You know the advantages of using Twitter.
You know with its character limit on messages, Twitter is the high-speed, information-now site.
You know it’s a great place to check updates.
You know you can get away with posting more often here than you can on other sites.*
It’s a good thing travel blogger Rajat Chakraborty is here to tell us how to maximize Twitter’s potential for blog traffic.
How I Scaled My Twitter Traffic From 86 to 860 in 4 Months
On a gloomy Sunday afternoon, I sat staring at my Twitter page with a mere 86 followers staring back at me and wondered, What’s wrong with my blog?
I also left a message on the WordPress Forum in desperation how I really felt about people not responding to my posts at all.
As it stands today, I have reached 860 Twitter followers and the count is still on the rise. Like many other strugglers, newcomers, and veteran bloggers, who have their own set of mistakes, I, too, have made many of them to the extent of giving up.
Sometimes, the honest frustrations land you in places you have never wondered and expected. Probably that is where you are about to find your answers.
I had a few valuable lessons to take home after connecting with Janice and want to share with others here.
How to Increase Your Twitter Followers
#1. Don’t wait for others- It’s quite possible they are waiting for you.
This one thought changed the way I have been looking at things for past four months now.
We as human beings crave success and attention. Often, this takes us into the state of isolation, where no one connects with no one.
So, one of the fundamental principles of any traffic, and that works on Twitter too- is that be an ice-breaker yourself. Do not wait for others to engage. The engagement will increase. Keep patience.
#2. Likes attract likes – Look for people of your interest.
As a travel blogger, anything that speaks about travel is of my interest. I simply love that. It is important to know that the people who share the same passion are easier to connect with and that what you speak and share with them makes more sense and adds relevance.
So, even if you do not get into the follow-for-follow principle, you will still see a noticeable response as now you are connecting with people in the same niche.
#3. Do you have your niche lists?
Also, your niche is usually a broad category. For e.g., photography.
Bloggers today have gone beyond the realms of restricting themselves to generic niches. So, in your photography niche too, you might have your own streamlined interests- nature, landscapes, portraits, still-life, wildlife, monochrome, macro to name a few.
Depending on your interests, it is a good idea to create a list of your interests and then search for people specializing in these areas. They WILL connect with you because nothing works better than connecting with a person with whom you can rant about your interests for hours on end.
#4. Create a tweet with a different headline when sharing your post on Twitter.
Probably, everyone is used to ‘automating’ the process a lot. Saves a lot of time for you indeed! That’s true, but humans are good at knowing who talks- a machine or a man. Most WordPress users use the Publicize Feature of WordPress to automatically post on different social media platforms.
But every social media platform has a particular engagement pattern, and I, too, like many others, took my own sweet time to understand it, and tried to grin and bear it when I found no engagement on my tweets.
When you are posting or sharing your posts on Twitter, remember:-
Use a different set of headlines or a punch line.
Use a different blog graphic. Canva allows you to make customized blog graphics based on every type of social media platform. Use their pre-designed templates to the best of your advantage.
Use a hashtag on your blog post and the same hashtag on your tweet when you post your tweets.
#5. Leave a personal thank you message for your new Twitter followers.
I have personally engaged so far with people on Twitter who personally have more than 30k followers on their Twitter page. One of them had 80k followers and that was crazy. When he followed my Twitter page, I did not take the time to say thank you.
Nonetheless, I fortunately somehow did not escape his profile stats and followed him back. Within two hours, I got a reply from him, in my message box- with a thank you message. So, here’s what the take home was for me that day-
The best bloggers remain grounded in their basics, no matter how popular they become.
He still maintained the basic principle of leaving a personal thank you message on my inbox, after having more than 80,000 online followers.
To maintain and carry your poise with so much popularity is often difficult, but the great masters always stick to the basics, they stay grounded, and they take their calls not from outside but from within. They connect instantly and last long. And that’s what our purpose of engagement is!
#6. Create a Periodic Retweet/ Sharing Schedule.
Once every week, I do not blog. That is the day, I engage in sharing and viewing tweets from the like-minded travelers. I message them, share ideas, gain insight and knowledge, change my rigid point of views and implement the changes in life. That’s a long-term journey, and I accept this responsibility fully.
You will definitely find people sharing the best point-of-views in 140 words and some of them are really incredible and inspirational.
It amazes me how the power of words could convey so much in so little. And you need to take your time to find your personal inspirations and share them with your followers and lists.
Choose a number for yourself, maybe 15 tweets a week to start with, where you try to find out the 15 inspirational tweets and messages in your niche and share / retweet them with your lists.
