A mini blog? Is it really worth it when you’re only allowed a maximum of 140 characters for each ‘post’? Well actually yes, it is. The real secret to using Twitter effectively is to think of it as a miniature blog. Sure, some people will use it to tell the world what they had for dinner, but we’ve got an altogether different purpose for it. We want to generate traffic for our websites and promote our businesses, so we need to have some continuity in our tweets if we can.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BLOG AND ‘TWITTERING’?
Two words—no waffle. In fact, starting to tweet on a regular basis will actually make everything you write for your blog tighter and more readable. If a blog is a novel, then a tweet is a short story.
So what differences are there in the way that you construct your tweets as opposed to how you write a blog post? Well you certainly have a lot more freedom with your blog since you can pretty much write posts as long as you like. Some people have been known to write blog posts that could quite easily have been sold as e-books!
There’s certainly no way you could do that with your tweets.Some people have asked what the point of Twitter really is. With updates that are so short is there anything you can say that is worthwhile? That is a valid point, but if you ever find yourself thinking that then you’re missing the whole point of Twitter.
It gives you a tool that allows you to get in touch with anyone else on the web. It also appeals to all those people who simply don’t have the time to keep up with a blog—however well it might be written. The basic premise is this—write the best tweets you can come up with, give people the URL to your blog or website in your profile, and let them decide whether they want to read more or not.
As such it also provides an easy access point as far as many of your potential readers are concerned. If you’ve ever been browsing around the web and come across a blog on a subject you’re interested in, how long do you give it before you get
bored and move on to something else?
That’s a great advantage of Twitter. Someone can come across your profile, take a quick glance at all your tweets and decide then and there whether they want to follow you or not. Or maybe even jump over to your blog or website.
So don’t think of Twitter as just a mini blog, or even a micro blog. Think of it as an opportunity to pre-sell your blog or website without actually selling anything.
Sounds confusing? Let’s take a closer look at how to write great tweets to sell without, er, selling.
Writing great tweets
The first rule of great writing—whether it’s a tweet or anything else, come to that—is to grab the attention of whoever is reading. If they’re not intrigued, delighted, amazed or just plain wowed over what you’re written then you’re not going to win any fans or long term readers.
And if they’re not interested in your tweets the chances are high that they won’t be too bothered about visiting your website or your blog either. Shame.
So let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to you.
If you’re on Twitter to promote your business, think of each tweet you send out as a headline. Don’t forget the golden rule not to overly plug your business all the time. Instead, think about some ways that you can get people interested in you and what you’re tweeting about.
Try keeping tabs on what’s going on in your line of business, especially online. With any luck you will become known as someone who provides a regular insight into that area, and people will start to look forward to your updates.
Thinking about each update in terms of a headline is a great way to make sure you don’t waffle and waste some of those precious 140 characters. But there is a fine balance between writing an attention grabbing headline and writing something that’s
impersonal.
Keywords
This is an important tip to remember because it can get you some extra traffic. And it doesn’t just apply to your updates; it applies to your profile as well. Remember, if you can search for other people . . . then they can search for you too.
So with that in mind, make sure you think about what keywords best describe your business or your interests—whatever is relevant to the kind of audience you want to attract. If you have a gadgets website, tell people you are a gadget freak. If you are a writer, tell people. If you like computers (and you just so happen to sell software for them) tell people what you do. Get the picture? Just remember those keywords and the right traffic will automatically come and find you.
One final tip about writing a tweet
If you are on Twitter with the intention of building up another stream of traffic and finding new readers for your blog, make sure you post a tweet to announce each new blog post, and give readers something intriguing to chew over while they click your link to visit the blog itself. Asking a question that is answered on your blog can work well, but the best way to explore what people are doing to grab other people’s attention is by getting to know different Twitterers and seeing how they do it.
Who catches your attention and why? Make a note of how they do it, start following them and see if you can emulate their techniques. You’ll develop your own style over time, but there’s no harm in learning from the people who are already being followed by dozens—if not hundreds—of other people. This is a sure sign that they are great Twitterers!
