2 days ago, I met my friend Sam Mutimer (@sammutimer) for lunch. We talked about blogging, conferences and social media over lunch. I left with the opportunity to work with her team at Thinktank Media (@thinktankmedia) when they roll out strategies for new clients.

I was quite surprised – especially as I use twitter to hang out and connecting with awesome people when I have the time.

How I Got The Job

I don’t remember how I met Sam, but she soon encouraged me to go the the tweetup she founded called Tweetupmellers(@tweetupmellers) . She was great at getting me to talk to new people and was really encouraging.

I kept in touch with Sam, helping her out and just talking about her projects. I also focused on connecting with more people from the tweetupmellers community. Fast forward to two meetups later, and she was talking about a new project and how she might be needing additional help for it. In the past month, she has hired 3 of the twums attendees and has discovered many others through twitter.
My job is only 8 hours a month – but I will have the opportunity to earn an income while setting up my blog. I’ll be able to accept more work when she gets new clients and I’ll get some training in the business side of the industry.
This wouldn’t have been possible without twitter. Here are my five tips:

1. Go To Tweetups
I can’t stress the importance of this. I went to the tweetups with the view to hang out with fun people that I’d been talking to for months. It has since turned into one of the best ways to get people interested in your work.
I’ve observed:

• Neil creek(@neilcreek) get several clients – and a lot of buzz – due to his Meetheads concept at the tweetup.
• People talking about possible joint ventures on new projects.
• People hiring those that they’ve met at a tweetup.

2. Provide Advice For Free
I would often send DM’s to Sam with ideas for her projects. These were little things and didn’t take that much time. She would always send a DM back thanking me and would occasionally seek me out for advice.

She told me how she had done a similar thing when starting out. She worked for free and soon developed a strong reputation. I have seen this work very well for people building a portfolio. My tip would be to make sure you get testimonials. I do this by favouriting the tweets that compliment my work and by seeking LinkedIn recommendations.
I’ve done this a lot off twitter – guest posts, emails with advice and even meeting people to help with blogging projects.

3. Connect With Connectors
There are some people who love connecting people. They thrive on helping people. Sam is one of them. She has hired a number of my twitter friends including @mr_billiam and @ttam.

This also worked for a local web designer, @richardhuf. I was asked by a friend, @frankinoz, if I knew anyone who could do wordpress PSD’s. I didn’t know anyone so just pumped out a tweet asking for recommendations. Richard responded and has helped Frank for reveral projects. Based on this, I referred him to Sam. I’m still waiting to hear if anything came out of the referral.

You can accomplish so much by just focusing on people who love connecting and helping them out. Sam has since hooked me up with several leading business authors to interview and review their products.

4. Make It Known That You Are Looking For Work
I didn’t actively seek employment but I often talked about how I wanted to get a job at the end of the year. This was a major goal of me and many of my twitter friends had been helping me out and encouraging me to develop new skills.
As a result, I’ve had several offers to exchange skills and the eventual job offer from Sam. All of this before I was even prepared to re-enter the workforce.

5. Offer To Help
I do this often and its led to a lot of opportunities. Most people will reciprocate when they can.
I offered to review @sarahprout’s Twitter Success Blueprint (published on Twitip). As a result, I found a new friend and mentor. @Braqueen offered to exchange blogging advice for a mini makeover. I sent feedback to @howtomakemyblog and now have a guest posting opportunity.

This can help people see your skills and ascertain whether they want to work for you. You don’t even have to do it for free – you can do it at a reduced price.

Have you had success on twitter?
I have been hearing many more stories of people finding work on twitter. I’d love to hear about your success in the comments.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



5 Methods I Used To Get A Job Through Twitter

How to light a candle under your Twitterings for both Newbies and those that think they are Pros…

How silly! I’m preparing to share some powerfully useful and advanced Twitter tips, yet I start with a warped variant of a well known children’s nursery rhyme. What’s up with that? It’s simple…

At the core of Twitter is a concept so simple, even a child can do it. Yet almost every newbie who arrives at the Twitter site is overwhelmed with a variation of the following thought:

“What the…?”

