michael3328
Newbie
- Dec 3, 2020
- 2
- 1
I'm by no means massive on Twitter, and I haven't attempted to monetize what following I do have, but having built up a niche account over the last year or so, I have some observations that I think might be worth sharing:
It's Nice to Have a Niche that's Relevant to Current Events:
More than most platforms, Twitter prizes the steady production of content. Being positioned to comment on current events supplies topics naturally. Obviously, this doesn't work for every niche and may even be counterproductive for some, but having operated a couple of accounts, I've found that the ability to simply comment on whatever news story happens to be buzzing is one cure for writers' block.
Make Friends
When I started my most recent and successful account, my first impulse was to follow any relatively small account in my niche in hopes of getting a follow back. The better strategy is to follow accounts that are:
Within Reason, You Can Privately Ask for Retweets
I used to think this was the dumbest strategy... until I saw it work... over and over again. In fact, I would find myself retweeting things just because someone happened to DM me. Some of the accounts in my inbox got big fast. In general, my policy is to only ask someone for a retweet once I've obliged a few such requests from them. Also, when you send someone something to retweet, make sure it's on-brand for them.
What works best is putting together a group chat of similar accounts. That way, you can send your material to the group chat, ostensibly to spark discussion, and more often than not, someone in the chat will retweet it.
Be Super Repetitive
Twitter is the most ephemeral of platforms, so the only way to establish an identity is to repeat yourself. It's not like writing a blog where a new visitor might get annoyed after reading several posts that reiterate the same theme. Very rarely will anyone read more than a few tweets on your profile after discovering you, so it's important that at any given time, your recent tweets reflect your brand. Even those who've been following you for a while won't know exactly how to categorize you until you've repeatedly beaten them over the head with your core ideas.
If appropriate to your niche, inside jokes work really well.
Threads with Images Can Work Really Well
I know some people who do nothing but this, and almost every time I've tried this format, I've gotten a good amount of engagement. Twitter threads with interesting visuals are the modern version of magazine articles.
Keep Track of Good Material
Remember what I said about Twitter being ephemeral? Whenever you write something good, particularly a thread, be sure to save it somehow. DM it to yourself, keep a Google sheet, or best of all, pin a "thread of threads" to the top of your profile. You'll thank me when you realize how unreliable advanced search can be.
Good luck!
It's Nice to Have a Niche that's Relevant to Current Events:
More than most platforms, Twitter prizes the steady production of content. Being positioned to comment on current events supplies topics naturally. Obviously, this doesn't work for every niche and may even be counterproductive for some, but having operated a couple of accounts, I've found that the ability to simply comment on whatever news story happens to be buzzing is one cure for writers' block.
Make Friends
When I started my most recent and successful account, my first impulse was to follow any relatively small account in my niche in hopes of getting a follow back. The better strategy is to follow accounts that are:
- Slightly larger than yours, or later comparably sized.
- Actually interesting to you.
Within Reason, You Can Privately Ask for Retweets
I used to think this was the dumbest strategy... until I saw it work... over and over again. In fact, I would find myself retweeting things just because someone happened to DM me. Some of the accounts in my inbox got big fast. In general, my policy is to only ask someone for a retweet once I've obliged a few such requests from them. Also, when you send someone something to retweet, make sure it's on-brand for them.
What works best is putting together a group chat of similar accounts. That way, you can send your material to the group chat, ostensibly to spark discussion, and more often than not, someone in the chat will retweet it.
Be Super Repetitive
Twitter is the most ephemeral of platforms, so the only way to establish an identity is to repeat yourself. It's not like writing a blog where a new visitor might get annoyed after reading several posts that reiterate the same theme. Very rarely will anyone read more than a few tweets on your profile after discovering you, so it's important that at any given time, your recent tweets reflect your brand. Even those who've been following you for a while won't know exactly how to categorize you until you've repeatedly beaten them over the head with your core ideas.
If appropriate to your niche, inside jokes work really well.
Threads with Images Can Work Really Well
I know some people who do nothing but this, and almost every time I've tried this format, I've gotten a good amount of engagement. Twitter threads with interesting visuals are the modern version of magazine articles.
Keep Track of Good Material
Remember what I said about Twitter being ephemeral? Whenever you write something good, particularly a thread, be sure to save it somehow. DM it to yourself, keep a Google sheet, or best of all, pin a "thread of threads" to the top of your profile. You'll thank me when you realize how unreliable advanced search can be.
Good luck!