me $6 and didn't provide the services
I paid for it because I canceled.
They fought with me and said I agreed to having my service
revoked when I canceled and that's technically true
but who does that to a potential customer?
What if I just canceled immediately
because I didn't wanna get charged again
but then the pro features grew on me over that month
and I ended up subscribing before the end of the period.
They totally just alienated a potential customer.
They eventually did refund the $6 charge
but that was enough for me
to stay away from Linktree long-term.
If you wanna quality bio page system
from a group of great people
who care about their customers,
solo.to is for you.
You can use the link in the description below
to get 10% off your first purchase,
if you upgrade within 48 hours.
They do have annual plans available
for a discount for maximum savings.
So which bio page system do you use?
I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments down below
And if you liked this video
do be sure to hit that subscribe button
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when I release new videos.
With that said I will catch you guys next time.