My interpretation of this flummoxing phenomena suggests that most folks (newbies or not) are really asking:

1. Why should I Twitter?
2. How do I Twitter?
3. What do I Twitter?
4. How do I get followers?
5. Can I make or raise money with Twitter?
6. and… OK, I’m ready to start, what’s next?

If you could nail down these answers (quick), it might strike a match in your brain and get that Twitter candle burning bright. Now granted, I could write a book on each of these questions, but after Twittering for months, my brain often goes blank after 140 characters, so bear with me as my nimble finger pecks away at these Universal Twuestions.

THE SIX UNIVERSAL TWUESTIONS

1) Why should I Twitter?

You’re already doing lots of stuff, right? Business, social, charity, a blog, a site, marketing too… Twitter (if done right) can become the VELCRO or glue that makes all the stuff you currently do “cohesive” – yet, Twitter does not require much extra time.

2) How do I Twitter?

Technically, you just type (or tweet) short sentences from time-to-time, sharing with other folks (your followers) interesting stuff about (fill in the blank) – oh, and you can LINK to anything. At a deeper level and in time, you’ll develop a “Twitter Personality” or style. It’s well worth listening and observing other Twitterers you find interesting to plot out your “personality strategy,” but ultimately your goal is to be 100% YOU – a real person – only notch it up bit; be MORE of whatever you are. Perhaps MORE humorous, MORE edgy, MORE informative, MORE social, MORE sexy, MORE original, MORE controversial, anything except… MORE obnoxious

Take note of this reTweet classic:

I only follow those who meet 2 of 4 criteria: informative, interesting, dialectical, original.

3) What do I Twitter?

Ah, that’s the magical part. Now granted, what you post depends largely on your goals and purpose with Twitter, but in general this is easy… just post interesting stuff, preferably related in some way to what you do, who you are, what you (and your followers) are interested in etc. It pays to be interesting to your followers, but it pays more to be interested in your followers; so communicate and network to your hearts content – but don’t (I repeat, do not) tell me what you or your cat had for breakfast. Twitter is NOT a public cafeteria nor a micro-advertising billboard.

Twitter posts (if done well) can be very valuable and/or interesting tidbits of information. However, rest assured that even the most attentive follower will not read all (if not most of) your posts. Thus repurposing previously tweeted posts is a good idea provided you do it with prudence. On posts you feel are particularly interesting or valuable, repost or reTweet these with honesty while spacing them broadly across time.

For example, you might say things like:

• In case you missed it…
• Last weeks retweet…
• Popular Retweet-
• Last weeks favorite…
• Did you see this?
• Retweet Rewind:
• Rehashed Twit:
• Recycled Twit:

For any naysayer who just read this tip and you’re now experiencing raised hairs on the back of your neck as you think “Twitter Spam!” – think again. Is your TV spamming you when a station runs repeats, or are they providing a service whereby you can catch something you’re interested in but you missed it earlier? Unlike a blog which journals posts in archives by month, some have suggested that Twitter is like a text version of Reality TV; it’s an interesting thought and I they do both flow in a timeline.

At the end of the day, quality content should have a lifetime value beyond a single Tweet. Think about that great advice you shared with your followers 2 months ago. If you don’t recycle some things occasionally, how will it benefit your newest followers that just tuned-in to your Twitter channel? If you set your quality standards high and space your Tweets broadly, everyone will be happy.

4) How do I get followers?

Re-read tip #2 first. Potential followers seek out interesting personalities to follow. The MORE interesting you are, the more followers you’ll get. But beware: having more followers is not necessarily a worthy goal. To rain tweets upon a million non-attentive followers is like circle irrigating barren soil where no growth is possible.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Be interesting (as in VERY)
• Be YOU (only notch it up)
• Be social (that does not mean putting a lampshade on your head)
• Be helpful and informative
• Engage existing followers regularly in interesting things.
• Tweet as often as you can, but maintain quality.
• Look sharp (Photo/wallpaper etc)
• Seek out targeted followers, who may be predisposed towards your “Twitter Personality” and subject matter.

While there are systems and strategies to pro-actively increase your followers, you will find that quality followers (people that listen) will often find YOU once you’ve established an interesting “Twitter Personality.”

OK OK, it’s the old “you attract more flies with honey than vinegar” strategy… but what other “get more follower” tips might there be?

