The main reasons you want to use an auto direct message on Twitter is because it’s automatic (you don’t have to do anything other than set it up) and it’s the easiest way to send your first message to your new followers.

An automatic direct message is a great way to say thank you for following and to tell your new follower a few things about yourself.

Or, you can use it to sell whatever you’re offering. But that’s not a good idea, even though it seems that most people on Twitter are using auto direct messages in order to sell.

I’ve written that Twitter direct messages is a waste of time, but I’m not so sure anymore.

I have tried many different direct messages on Twitter, but I’ve found only one that really works.

This one:

Thanks for following! I can help with blogging, social media & more. I will reply! I’m also on http://facebook.com/jens.petter.berget

The reason I know that it works, is because people are contacting me. They’re saying hi, asking me questions, and sending me personal information – not the general stuff.

Let me know what you are doing. Are you using auto direct messages? If you are, what does it say?

I find it interesting that so many people really don’t have a clue how to use Twitter for their business.

There are really only three ways to use Twitter, and if you do, you are almost guaranteed to have success.

1. Link your Twitter account to your site

There are several ways you can do this. I’ll explain two.

First. Add a link to your twitter account (somewhere visible on your blog). This is the easiest way to get more followers. Use a Twitter button, badge or icon, or the text follow me on Twitter.

Second. Put your latest tweets on your blog. All your visitors will be able to see your tweets and can follow you by clicking on your account. But if you add your tweets to your blog, you need to be aware that you might take attention away from the content on your blog.

2. Follow others

When you follow people on Twitter, most of who you follow will follow you in return. You need to follow people who you think will buy your product. You don’t want to follow people who have no interest in you or your products.

You need to get targeted followers. You can find people by using Twitter directories, there you’ll find people who are interested in certain topics (the same as you).

You can find people who are selling similar products as you, and start following them and their followers. You know that they’ll most likely be interested in you and your niche.

3. Add value

This is what most people don’t get and it’s the most important part of using Twitter (and especially if you’re using it for your business).

If you’re providing good and valuable information on Twitter, your followers will recommend you and your tweets to other Twitter users. You will end up with more followers, and your tweets will be read by more people.

You need to understand that Twitter is not just an advertising tool, you need to treat it as your email list. Focus on providing free information of high quality. Then, once in a while, you might want to promote your products. If your free information is of high quality, people will trust you and in the end buy your products.

Image: Jennie

I wasn’t expecting this, but I have just received information that TweetAdder 3.0 was released last night.

Read my review of TweetAdder

Version 3.0 of TweetAdder:

- Does not run on Twitter API
- Tweets posted via “Web”, vs posted via “API”
- Run Multiple Profiles at the same time
- Follow, Unfollow, Tweet & Message throughout the day in a natural looking way

Some of the new features are

- Ability to remove profiles with default picture
- Ability to remove profiles with urls in tweets or biography
- Twitter List Search imports another users twitter list
- Huge flexibility with result filters
- Profile search results maintain how you found them with source keywords
- Unique Tweet Generator – creates unique tweets automatically
- RSS Tweets – tweets any RSS feed whether from your blog updates, or any other source
- @Reply Tweets – post a random tweet @someone who posts a tweet directed @you
- Re-Tweets- Automatically retweet another user

Read my review of TweetAdder

I know, I have written about how to get more retweets before, but this is different.

I believe that you need a strategy in order to get other people to tweet your tweets on their accounts.

One of the reasons why this retweet strategy is so interesting, is that you don’t need many followers at all. If just a few of your followers will retweet your blog post, the growth potential can be huge.

I’m not going to tell you the importance of retweets, because you already know this.

The reason I’m writing is that I have discovered seven reasons why my tweets get retweeted.

1. The Best Time To Tweet

You should know when it’s the best time to tweet for maximum twitter traffic and exposure.

For instance, Friday afternoon is one of the busiest times on Twitter. Therefore, you might want to consider tweeting then. However, nine to three is generally the best time to publish your tweets during the weekdays.

Since I’m living in Norway and the busiest time on Twitter is not when I’m ready to publish my tweets, I’m scheduling my tweets using HootSuite.

2. Add Please RT

One of the best methods is to ask your followers to retweet. When I really want a retweet I always write “please rt” at the end of the message. I was surprised how many people who retweeted after I asked them to (it really helps to add please).

3. The KISS Principle

KISS is an acronym for the design principle “Keep it simple, Stupid!”. But it also stands for “keep it short and simple” or “keep it simple and straightforward”.

Always use KISS, because you want to make it really easy for people to retweet your message. And you don’t want your tweets to be longer than 120 characters, because then people can retweet without editing your tweets.

4. Your Followers

You should concentrate on the activity level of your followers, and not how many followers you have. The size means nothing.

I would rather have a list of one hundred very active followers, than one of 13,000 inactive (as I’m writing this, I have 12,570 followers). The more active they are, the better our chances are of getting retweeted.

5. You Need To Retweet

If you’re not active on twitter, and if you’re not retweeting other people’s tweets, they won’t be helping you.

