Copywriting for Twitter- How to say more with less

Are you on Twitter yet? You know I'm not someone to jump on the fad-du-jour. But when I see something that isn't a waste of time, that makes for smart marketing, I will tell you about it.

You need to be on Twitter. Why? Because top people in your field are there. You can find out what's going on, what research they care about, what the buzz is. If you like people, especially people in your niche, this is where you can meet them, and connect. It's content marketing in 140 characters or less.

Twitter folks will follow you back to your blog, and when there, are more likely to leave comments. It's a productive way to build readership, aka drive traffic.

It's not about "What are you doing?" Forget that. Use the 140 characters to ask a question, share a quote, share a thought, be funny or be profound.

I'm not a Twitter expert. Coach Deb and Warren Whitlock wrote the Twitter Revolution handbook. Nor am I a social media and networking maven. Denise Wakeman is.

I'm just an introvert who knows a good thing when it comes around, and Twitter is ideal for introverts who really don't like networking in the first place. But I do like knowing what the buzz is, and what smart people are up to.

You need to be on Twitter. Trust me, you do. It takes time to get used to it, but this is something you can do while multi-tasking, it's so easy.

Here's a great post by Jon Wuebben on Content Rich to explain what to write in those 140 character updates: "Copywriting" for Twitter.

Here are a few of Jon's suggestions:

• What are your products or services? Write a brief update about how your clients are using them
• Teach something…a little something. Whatever your area of expertise is, share one small tip
• Share sites or blogs that your followers would be interested in. Show them what’s great out there
• Feed your blog through Twitter using Twitterfeed.com.
• Announce something news worthy…either from your business (like a mini press release) or from your industry
• Holding a seminar, talk or book signing? Tweet about it and invite your local followers to attend.

You can use something like Plinky to inspire you on what to write. You'll be surprised at the responses and connections you make.

By TwitterButtons.com Follow me on Twitter!

Related Posts: Build a Better Blog: Use Plinky

Biz Tips Blog: Twitter for Business: What Do Newbies Need to Know?

Comments

[Barry Nicholson]

Hmmm...no offense, but I think you're missing some major points here. You focus on "what" to talk about, but not "how" to say it. Copywriting is the "how" part. I see tons of marketers on Twitter talk about "what" they're doing - but they way they say it in that 140 character space isn't the least bit compelling. They don't use classic copywriting formula headlines to give a person a reason to click further.

[Patsi Krakoff aka The Blog Squad]

No offense taken, Barry, but I think the point is to open up the conversations. I don't believe that classic copywriting formulas apply here on Twitter, only real, authentic voices. But I could be wrong. Explain to me more, Barry, on how you use headlines on Twitter?

[anonymous]

Writers are very conscious on what they write about and on how they write and articulate their wordings.

Great post!

[brianlburns]

PATSI: I believe you're on the right track here. Barry has a good point that like any medium, Twitter deserves our attention, and our effort (to make posts make sense, and to read well).

However, I too agree that as soon as focus on composition results in a lack of focus in truly engaging with your Twitter community, you've become "just another person who uses Twitter for marketing."

Once you acquire that label, your presence there will suffer - if not in numbers, then in value.

Good post!

Brian

[Zee]

I find it funny that twitter asks one question...What are you doing? Yet everyone has an opinion on how I am supposed to answer that question.

My answer to what are you doing? is usually based on what I am doing and how that can serve others. So if I have written a new article that helps my niche, coaches, then I let Twitter friends know what it is about,how it may help them, and where to read if they want more.

For me the question is what am I doing and how can that help others.

Suzan Schmitt: The Coach Marketer
http://www.thecoachmarketer.com
http://www.zeecoachmarketer.com