Here’s the straight scoop. You don’t want to seek more FOLLOWERS you want to seek more LISTENERS. There are many proactive strategies, here are a few:

• Make Twitter the “CENTER” of your online universe. All profiles across the social media universe should list and link to your Twitter page as your primary page. If you are doing Twitter seriously, this will be very effective. With the exception of specific campaigns, you should drive all ancillary traffic to Twitter as the primary destination. Twitter is a soft close, in other words, people can get to know you without giving you a name and email straight way. It’s far easier to move a Twitter follower along your path (or funnel) to more engagement later, than to go from cold contact to full close in one fell swoop.
• Determine the primary keywords and phrases that your ideal follower might use in their daily lexicon. With that in mind, do searches of Twitter timelines (Twitter Search) and/or Twitter bios (Twellow) and/or Twitterers in your local area (TwitterLocal or Twellowhood) to find targeted people you might follow. An ongoing strategy of finding targeted people to follow will build your followers because often 30% or more will follow you back. Don’t go twitty, just add a reasonable number of new follows each week – meet and greet as many new followers as you can.
• There are many resources such as Mr. Tweet, TwitterGrader and TwitterPacks which all offer different angles on finding the best listener/followers. And with care, automated services (such as Twollo) can help.
• Don’t be shy about visiting the Twitter follower or following pages of other users who already have the type followers you like. Yes, we’re talking comrades and competitors; you can follow folks from their ranks. I can hear it already, a few readers are getting heart palpitations about it now, as if I’ve just recommended robbing the local five and dime. You’re following people, not stealing people; if these folks later decide you’re worthy of following, cool. There is nothing sinister about any of this and for sure, there are no monopolies on followers.
• Add “Follow Me on Twitter” messages in prime spots like: email footers, newsletters, thank you pages (after a sale or opt-in). Don’t trap your mindset in just the online world; think SMS text messaging, sending real cards and letters, mentioning your Twitterings in speeches and even within your own voice mail recordings.
• Socially bookmark your better Twitter postings (I’m talking static pages). Yes they have SEO value. Services such as Twitchboard and Fleck Lite automate social bookmarking in different ways. You can of course go heavy-duty with services like Onlywire or SocialPoster.
• I could easily list 100 more ideas on how to get followers, but I’ll close with TWO of my favorites…
  • Simply increase your engagement with existing followers, and your followers will reTweet and recommend you to new followers. As a famous Twitterer once read… It’s not how many followers you have, it’s how many times you get reTweeted.
  • Whenever you get a new follower, a direct message, or someone reTweets or mentions your name… pour on the hot social buttered rum sauce with a smile.

Believe it or not, before you can say Twittercalifragilisticexpialidocious, you’ll likely have more followers than you can manage and dumping a few can be a good thing. If only I had these tools back in my college dorm days! Lessfriends, FriendorFollow, or TwitTangle

To sum up this Twitter tip:

Followers are fiction whereas listeners are fact. In Twitter, you want more fact than fiction.

5) Can I make or raise money with Twitter?

Answer: Send me $1 via Twitter and I’ll tell you (just kidding).

All kidding aside, the answer is YES! In fact…

“Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) says Twitter has produced $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half through sale alerts”

Read How to make a million dollars on Twitter (just like Dell) and my wacky response.

OK, you’re not Dell, but rest assured the fact that Twitter can help make or raise money is no longer theory. If you VELCRO everything you do with Twitter, the cohesion of your strategy will increase your prospect, customer, or audience stickiness factor and the money will follow.

The secret is NOT to think Twitter drives revenue as a stand-alone vehicle. Instead, think of Twitter as one more wheel or perhaps the driveshaft on your internet dune buggy. Once it’s up and running, you’ll likely find yourself compelled to put your Twitter pedal to the metal. You’ll find ample fuel to power your Twitter vehicle at the many Twitter Tip sites from TwiTip to my own Twittin’ Secrets series which provides 100 Twitter Tips 100% free.

6) FINALLY, “I’m ready to start, what’s next?”

If you haven’t signed up for Twitter, DON’T. That’s right, do not. Not yet.

