“Social Networking and the writer…phooey!”

“I’m an AUTHOR/BLOGGER not a PUBLICIST!

Yes, that’s what all of us really think about it because it takes away from our writing, but it’s a necessary evil these days, IF you want to intentionally bring people to your blog. You might be surprised about something though. I’ll tell you about that in a moment.

For now I want to talk about gaining followers on Twitter. I know everyone has a way to do it, but this is how I do it. Since I am writing the article, I get to write what I want to. Yeah, I’m being professional now. If you look at my Twitter numbers they are not huge, but I gain an average of 100 a week since I have started and I am not an active go out and get them type. I’m too busy writing.

First off, DON’T PAY for followers. I won’t comment on that any further. If you need me to do so then stop reading now and move on to some other article. Okay I will comment. You don’t pay for followers because they are usually one person with as many as 20,000 accounts. How do I know? I get the Direct Messages in Twitter asking me to buy their follows. I used to. They’ve stopped recently. How many out of that 20,000 followers will buy your book or go to your blog article? You got it, ONE. You want real people who want to follow you.

Why do you need Twitter followers?

This will expand your web presence and bring more people to your blog. Agents and Publishers like a web presence for their authors. The larger the expanse the greater your free advertising for your work and thus the better your chances of getting published. They Google you!

One thing some people will tell you is that when they look at their Twitter numbers for clicks on articles they post they don’t see much response. Some people won’t click a link to save their lives. They right click and open it in a new window or tab. That doesn’t register as a click or as a Twitter hit on your WP stats. How do I know? I’ve tested it. Yes, that’s the 11 years of Data Analysis guy coming out in me from a marketing background.

HOW TO GET FOLLOWERS

1.     Tweet your Blog articles properly

• Make sure to use the proper hashtags. If you don’t know what a hashtag is it’s the # symbol followed by a word with no spaces. One to be sure to use is #Blogs. #Poetry #Haiku #WritingTips #WriteTips #MondayBlogs #SundayBlogShare are some I use. Simply go to the search field in the top right and type something and see what comes up, like #Friday and see what might matches up with a Friday thing you can use. For Authors you would use things like #Amazon #Kindle #BYNR #Books #Romance. I think you get the idea.
  

• Include a bit of humor or something relevant, so it doesn’t look like you just did an automatic Tweet from your scheduled Blog post. One way to be humorous is with the hasthtags, like I will put how I am feeling at that moment, #FeelingConfuzzled or #IDidNotJustSayThat. It doesn’t mean people are going to search for those hashtags but people out there looking around will see that and just think it’s funny then click favorite or ReTweet (RT) you and then more people see you. Also you can do a little message or something that is kind of your trademark.

2.     Go to the hashtags in the Search Field that you are interested in and favorite things you like and even Follow people you find interesting. Some might follow you back. Only do this honestly. You can get crazy with it if you like if you are just after Followers but I wouldn’t recommend it.

3.     This is a fairly sneaky way to do it. People to follow if you just want a follower are people with about the same number of followers as followings. This means that they either auto follow back or they just do it themselves when they see it.

4.     Put content not from your blog in Tweets just for fun with one good hashtag that is popular and one personal hashtag that’s a bit funny or just your personality, like I mentioned earlier in the first suggestion.

5,     Have fun with it. Don’t take this too seriously expecting thousands or even hundreds of overnight Followers. Set a reasonable goal for yourself if you like, make it an average.

6.     Don’t get to crazy with it. Don’t go out and just start begging for people to Follow you or look desperate with your attempts at the humor. Just be yourself and let your personality do it for you.

7.     Get involved with hashtag wars. One way to let your personality out AND be crazy is in hashtag wars. Look for them in trends on the left hand side or watch your fellow writers’ Tweets. Hashtag wars are when you do something like “#BadBeatlesSongs Help Me I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up” Help is the actual song and you add some crazy stuff to it. It gets you involved and people see you’re not just around for business.

8.     ReTweet or RT as they say things you like, especially other professionals. You can make lists inside your Twitter to put people into. I have different lists and one is for people that are good for RT purposes. These are people that have great writing tips, expressions, quotes, or articles I can RT to my Followers. Does it get me more Followers? I’ve seen some people RT my RT and then Follow me.

9.     ReTweet or RT great advice from people or Free downloads such as e-books/kindle. I like to RT anytime I run across Free Kindle downloads. Does it get me Followers? I don’t know, but my Followers get a chance to see something they might not be looking for. Also I have ended up with favorites and thanks from the authors offering the free downloads and sometimes they will Follow knowing I do RT like I do. I of course Follow them back.

10.    Follow fellow bloggers on Twitter. This isn’t a method really but I often times like to ask a female if it’s okay for me to follow them on Twitter. I don’t want them thinking I am trying to be weird. Even if it’s available on their blog I just sometimes want to make sure depending on the articles I read from them. Some have content that signals they are open to whatever in followers. But some have blogs that I just feel like it is best to ask first. But with people that Follow your Blog take time to see if they have Twitter. Which reminds, me I need to do that soon.

11.    If you run upon a WordPress blogger on Twitter you like, follow them in Twitter and WP and mention it in a Tweet to them. Yes you want to be courteous. I am not sure courtesy is a method. It’s just what I like to do.

12.    Follow regional people from where you are or like the same team you like. This is a part of having fun and having a personal interest in Twitter outside of it just being business. Sometimes people with a shared connection like this can be your most faithful Followers, because they are not following you just because of a professional reason.

13.    Keep your Followers. You are going to lose some Followers so don’t worry about it. Just net gain more than you lose. I like to try to RT and Favorite something from as many of my Followers as I can if I can that is. I don’t do it unless I actually like something though. If I don’t like it I don’t do it. My Twitter policy is based on honesty and courtesy. It is just like my WordPress Following policy. I won’t Follow you unless I like something I’ve read or I like your About page.

The surprising thing I mentioned earlier is how being limited to a certain number of characters challenges your writing. I write poetry, haiku, in Twitter and find it fun. Sometimes I even end up using those poems or thoughts for blog content.

Twitter also allows you to talk to your fellow bloggers freely without doing so on your blog replies. I sometimes will shoot a Direct Message to a friend of something I saw on their content that formatted wrong. Best of all you get to bond with your fellow bloggers.

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