It builds an amazing confidence when people find that you have taken your time from your busy schedule to share their ideas and that those ideas have influenced some part of your life in some way or the other.
Admin Blogger’s Commentary: Rajat did a great job. He told us how to increase our Twitter followers as well as how to increase our blog followers and our followers on any social media. These tips are that wide-reaching. More importantly, he addressed the heart of blogging– the disappointment one feels when stats are low and the need for patience until they increase. Go thank Rajat for his article by visiting his blog Pack-UR-Bags.
Readers, please share Rajat’s post on your social media. Bloggers will find his frustrations over not receiving engagement relatable and be helped by his story of how he overcame those frustrations.
What did you think was Rajat’s best tip? What are your experiences getting blog traffic from Twitter? Do you have any advice you can add? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
Related Posts:
How to Quickly and Easily Get Hundreds of Twitter Followers
How to Quickly Tweet Your Way to Blog Traffic
How to Be a More Organized Blogger with Twitter Lists
How to Increase Your Social Presence in 30 Days and Pay Zero
How to Have a Popular Blog [and Should You?]
Posts About Automated Twitter Scheduling:
Can We Really Trust Hootsuite?
17 Reasons Buffer Will Blow Your Mind
Source:
and other goodies!
Hello Janice..
You are absolutely on the spot when it comes to Twitter… I have been tweeting regularly and connecting with other bloggers, liking their tweets.. basically everything with it. I am getting positive response from it. Regarding blog traffic from Twitter, probably I will start getting once I have some worthwhile Twitter presence..
Regards
Peter
Hi Peter,
Once again, nice to see you again. I know you took a little bit of a blogging break.
I am glad you enjoyed Rajat’s article. As far as your comment, that eventually Twitter traffic will come once you establish a Twitter presence. You’re are right. Twitter suggests people follow you based on who is already following you, so it snowballs, gathers momentum.
Thanks for writing.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Hi Janice, Thanks for sharing these wonderful and cool steps for getting Twitter traffic. I am now going to plan my twitter usage as per your instructions and I hope that it will benefit me.
Mohinder Paul Verma
Admin
BloggingFunda – A Community of Bloggers
Mohinder Paul Verma recently posted…How To Make Money with Your Blog without Advertisements?
Hi Mohinder,
Great to see you. Thanks for writing. I am glad you enjoyed the guest post. The tips are definitely beneficial and become more and more beneficial over time as you continue to grow your presence on Twitter. Twitter suggests people follow you if they aren’t already. I have seen it work with my stats. Thanks for your comments and your visit.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Mom guilt- what no one really can explain to you until it’s wrapped it’s cold hands ariund your mommy heart. I did manage to breast feed for 6mths and still felt guilty I did let successfully pump and take it a full year- so you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Lol. No matter what- you clearly love and care for your child and THATS what’s “breast”- so props to you!!!
HI Patricia,
I wrote you on your site. Great comment, but perhaps the wrong post? I appreciate your visit!
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Another great post on twitter, I have been seeing increases by following your other tips. I do have a question. Did the 80k reply by auto responder or genuine? I don’t use an auto responder which means although I think people for sharing I miss followers. I know i cringe when I get auto responders and I wonder what other think?
Jen recently posted…Interview Feature With…Online Art Course Creator, Blogger, and Homeschool Mom
Thank you Jen
No, you wont believe that I checked back on him to find out whether he did so or not, and he failed me in the next 10 minutes – he replied again, and that’s what I like about the people who get into personal mastery.
Believe me, people do not appreciate when you use autoresponders. that’s one reason I do not use them, even in email newsletters. It is better to keep a fortnightly news update that looks real rather than an automated message bugging someone every day.
People can accept the fact why you couldn’t come back to them quickly, as they often understand you too are human, and you have commitments. What matters is, though you came late, but eventually you did return and replied to queries.
Regards 🙂
Rajat recently posted…How Air Travel is Becoming Increasingly Difficult With Big Data
Hi Jen,
Thank you for the kind words about this article and your compliments on my Twitter tips.
As far as your question on autoresponders, it is a common question I’ve seen asked before.
Rajat’s answer is also common– people prefer a real person writing them.
That said, I guiltily confess I have been using Commun.It for about a month. I know it thanks people on Twitter for me.
As guilty as I feel– I know people who engage with me on Twitter are getting thanked, and I am free to meet more people, follow more people, retweet more people… comment more…
Controversial point? Thanks for writing.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
I love the part about “Breaking the Ice”. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Adebisi,
Great to see you! Thanks for writing us. I’m glad that part resonated with you!