Step back and become a sponge for a few days. The first few decisions you make about Twitter can be important and deserve forethought as you contemplate your Twitter purpose and Twitter strategy. Twitter is this tiny little thing that “with a good strategy” becomes a BIG thing.

Even if you’ve already started Twittering, the following Twitter Tips should provide invigorating insight regardless of where you are in the Twitter timeline of life.

You are ready to start Twittering when…

• You’ve skimmed through Twitter’s official FAQs and HELP. (I’m not kidding. Invest 15 minutes upfront and save hours down the road)
• You’ve decided on your “Topical Twitter Focus” (what you plan to Tweet about – mostly).
• You’ve thought of a memorable (and perhaps descriptive) 15 character username that you can carry across all the social networks (Here’s a tool to let you check username availability)
• You have a really good photo of yourself for your Twitter profile (Occasionally an avatar, cartoon, image, or logo can be appropriate – but be careful – when is the last time you wanted to follow or chat with a logo? )
• You have a punchy, compelling, and interesting 160 character BIO ready for your Twitter page.
• You have a FIRST TWITTER POST (Tweet) ready. 140 characters. No link required. Here’s where many go brain dead or embarrass themselves. Your first tweet is like your first baby steps and it should begin your “Twitter Flow.” You’ll find a lot of “What NOT to post” ideas here: MyFirstTweet
• Your Twitter background image or wallpaper can wait (if necessary), but it is very important to really do a bang-up wallpaper job within your first month. So many Twitter pages look like the work of a one-armed paperhanger.
• Finally… and this might be the hardest part (but don’t skip it)…You need a low key “Twitter Convincer” web page to LINK TO as part of your Twitter Bio. Most likely your website or blog home page is NOT the best choice. And for sure, your “get rich quick for only $19.95 page” can be saved for relatives, your “ex”, or former jail mates. Here’s why: people visiting your Twitter page want to know WHY they should follow you. If your Twitter posts look interesting, your wallpaper catches their eye, your photo looks good, and your bio packs a punch, all that’s left to convince a visitor to follow, is a quick click to see what you’ve linked to. At that point, you either convince them to follow or they’re gone. A good “Twitter Convincer” page can be an “About Me” or any page that gives the visitor two things:
  • The answer to his or her primary question… “Why Should I Follow?”
  • A convenient way to get back to your FOLLOW BUTTON on your Twitter page.

NEWBIE EXAMPLE

“The Beginning of Happiness!”

Andrew Matthew is a cartoonist and author of books about Happiness.

His first Twitter post establishes his “Twitter Focus”

Andrew’s wallpaper makes it clear he’s a cartoonist (to follow)  

His “Happy Bio” plays off the title of one of his books and he links to his “About Me” page:

http://twitter.com/followandrew  

Oh, and let’s not overlook, Andrew snared a great Twitter username @followandrew

ADVANCED EXAMPLE:

http://twitter.com/dhollings (Click my website/bio link / upper right)

Or BIO link: http://go2468.com/followdan

On my own Twitter page, I’ve used a creative frameset, whereby I display a humorous static page Tweet (to the left) and in a frame (to the right), I give reasons and simple steps to follow me on both Twitter and Google’s FriendConnect. I also take all the mystery out of WHY you might follow me:

Why Follow?

• Free Twitter Tips
• Marketing Ideas
• Wacky humor
• Lots of laughs
• Even more laughs

I’m not recommending my set-up necessarily, but it demonstrates a creative approach that works well for me. For the adventurous, here is how to build a frameset, step by step.

A SIMPLIFIED VARIATION:

A variation of what I’ve done could be as simple as linking to a very well worded static Tweet. In other words, I could have made my Twitter website/Bio link simply this:

   http://twitter.com/dhollings/status/1054232633

   (note: my wallpaper is designed to encourage followers)

By the way… I can hear you asking already… How do you create (or find) a “Twitter Static page?”

Step 1: Make a Tweet.

Step 2: Click the timestamp link directly below that tweet.

Step 3: The link to that page is in the browser address bar.

Before finishing up, let’s return for a moment to where we started with our Jack Be Nimble nursery rhyme. According to Wikipedia, it has been suggested that “jumping over a candlestick” is a way of foretelling the future. If the candle stays lit, good luck should follow. With that in mind, I’ll leave you with one final Twitter tip: Twitter be Nimble, Twitter be Quick, if you don’t know Jack, follow & listen and he’ll follow you back.

