I’ll be honest: I’m a bad tweeter (or twitterer?). I’ve been on Twitter for about seven months, and I only have 680 followers. It’s been a struggle, mainly because I haven’t put much time into it as I should.
So recently I’ve resolved get better. I’ve RT’d my followers tweets, focused less of my tweets on my blog, and started building relationships. But I’ve discovered something crazy: guest posting rocks for twitter. To start the month of February, after over six months of twittering, I had 347 followers. As of today I have 680. In that time, I had two guest posts go up on Daily Blog Tips and Write to Done. After we published the guest post on Daily Blog Tips, we went from 400 followers to about 575 in one week. We gained nearly 20 followers a day. The next week, when we had a guest post on Write to Done, we added about 75 more.
Guest posts won’t just help your blog, they help you get followers. In the last month, I’ve doubled my number of followers, and guest posting is the reason why. I’ve gotten more followers from guest posts then finding people in my niche on wefollow, or through random searches. Most importantly, I’ve found better followers who actually want to read what I have to write.
The bottom line: guest posting works. It will get you more followers on Twitter. Here’s how:
1. You Need a Catchy Title – To get an article to spread on twitter, you need a good twitter title. The catchier your title, the better. But it also has to be clear. Helpful titles (like “9 More Ways to promote Your Blog Offline”, or “10 Writing Rules You Can’t break…And How To Break Them”) will spread like twitter wildfire. Check out these tips for better titles on your tweets.
2. Write Great Content – Write a good guest post. If what you write is awesome, tweeters–particularly honest, genuine tweeters–will want to RT what you have to say. The best way to get people talking (or tweeting) is to give them something to talk (or tweet) about.
3. Be a Good Guest Poster - Make sure you follow good guest poster etiquette. Check out these links over at Problogger for tips on how to be an exceptional guest poster. If one guest post gets you 125 new followers, a second may bring in 100 more.
4. Aim for Popular Blogs – Popular blogs–like Problogger, CopyBlogger, etc–automatically get tons of RTs. A lot of these RTs aren’t honest, they come from twitter aggregates, but still you’ll get a lot more exposure than you would have on your small twitter account or blog. Leverage their size.
5. Give Your Best Stuff Away – At least in the beginning. Platforms–again, like Problogger, CopyBlogger, etc–will get you more eye balls, which means more RTs, which means more followers. Use that opportunity to get your unique, fresh perspective out there.
6. Follow your Re-tweeters – Most blogs have a Tweetmeme button. Click on it, and follow the people who liked your post. You can also do this by searching for your post’s title on Twitter. If someone liked your insights once, chances are they’ll like your insights in the future.
7. Thank your Re-tweeters – If you have the time, this lets people know you appreciate what they have done for you.
8. Promote Your Guest Post - Re-tweet your post and see if it strikes a chord with your followers. You should already be doing this.
@FreeNuts
@Eric, this post rocks, every point of the 8 will make you rock on Twitter, what you need to do is just to follow the tips and to do it.
@thursdayb
I think number 7 is crucial. I’ve had incredible conversations over Twitter with folks who happened to retweet a link to something I’ve written. Follow up those people — ask what they liked about the post, if they had any questions, if they have any ideas for future post topics.
@onviolence
@ young – Thanks Young for the kind words.
@ Thursday – If I had to choose the most important piece of advice, I’d say number 8 was it.
@ExtremelyAvg
This was very educational for me. I am new to blogging, having only been at it since Jan 2 of this year. Is there some good advice you could give on how one goes about getting guest blogging opportunities?
@JohnAguiar
Great tips.. one to add that I do is when you do a #ff add all the people for that week that RT’d any of your posts and anyone I had a conversation with.
People really luv getting your name shared thru #ff.
Great Post Eric
@jessilohman
I’m so excited about the information you provided! Fantastic work
I also agree with @inviolaence, #8 was the best advice. Thanks so much!
@onviolence
As Eric’s co-twitter, we have resolved to get better and these tips have really helped. I have to say, the guest posting is far and away an extremely useful technique.
It’s all starts with the catchy title. It draws you in. Gotta be honest, if the title doesn’t interest me, there’s little incentive to read an more.
@kbaumann
Great information on guest posting! I’m new to the game, but finding every bit of this to be true. Thanks for the tips!
@hiedcareercoach
Thanks for a great post. I can say without a doubt that this works. I started inviting guest posters to my blogs a couple of months ago and also setting up possible guest posts on other blogs. My following is still small, but I am definitely reaching more people in my niche and this means not only getting good followers but also good people to follow. For example, Kirk @kbaumann who commented above. I can’t remember if I followed him first or if he followed me, but he works in my field, has similar interests, and tweets good links…like the one that led me here today. Guest posting works, because if done correctly, if will help you grow your following organically.
@corvedacosta
Great tips
@rososusilo
nine, you have to be a celebrity
@k0zm0zs0ul
Great stuff, and the bulk I already do, so great reminders for me.
Although have to admit, hadn’t even thought of checking out the stats behind the tweetmeme button!
@Acenamers
Use only great content or RT blogs that have a high PR
@giglogo
Wonderful post! #7 is one that I will be working on more. I am always grateful to those who support me, but from now on I will be making sure I express my gratitude. Thanks!!!!!
@mike_marlow
This is a great post! Thanks for the tips!
@eabturner
I am very new to twitter and not of the younger generation. All the tips are great and will speed me on my way to success. I have recently set up my website which is also a new experience and I am truly having fun with all of these new experiences. Keep the information coming. Any body have any tips for using tweet deck?
@TheLawyersSong
Thanks for the advice. I’m pretty new to Twitter, and I’m not just looking for a large number of followers, but a large number of relevant followers. This sounds like it might move me in that direction.
@babatundetalks
You really open up the total art of tweeting. thanks Eric. you rock menh
@uberweber
Hi Eric, I wanted to thank you. After reading your post, I decided to try a little experiment to generate more followers and interest in my newly redesigned blog. Within 24hrs I received 89 new followers. All thanks to your post! Well, that, and some creative promotion too.
Thanks!
Regards,
Eric
@noyavellanosa
Hope this helps. I’ve just started using twitter last six months and I only have 100 + followers. This is due to following any people that I could get so they could also follow me. I’ll try guest posting here and in other article sites. Thanks for these tips.
@gesturebuy
Great content and very helpful, thanks and keep up the good work.
@prolificliving
Gosh there is so much good stuff here – I love the tips – I love writing guest posts but haven’t noticed much spike after that….I’ll focus more on it in the future. Thank you for all the tips!
@makeperfectsite
Great post! I have 300 followers and I get 10 clicks per tweet. (I think I’m doing very nicely because my account is one month old)