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
I’m taking notes. Great advice
Hi Kandace,
I am so pleased that you found Rajat’s post valuable. Thanks for the kind words. I know the tips have worked for me.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Great tips Rajat, thank you! I have to work on getting my Twitter lists up and running, and I have to start using HootSuite again to schedule my Tweets. I love the idea of taking one day each week to do all the housekeeping and promotional tasks, rather than writing. I keep telling myself to do that; maybe your article will be the kick in the pants I need to actually put the intention into practice!
i think the part about creating a new headline and graphic for Tweets is outstanding advice. I do try to do this, and even rewrite the text of Tweets sometimes when sharing for another writer.
Kyla Matton Osborne (Ruby3881) recently posted…How to Save from Pixabay Without Accidentally Stealing
Hey, Kyla
Thanks a lot..It immensely helped me to return the favours who took time to come to my posts and tweets and like them. It is often disrespectful when you do not return the favour, I guess. I often come across people who tell me that they would only like to follow or like posts they really feel are without ‘grammatical errors’ or great content. But often, people with slightly poor posts are nothing but great writers in the making.
Frankly, we all are here to set ourselves free, you know, to speak our hearts out, about what we feel. It is about trying to connect with the moment rather than finding the mistakes. I think Janice does a great job by letting people connect, and I had been missing on that fundamental principle.
No matter how great creative writers we are, in reality, if we do not connect with others just because we find them lesser creative than us, we are preparing for a lonely path ahead, sooner or later.. Harmony, I see, is a part of virtual intelligence too… 🙂
And yes, definitely, we need to let the people know on the other side that ‘we are not robots’, it is a great idea to make our posts look slightly different than what we put on our blog. For eg – Pinterest can be infographic post linked to the same article, twitter can be a tweet with a message on the cover photo….
hope that helps
Warm Regards
Rajat recently posted…How Air Travel is Becoming Increasingly Difficult With Big Data
Hi Rajat,
You did a great job with this post. Thank you for the kind words about how hard I try to give people opportunities to connect here.
I believe I follow your advice on Twitter– I use different wording of my Tweets with each post, and I often use different graphics.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Hi Kyla,
Thanks for writing us. In response to what you wrote,
I use Twitter lists that people have put me on to network with people on the lists.
I use to love Hootsuite but have switched to Buffer. The idea is the same– automation saves time and frees us from being at the computer so often. Thanks for the visit and the kind words about Rajat’s post.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Rajat did a wonderful job with his article. We appreciate him guest posting for us this week.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Inspire Me Monday Linky Party #81
Thank you, Janice, for all the kind words…
Learning something new every day from this forum.
Hi BBFFJ, tweet, tweet, nope, still just can’t do it.
Sorry.
🙁
But it was a great post from Rajat. Explaining how to increase your tweet-ability is good for those that do it. 🙂
Melinda Mitchell recently posted…Ugh..Ugh…Ugly
Hey Melinda
Thanks a lot. I do not tweet every day. It is not humanly possible, as I suggested Jen. Having a schedule helps out
Regards
Rajat recently posted…How Air Travel is Becoming Increasingly Difficult With Big Data
I also found posting more often to work for me. My followers are slowly on the rise since I started posting more often.
Hi Lilith,
Nice to meet you. Thank you for commenting on my guest author’s Twitter article.
I appreciated your advice. When I first started blogging, I read I should Tweet a link every 3 hours, so I did. I tried every two hours, but I seemed to do worse with Twitter traffic. Now, I let Buffer schedule my tweets for me– totally free. My Twitter varies is definitely increased.
Thanks for the visit today.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…Blogger’s Pit Stop #23
I have wondered about thanking people when they follow on twitter (or other social sites). It is my natural inclination to say thanks, but I wasn’t sure if it would be weird or strange. After reading this, I plan to start sending out some gratitude 🙂 So THANK YOU for posting!
Stopping by from #sitsbligging! Thanks for the tips. When I talk to people I always tell them it’s “social” media so you have to interact and engage. Love your ideas!
Thanks for sharing some extremely practical advice Janice!
And it’s obvious, Rajat’s approach, can and definitely will work,
for practically anyone strategically using twitter!
By far my two biggest takeaways are #’s 5 & 6!
Because they apply universally to all of us, no matter what the current
size of our twitter followers are!Thanks! I’ll definitely be sharing his
proven tips & strategies!
Mark recently posted…A Profitable Marketing Lesson The Oil And Gas Industry Can Teach Your Small Business!
Hi Mark,
So glad you found value in Rajat’s post. It’s picking up steam as far as page views since I linked it to this week’s Twitter post.
Janice
Janice Wald recently posted…This Is What Happens When You Care About Your Target Reader