Do to others what you want them to do for you.

6. Links

The most popular tweets contains links. And what you’re really looking for is traffic, therefore you should add links in your tweets.

7. Value

Always think about the quality of your tweets, and make sure that your tweet matters. Think about how much value it adds. Your tweets should be interesting. Valuable information is what matters.

What do you think, do you have any other tips on how to get retweeted?

Image: debh2u

I have been using several Twitter clients for the past two years, none that I really was comfortable with until a few months ago when I discovered what I still believe to be the best Twitter client.

As I’m writing this I’m still using HootSuite, but I’m not sure if I will be using it for much longer.

Why switch?

Last week HootSuite introduced new premium packages, which means that we’ll have to pay for using all the features. On the other hand, they’ll still have a free account (called Freemium).

At the moment it seems that I can still use the free version of HootSuite, and it won’t effect my twitter experience much (since I currently don’t use multiple accounts and I don’t add RSS feeds etc.). The problem with the free account is that I can only use it for 5 social networks, I’ll see advertisements (via the HootSuite community, not sure how this works), and I can’t add any team members (although I don’t see myself adding any members to my one man team anytime soon.

What’s bothering me is that I’m not ready to pay a monthly fee for a Twitter client, at least not yet.

The alternatives to HootSuite

I know a few alternatives to HootSuite. That’s Twitter clients with most (or all) of the features that HootSuite offers. I read a review of Buzzom at ShoutMeLoud, and it seems to be a very interesting alternative (but not free?).

Another alternative might be SocialOomph. I read a review at reconnect with simmons, and it seems to be another interesting Twitter client.

There are at least three other alternatives to HootSuite that I might try, that’s Seesmic, CoTweet, and Brizzly.

What happens now?

I’m very satisfied with HootSuite, and I won’t switch just yet. I’ll test a few alternatives, just in case.

Who knows, I might end up with TweetDeck, the twitter client I was using prior to HootSuite.

Are you still stuck with only a few hundred followers, and are you looking for some creative ways to get people to start reading your tweets? Well, it’s not as hard as you might think.

I remember my first real Twitter experience, that was when I first visited my Twitter profile one year after I last used Twitter. What happened was this; I created an account at Twitter on October 28, 2007. But after playing with it for 5 minutes or so, I stopped, I couldn’t see the point. One year later I visited my profile and discovered that I had more than 1,000 followers.

I didn’t quite believe it. Why did people follow me? I hadn’t used Twitter, I jumped on the bandwagon a little early, that was all.

I discovered early that adding more followers was important when it comes to marketing. The more followers, the more people are reading my tweets, and clicking my links. It’s a lot easier to drive traffic to websites with more followers.

The challenge we’re all facing is how to get more followers. And especially, how do we get more targetted followers, that’s how do we get like-minded people to follow us?

Let me give you 10 ways to get more followers on Twitter.

#1 Follow more people

When you follow people, most of them follow you back. You can follow them one-by-one, or you can use software or scripts to follow a lot of people with a single click.

#2 Be different

If you’re not any different, why should people be following you? Think about it, you can tell the same story or send the same tweets, but do it in a different way.

#3 Participate in Conversations

When you talk to people, ask questions, provide answers, they won’t forget you as easy as if you’re just having a monologue on Twitter. Find conversations by searching Twitter, participate and you’ll get followers.

#4 Drive Traffic To Your Profile

Your Twitter profile is like any website. High quality content and lots of traffic is how you’ll get successful. The more traffic it gets, the more people will follow you. Link to it, send traffic to it, like you do with your website.

#5 You Need A Different Avatar

You can’t use the default avatar, you need a picture of yourself. People follow people. If you’re going to use an avatar of someone or something other than you, make it a really cool one. If people laugh at your avator, they’ll follow you.

#6 Share Share Share

Retweet information that you find valuable, and share information you enjoy. The more you share, the more people will follow you. But only share information you find valuable, don’t share crap. Crap won’t get you anywhere.

#7 Define the Outcome

You need a strategy. How many times a day are you going to tweet, what are you going to tweet about, how many followers are you looking for? If you have defined what your goal with Twitter is, it’s a lot easier to make it. Start your day with four Twitter tasks, add them to your schedule and remove them when they’re done.

#8 Wear Your Twitter Profile

There are many cool Twitter T-shirts. They can be customized, this way you’ll promote your profile just by being yourself. Or, you can add stickers to your car or to your business wall.

#9 Use Direct Messages

I have thought that using direct messages is just a waste of time, but not in all cases. If you’re very personal, or you’re always having one-on-one conversations, you should consider using direct messages more. This way it will be easier for people to follow your timeline and see how much value your sharing.

#10 Ask People To Follow You

The most effective way to get more followers is probably to ask. When you ask, people will retweet, and they’ll follow you. It’s that simple. You can add Twitter banners to your websites, or you can add a link in your blog posts. Please follow me on Twitter.

Do you have any other tips on how to get more followers on Twitter?