—

About Dan Hollings

Follow Dan on Twitter @dhollings

The author & creator of “Twittin’ Secrets – 100 World’s Greatest Twitter Tips & Secrets” and the free “MyTwitter Toolbar.” In pre-Twitter days, he was the internet strategist behind the mega hit movie phenomena, “The Secret.” Dan is also the co-founder (along with Joe Polish @jpolish) of “BridgeGAP Marketing” – bridging the gap between Online, Offline and Mobile marketing.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Twitter be Nimble, Twitter be Quick, if you don’t know Jack, try these Twitter Tricks

What is Twitter?

“Are you in to bird watching or something?” asked one of my Facebook friends once as I made a Twitter post about my 1,000th “tweet”.

Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.

Wikipedia describes it this way:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Before I get in to too much detail on why twitter is such a great part of online marketing, I want to teach you how to set up a twitter account.

Step 1: Go to http://twitter.com.

When you get to Twitter.com, you’ll see this page:

Step 2: Click the Join the conversation! Green Box

This page will appear:

Step 3: Create a Username.

If you are using this twitter account for brand management for your business, I’d recommend using your domain name minus the dot com/net/etc. (ie. http://twitter.com/mollermarketing) If it’s just for fun or personal use, use whatever you want as the username.

Add your email address, personal or business.

Type in the security code then click “I accept, Create my Account” (if you want, you can read the Terms of Service too).

Step 4: Start connecting!

As you can see by the picture below, Twitter asks for your email information. They state very clearly that they don’t use or share your information anywhere:

We don’t store your login, your password is submitted securely, and we don’t email without your permission.

I get plenty of spam in my email inbox, but I’ve never tracked it back to Twitter so don’t worry about giving up “personal info” (this is just my advice, not legal mumbo-jumbo so don’t blame me if you get your identity stolen or something ) If you’re really concerned, set up a new Gmail email account that’s just for your twitter account (I feel like you’d be waisting lots of time doing this).

Here’s what the next page will look like:

What’s cool is that Twitter goes through all your email addresses to see who is already registered with a Twitter account. You can hand pick which of your new “Twitter Friends” you want to add.

There’s also an option where you can invite non-Twitter users to set up Twitter accounts – it looks like this:

If you plan to use Twitter for business and you already have a pretty big database of names and emails, this could be a great opportunity to show your clients you care by connecting with them in a new way. Twitter can be a great way to communicate and deal with Customer Care issues too!

Step 5: You’re now an official Twitter User!

Important questions to ask at this point: Do you need a Tweet Plan? What about setting goals for Twitter?

Darren Rowse from TwiTip.com has this to say:

Being successful at something is very hard if you don’t know what you want to achieve. It’s much easier to hit your target…. if you know what it is.

I really do think the sooner you have a purpose for Twitter, the better, but since this is a “Getting Started on Twitter” tutorial, just add some friends!

The easiest way to get started with Twitter is by interacting with people you already know – aka: use your email list and see who’s already using Twitter.

The best thing about this is, if you have friends that have a lot of experience “tweeting”, they can give you tips, tricks, and even connections that will help you grow your reputation on Twitter.

I’ve been using Twitter since April of 2007 and it’s been a fun ride so far. I’ve found that, the more direction and focus I have, the better use I get out of Twitter for business networking.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



How to Set Up a Twitter Account

I’ve been asked these questions so many times since starting TwiTip that I thought I’d write a post answering it. I hope that it’s helpful for those of you just starting out with Twitter (or considering getting involved).

Twitter has changed the way that I use the web and connect with others online in many ways. Those of you who’ve traveled with me on my Twitter journey since the beginning know that I started out very skeptical of the medium.

It always seemed like a waste of time – however once I started using it I immediately began to see its potential and some tangible benefits to me. Let me try to break some of them down:

1. Research Tool

One of the things that I value very highly about Twitter is the way that it allows me to tap into an amazing community of people from around the world to find out what they are thinking, feeling and experiencing in different ways.

