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This is a guest post by one of the finest gems of The ABC, Rohan Chaubey. He is a student of Engineering and a young technology blogger. He also excels in social media skills and has a penchant for personal development. In this post, Rohan shares his useful tips to use Twitter for building a blog audience, which will help bloggers. ~ Admin
Imagine if you could drive tons of traffic from Twitter and gain a loyal blog audience, who will keep returning to your blog, asking for more.
When I first joined Twitter, I underestimated that it had potential to drive great traffic to my blog.
I thought Twitter was just a social networking tool to send out our personal opinions, but it was far more than that.
Twitter can actually be an audience generating machine – the machine that will never cease to function unless you do not stop approaching tweeple or the people who use Twitter.
If you think by just sharing your blog posts once or twice a day you will receive massive traffic from it, you are certainly wrong.
Even if you have 10K followers, no one ever would be interested in you unless you are interested in them, or you tweet something that interests them.
Here is the new version of the same quote implementable for Twitter –
“You can get more followers in two months by becoming interested in other tweeple than you can in two years by trying to get other tweeple interested in you.”
This post is going to provide you a step-by-step guide to attract Twitter followers to your blog without being pushy or sounding too desperate.
Related Read: 7 Untapped Social Media Tactics For Smart Bloggers
5 Common Twitter Usage Mistakes Made By Bloggers
Before we actually begin with the steps, let me present some classic mistakes almost every other blogger makes while promoting their blog on Twitter:
1. Sending Automated Direct Messages
I know automation saves so much of your valuable time, but do you really think your followers are so dumb that they will not recognize its automated?
Whenever I receive any automated message, the first thing I do is, I un-follow the sender. Why? Simply because automated messages or tweets convey this unwritten message –
“Hi, I do not have time to talk to you nor I feel you are worth my time. But I do want to promote my blog, so I am sending my blog URL with this automated message”.
2. Never Engaging With Followers
Let’s be real and accept the fact that we really don’t have time actually to pay attention to all our followers.
The only solution to this is creating a list and adding your favorite Twitter users in the relevant lists. Check your lists at least once a day.
3. Following Back Even If You Are Not Interested
If you just follow back everyone and don’t believe in having targeted followers or following, you do not actually understand what Twitter is.
The main idea of Twitter is about following only those whose tweets interests you.
4. Talking About Yourself
This is the most deadly mistake bloggers can ever make while using twitter. Tweeting about what you like or dislike all the time is not the way to go.
The reality is – no one is interested in you unless you are really interesting.
5. Tagging People Now And Then
Just because there is a new post on your blog you cannot tag a bunch of people and force them to read it. This is definitely not the correct way to build a loyal audience for your blog.
As a blogger, your goal should be to encourage and appreciate your followers to engage on your blog and not just focus on self-promotion.
Remember: Your goal is not to promote your blog but build an audience who will die to visit your blog without you forcing them to do so.
The following infographic gives a brief description of four steps you need to take to build an audience for your blog using Twitter.
How To Correctly Use Twitter And Build A Blog Audience
(Click/tap and spread to zoom)
Copy the code given below to use this infographic on your blog or website.
The steps mentioned in the infographic are discussed further in detail.
Step 1: Send Personalized Tweet To Your Followers
The welcome tweet must be personalized. You must show that you are interested in your followers, and you are not trying to sell anything.
Tweeple do not want to interact with people who:
- Ask useless questions. Example: Why are you on Twitter?
- Only talk about themselves. Example: Hi, I am an entrepreneur and I earn $1000 daily.
- Tweet in an inconsequential way.
Instead, here is what you need to do –
- Appreciate the follow and show you are happy to connect with them.
- Use only one tweet to write the welcome message. [See the example given in the infographic].
- Talk about them, not you.
Step 2: Send A Direct Message After A Day Or Two
You can send a direct message to your new followers a day after you sent the welcome message or tweet.
You can implement “Step 2” even if you do not get any response from the follower. The response can be in the form of a reply tweet, favorite, or even a re-tweet.
If you checked the infographic, did you notice the welcome tweet structure?
There I asked you to also insert your name and blog URL in the end. If your followers are really responsive, they will checkout the link.
Now, when you send them a direct message, do not include any links to your blog because you have already made them aware of your website in the welcome tweet itself.
Instead, discuss the similarities your follower and you share.
If you get a reply and have an article that you think your follower might be interested to read, don’t hesitate to send it.
You must be careful while watching their interest and send the link to your post only if they reply.
Step 3: Be Helpful And Ask Them To Join Your Mailing List
If you see them responding to your welcome tweets and direct messages, do take the relationship to the next level by being helpful.
If the follower is also a blogger, you can visit their blog and encourage reciprocation of comments and shares.
Alternatively, if they are indirectly related to your business, send them some fruitful resources and once you see them acknowledging your sent items, you can request them to subscribe to your blog.
Congrats! Using these steps you gain a responsive subscriber who enjoys closing the loop and perhaps even responds to every conversation you start.
Step 4: Provide A Solution To A Challenge They Are Facing
I have already mentioned in the infographic that step four is optional.
Since you have already established a good relationship with your follower, it is the ideal time to sell your products (if any) or provide consultation services.
If you do not have any products to sell, you can continue to promote your best blog posts, if it interests them.
In this step, you can even offer to provide a solution to your readers’ problem.
Do read: 10 Proven Ways To Create A Social Media Plan For Bloggers
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Treat every follower as your friend. Be quick to break the ice. This will not work if you are trying to grab the attention of a busy person.
Don’t complain if you try these steps with Pat Flynn and he does not respond. Do you really expect receiving a response from a person who gets 1k+ notifications daily?
You need to be clever about whom you are approaching. This guide cannot suggest you who you need to approach because everyone’s audience is different.
It is YOU who will need to figure out the right person by learning about them. You can do that by carefully reading their tweets, BIO and, of course, by visiting their sites.
You might also like to read a Guide To Market Yourself On Twitter I’d written sometime back.
Recapping: Tips To Convert Your Twitter Followers Into Your Blog Audience
- Show you are pleased to connect with them (followers).
- Talk more about them and their interests.
- Ask insightful questions.
- Reach out with a brief tweet. Later send an email.
- Never straightaway ask for any kind of favor.
- Believe in reciprocation.
- Remember the importance of adding value beyond the first talk (the ice breaker).
Now, I would love to hear from you.
Over To You –
How do you use Twitter to convert your followers into your loyal blog audience? Do you have any secret tactics to grab followers’ attention to your blog? What specifically do you do to please your Twitter followers? Let me know in the comments below.
[Do read an earlier guest post by Rohan Chaubey – How To Avoid The Negative Effects Of Technology On Life]
Photo Credit: Rohan Chaubey, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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