How I Used Twitter to Earn 34,771 Unique Web Hits

Derek — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 17:50:57 +0000

You’re about to learn the tactics I used to write a blog post that went viral on Twitter.

And, this was a VIRAL blog post. It was sent to around 300,000 Twitter Feeds.

Want to know the best part? This all happened when I had less than 300 followers on Twitter — my profile clearly didn’t do the work.

First, let me set the record straight. Of those 300,000 Twitter Feeds, only ~ 30,000 people clicked over to my website. But, who would turn down 30,000 unique visits?

Now, here’s how I did it.

1. Talk About Twitter

Did you know that more than 40% of the most retweeted URLs are about Twitter? Just head over to Retweetist and take a look at the top 100 retweeted links.

This won’t change in the near-term because Tweeters are vain (and who could blame us? this service rocks!). And, in the long-term, it won’t change either. Just take a look at Digg. The Digg community still loves articles about Digg. Fark? They love Fark.

Tip 1: So if you want to go viral on Twitter, write about Twitter. That’s what I did and it worked.

WARNING: You need great content. Learn more about this in Tip 5.

2. Promote Other Services

When your article starts to see some traffic, make sure you slap a Delicious or Digg button on the page.

Most people have been using the “Tweet This” button, but I’m not sold on its’ usefulness. Tweets are great, but I prefer links. And, when you hit the Digg or Delicious home page, you get links AND traffic for a lifetime.

For example, when my article started receiving some traffic from Twitter, I used a Delicious button — I got to the homepage within a few hours. This resulted in more tweets, 10-20 links, and thousands of visitors.

Tip 2: Don’t limit your options to just Twitter. Pick one other service to promote heavily. If you land on the Delicious home page, don’t be afraid to switch it up to Digg… This is how you leverage success.

3. Use Copywriting Templates

There is a reason why expert Copywriters make a ton of money. Their tactics persuade people. And, these same tactics work on Tweeple.

Copywriters pack a lot of punch in their short headlines. This premium on concise writing is perfect for Twitter because we only have 140 characters. So, when you title your articles, you should use the sure-fire copywriting templates that work. Here are three examples:

How to [Blank] on Twitter

[3, 5, 7, or 10] Ways Twitter Helps [Blank]

Little Known Ways to [Blank] on Twitter

If you want more examples, look at Brian Clark’s Magnetic Headlines series and add “on Twitter” to any of the templates.

Tip 3: Copywriters know how to make people act. Study and use their tactics.

4. Ask for Tweets

I started my snowball by asking people to Tweet my article — and they did. But, please don’t mistaken that for spam everyone. I asked people I had rapport with and they were happy to help.

Or, you could try another method for asking for tweets…

You could include (pls ReTweet) in your Twitter Headline. This call to action lets your opt-in followers know that you would like them to retweet your article (you may think this sounds like begging, but it is no different from a “Tweet This” button).

Tip 4: Twitter is a great community. They won’t mind helping you out if you ask.

5. Create Comprehensive Content

You have heard this before. But, when you’re writing for Twitter, the rules change. If you want people to Tweet your article, you need to create a complete resource — something people NEED to Tweet.

In my Twitter Tips article, I created a comprehensive list of resources that help people improve their Twitter game. And, please note how I divided the entire post into small sections (chapters).

Since comprehensive resources require time, sections allow your reader to divide that time up how they see fit. And, take a guess how they get back to the article? They favorite it for later reference.

Unfortunately, some people can’t create comprehensive resources. So, here are some other examples of content that works on Twitter:

Be Contrary – It’s easy to say what other people say, but as the saying goes… “only a dead fish swims with the stream all the time.” So, if you want to be comprehensive, ensure that you say something different.

Break News – This is a no-brainer. If you break news, your article will get credit for it. I won’t go into much detail here because this is not within all of our capabilities.

Borrow Influence - You may remember my Gary Vaynerchuk articles. They borrowed influence from Gary Vaynerchuk and since it was good content, people tweeted it (including Gary Himself).

Tip 5: Pick one of the above types of content and create it.

Is This The Real Deal?

That is the first question I would ask too.

But, I’m certain these tactics work because they worked for my good friend Gyutae Park of Winning the Web.

And, he just wrote a similar article where he talks about how he received 35,967 hits to his website in 14 days

I Challenge You…

…to use these five tips on your next blog post. Remember, this is exactly what I did and I received more than 30,000 unique visitors.

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