I’ve often said that Twitter makes me smarter because among those in my network are 18,000 people who collectively know and have experienced a lot of stuff.

I’ve always known that together a group is smarter and more powerful than any single member from within that group – but I’ve never really been able to tap into that power…. that was until I started using Twitter.

I use this every day as I write posts for my blogs (and ask readers for their ideas and experiences to help deepen what I write), as I tackle issues and problems that I face (there’s always someone ‘out there’ who has been through something similar and will quite often have a solution), as I face questions and as I develop my business.

Being able to tap into the Twitter community is incredibly illuminating. In fact these days Twitter is starting to replace Google for me. If I want to know something I’ll quite often ask my followers before I ask Google.

Also what I consider to be research is the ability for me to use a tool like TwitScoop at any point in time to see what is trending up in the Twitterverse at any point in time. In a sense Twitter becomes a news service with this and you’ll quickly find if there is a breaking story somewhere in the world by watching it.

2. Branding

I once wrote a post on ProBlogger about how a personal online brand is made up of the many ’strands’ of ‘presence’ that you have. You might have a blog or website – but when you’re also present on other social networking sites, forums, social messaging sites (etc) you reinforce that brand.

I’ve definitely found this to be true for Twitter.

Here are some of the comments that I’ve gotten from people in the past:

• ‘I used to read you at ProBlogger but had lost track until I found you on Twitter’
• ‘I subscribe to your RSS feed on the blog but seeing your posts on Twitter reminds me to read them more’
• ‘I was scanning through someone else’s Twitters yesterday and saw your face. I recognized it from your Facebook account so thought I’d check out you.’
• ‘I saw your name mentioned the other day on Scott Karp’s Twitter feed. I hadn’t seen your blog for a while and it reminded me to resubscribe.’

Twitter is a place that people are searching for connection and information. For me as a blogger who is interested in giving people information and drawing people together into community it is a logical place for me to be present because it reinforces my brand.
For me it’s like having a billboard on a busy virtual intersection.

3. Collaboration and Networking

I’ve lost count of the many opportunities that I’ve had to interact with amazingly talented, smart and insightful people on Twitter.

Some of these interactions have led to new ideas, others have led to temporary collaborations while still others have led to ongoing partnerships over time. The collaborations that have come out of Twitter for me have been both big and small – but collectively they’ve been incredibly significant.

In fact the opportunities have been almost overwhelming. There are days when I Tweet that I’m looking for someone to work with on an idea when the response is simply too much to handle.

Not only does Twitter open up new relationships – it’s a great place to cement and deepen existing ones. For example after a trip to Los Vegas for Blog World Expo earlier in the year I was amazed to find how many of those that I met were on Twitter when I returned home. In the months that have followed quite a few of those that I met in person at BWE have become regular Twitter buddies to this day.

4. It’s my Water Cooler

I’m a solo entrepreneur, working out of the front room in my house in suburban Melbourne Australia. Most of my contemporaries, readers and business partners live in other parts of the world (many in North America) – so at times it is easy to feel quite disconnected, isolated and even lonely.

Having previously worked in workplaces with teams of people – since starting to work from home I have always missed the banter, collaborative opportunities and companionship of having people around me.

Twitter in many ways has fulfilled some of these needs. There’s always someone around to bounce ideas around with, have a joke with or just to talk with about what you did over the weekend. While it doesn’t’ quite match up to real life workmates – it certainly has helped (and at times is even better….. because you can’t switch off work mates when you need to get work done!).

5. Direct Traffic

As a blogger I’m interested in building traffic to my web properties. Twitter has been an increasing source of this traffic over the past year or so. While it isn’t my primary reason for being on Twitter it certainly is nice to be able to post a link to a post that I’ve written or an online project that I’m launching and to see people coming directly from Twitter to that page.

What is even more special is seeing others promote my links on Twitter on my behalf either by ‘Retweeting’ my tweets with the links or simply by finding something I’ve written on their own and promoting it to their followers.

It is difficult to know exactly how much traffic Twitter has driven to my blogs (particularly difficult as so many people don’t actually follow Twitter on Twitter.com but use desktop clients that don’t come up with a referral metric) but as the picture to the right shows – last month Twitter.com alone directed over 8500 visitors to my blog at ProBlogger – I’d estimate at least that much again came from other Twitter clients.

What Would You Add?

The above 5 reasons that I use Twitter will not appeal to everyone. What I love about Twitter is that the more people I talk to the more creative and wonderful (and sometimes wacky) ways that I discover people are using the medium.

How does Twitter benefit you? I’d love to hear your own list of ways that you benefit from Twitter in comments below (or feel free to write a blog post about it and leave a link to it in comments below).

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



5 Ways I Benefit from Twitter

So you just signed up for Twitter. You make your first tweet and you realize you don’t have any followers. “What a dumb idea!” You say. “Who the hell would be interested in what I’m doing anyway?”

Don’t worry. You’re normal. That is a sign that you are a Twitter beginner. A lot of us Twitter users (or addicts) went through the same questioning routine. And look at us now. We’re geeks who are on Twitter all day and night and we can’t stop tweeting.

So you want to be like us? It’s not that hard really. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Set up your profile

The first thing you need to do is to set up that profile. See that bar on top of your twitter page? Click Settings and start filling up your profile. The notable areas in here are URL, bio, picture and design. Put up a link to your site or blog in here along with a brief description. Upload a picture to differentiate yourself from the others and then tweak your Twitter design. Like any other social networking site, it is important to completely express what you are or what you stand for in your profile.

2. Follow people with similar interests

Now that you have a profile, start following people. You can find these people in Twitter directories. I use Twellow and JustTweetIt. These sites can introduce you to Twitter users that have the same interest as yours. Follow these people and observe their tweets. You may also try following who these people follow but read up their descriptions and visit their blogs to make sure you’re still on the right niche. Being on the right niche will make it easy for you to build a community with a similar interest.

3. Get into the conversation

So now that you are following people, you will now see some tweets on your board. Read up on what the people your following are up to and reply if it interests you. For example, a person narrates how he is going to conduct a meeting. You may then reply with ideas. When someone asks a question, don’t hesitate to answer if you know it. Don’t be afraid to interact.

4. Don’t spam

Spam is the cause of many unfollows on Twitter. There is a character limit for a reason. Do not send repeated messages to people. Do not constantly direct message (DM) them with links.

5. Update daily

Alright so you’re blending in the community. Now update daily if possible. I know some Twitter users who unfollow because of inactivity. Reply to people and update people with what’s going on with your life. Soon you’ll be recognized and you’ll get some follows.

6. Find the latest buzz and contribute

Now it’s your time to contribute. Find a topic that will interest your niche and tweet it. Since you have established relationships with your followers (through replies), you will get more attention. It’s a nice strategy to always append “please retweet” at the end of your tweet. There will be some people who will be so interested that they will retweet. There are others who will reply to you about the link you tweeted. But you are not a “nobody” anymore. You are not just talking to yourself. People are now responding to your tweets.

7. Help other people out

The famous saying “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you” holds here. Before you can receive retweets, you must help others first by retweeting their messages. Help the people in your niche. One day you’ll be surprised on how eager they are to help you back.

8. Create relationships

Now it’s time to create constant connections. Soon you will find that some users are more active than others. You will get to talk with the same group of people at the same time every night. But don’t get bored. Interact with these people and create relationships. Ask how they are doing and try to touch on their interests.

9. Integrate Twitter with other social networks

Have a blog? Then post to Twitter when you have a post that will interest your niche. Have a Facebook profile? Then ask people to add you. Twitter is really a vital part of web 2.0. It can serve as the core. It can let you build relationships that can branch out to other social networks.

10. Establish relationships even outside Twitter

Have a lot of friends on Twitter? Then take it to another level. Ask for their messenger and talk to these people on a more intimate level. Call them through Skype or even arrange a meet-up. Twitter can create real relationships.

Congratulations! You are now an official member of the Twitter community. You talk, act, think and breathe like us. Perhaps you find yourself spending every five minutes updating Twitter on what you are doing. But I guess I’ll save Twitter addiction for next time.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners

Here is an instant messaging exchange that I had with a TwiTip reader yesterday.

Reader: “I want to grow my Twitter follower numbers? Can you help me!”
Darren: “Can I ask you a question?”
Reader: “Sure”
Darren: “Why do you want more followers?”
Reader: “Everyone wants more followers don’t they? I want to be more connected and to have more followers.”
Darren: “Let me ask another question – Why are you using Twitter?”
Reader: “I am using Twitter to get more connections. I want to connect with as many people as I can.”
Darren: “But why? What’s the purpose of that?”
Reader: “Because it means I’m a more powerful Twitter user. Tell me, how do I get more followers?”
Darren: “I’m still not sure why you want more followers or why you’re using Twitter?”
Reader: “That doesn’t matter – I just want more followers.”

This conversation went on for another few minutes – I won’t bore you with the details (we went in circles) but I think it illustrates an issue that I see many Twitter users having – they don’t know why they’re using the medium.

I can relate to this. In my own early days of using Twitter I didn’t really know why I was using it either. I saw everyone else doing it and while I was a little skeptical of the medium thought I ’should’ at least give it a go. I had no real outcomes in mind and as a result – it showed in my Tweeting.

My first few days (if not weeks) of using Twitter were unfocussed and scattered. As a result I didn’t really ‘achieve’ much. Sure I found a few followers – but because I didn’t know what I wanted to get out of Twitter I didn’t really get much.

It took me a while – but I slowly realized that I needed to be more focused in my use of Twitter and to work out what outcomes I was hoping for.

Being successful at something is very hard if you don’t know what you want to achieve. It’s much easier to hit your target…. if you know what it is.

What do are you aiming to Achieve with Twitter? What are Your Twitter Goals? – AN EXERCISE

Here’s a simple yet useful exercise.

Grab a pen and paper (or open up a blank text document on your computer) and spend the next 3-4 minutes answering the question of ‘what do I want to achieve with Twitter?’

At this point don’t be realistic – just brainstorm as many things that you’d like to achieve with Twitter as you can. There will be time for being realistic and to refine your list later.

Here are a few suggestions for what you might including in your list:

• I want to build my personal brand
• I want to be seen as an expert in my niche of (insert niche here)
• I want Robert Scoble, Gary Veynerchuk and iJustine to notice me
• I want to drive traffic to my business
• I want to find new readers for my blog
• I want to meet my future wife
• I want to document my passion for (insert favorite hobby here)
• I want to communicate what I’m working on with my workmates
• I want to find friends with similar interests to me

OK – the list could be long and varied. People use Twitter for all kinds of reasons (I’d actually love to see the reasons you come up with in comments below).

Once you’ve got your list spend a few more minutes prioritizing what you come up with. Which are the key reasons for using Twitter?

Try to identify one primary reason and a couple of secondary ones that you’ll focus your use of Twitter upon. I find that if you have too many goals and objectives that things can get fuzzy. Pick 2-3 at most to start with (you can always refine this later).

Note: you might find that some of your objectives clash. For example if you want to use Twitter to ‘find a wife’, document your passion for motor racing and drive traffic to your ‘pet reptiles’ blog – you might want to consider having multiple Twitter accounts for your different objectives.

The key is to have some objectives in mind when starting out with Twitter. Once you have these goals and objectives in mind you are in a much better position to use Twitter effectively.

With these objectives in mind you’ll find that other aspects of using Twitter begin to fall into line.

• what your Tweet about will become clearer
• who you follow and interact with will make more sense
• the type of keywords that you track (using a tool like Monitter) will become obvious
• the way and places that you promote yourself will become more evident
• the decision of whether you broadcast or converse (or do both) will become easier to make
• you’ll make better choices on the types of Twitter tools you need to use
• how often you should tweet will become more obvious

What are your Twitter Goals?

PS: let me finish by saying that having twitter goals need not be a formal thing. You don’t need to sit down and write a list or have strict guidelines for using Twitter. Twitter is a playful and fun medium and there’s lots of room for expressing yourself in many ways – however if you do want to use Twitter to achieve something – it’s good to at least have thought through what your overall objectives are.

There’s no need to over think it – but do at least ponder it for a few minutes. I know when I began to do this Twitter really took off for me as not only a ‘fun’ tool but a ‘useful’ one.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.



Defining Twitter Goals: A Tip for Successful Use of Twitter