Image: Brood Wich

One of the most powerful features of Twitter is the search. I have especially been using it for support, by searching for whatever question I have, and it works great.

When you search Twitter you do it in real-time, and you can end up finding tweets that are just a few minutes old. That’s amazing. This way, you can be part of a brand new conversation, even though you have no clue who the people tweeting are.

You know the topic, that’s the important part.

Now, let me show you how to search using the best Twitter client available, HootSuite.

And, I’ll use an affiliate marketing example. Let’s say that you’re promoting TweetAdder, the powerful Twitter software that I’ve been using for several months.

What you want to do, is search Twitter for TweetAdder.

Type the search in the search box in the top right corner.

After you do, you’ll get the search results as a new pop-up box in the centre of your screen.

You will see the latest tweets using your the word(s) you searched for, and you can choose to see the users with a username matching the word(s) you search for.

The next thing you should do is to save the search. Save it as a stream.

When you save the search as a stream, you’ll get every new tweet with your keyword updated in real-time.

When there’s a new tweet in your stream, you’ll get notified with a sound and a number of how many new tweets there are. You’ll see it next to the name of your stream.

Think about it, every time someone are having a conversation on Twitter regarding “your product” you’ll be notified and you can be part of the conversation.

I’m searching Twitter all the time, are you?

Yesterday was an awesome day. The weather was perfect, and I wrote a blog post about The Best Internet Marketing Newsletters while I was relaxing in the hammock.

The best part of this story is that I didn’t think about it at all, but as soon as I published a tweet about my latest blog post, I started to get more traffic than usual. I started to get more subscribers to my newsletter than usual, and all of them where signing up from that blog post.

A few minutes later I realized what was going on.

Wow, copyblogger tweeted my blog post, and that’s why I received a lot more traffic than usual. And that’s why I received 28 new subscribers to my newsletter, and not the regular 5 or 6.

This happens when people with more than 54,000 followers are publishing something about you and a link to your website.

It doesn’t happen often, but what a great feeling and what a great experience it is when it does happen.

What I did, was not intentionally at all, I didn’t think this would happen. The blog post was about the two best Internet marketing newsletters, and one of the two best Internet marketing newsletters I’m subscribed to is the newsletter from Copyblogger, it’s called Internet Marketing for Smart People.

When you mention people or websites in a blog post or on social media sites, and especially if you link to them, sometimes, not always, it grabs their attention and they read the story. Sometimes they send a comment or a link back as a thank you.

That’s what happened, and I’m very pleased.

It seems that the people I follow on Twitter tweet every single day, but the times they tweet and how many times a day they tweet seem to vary.

How many tweets do you publish daily?

I don’t have a strategy myself, I tweet when I feel like it, no matter what time of day it is, no matter how many tweets I’ve published earlier that day.

Usually, I don’t publish less than 5 tweets a day, that’s on a regular day. If I’m on vacation or something irregular is happening, it might be less. I don’t think that I have published more than 15 tweets on a single day. Usually I publish between 5 and 10 tweets daily.

To me, this seems fairly normal.

I’m thinking that if I publish less, like once or twice a day, my tweets will probably not be read, because my tweets usually just end up in the twitter timelines of my followers along with hundreds or thousands of other tweets.

Let me ask you this.

Is it really a limit for how many tweets you can publish daily for it not to be considered spam? The more tweets you publish the more visible you’ll be. On the other hand, if you tweet a lot, like 50 times a day, people might start unfollowing you because your tweets clutters their timeline.

Consider this, it might not matter how many times you tweet, it’s the quality of your tweets that matter.

I’m really interested, how many tweets do you publish daily?

Twitter Location is currently only available to users in the United States, which means that I can’t use it and that I have never tried it.

But I want to.

Twitter location is basically a way to show people where you are tweeting from. This means that if you live somewhere in the United States, and you’re tweeting about an awesome new restaurant you’re currently at, people can actually get a google map and see where you are. In other words; they’ll find the restaurant from your tweet.

To me, this sounds awesome.

In order to start using this feature, you’ll need to activate it. It’s not activated by default.

1. Log in to Twitter
2. Click settings
3. Click Tweet Location (Add a location to your tweets).
4. Click save

If you’re looking for people tweeting from somewhere specific, you could use Nearby Tweets. This way you can find out what people in specific locations are tweeting about, and you can even search for specific words / topics. For instance, you could search for tweets from people in New York about restaurant.

I just did, and I found this interesting tweet:

“heading to Nick and Toni’s with the 2 Tonys for Father’s Day celebration. Never tire of that restaurant”

From this, you’d know where the restaurant is, and you understand that this is a rather awesome restaurant. Why not give it a try?

Twitter Location is interesting and useful.

But, on the other hand, there are privacy concerns.

Just read the following blog posts, and you’ll understand why you might not want to use it:

- Twitter’s new location features work well, but at what cost?

- Twitter Location? Thanks, But No Thanks

- Privacy, Schmivacy! Twitter now lets you broadcast your location too…

I understand the privacy concerns, but I’m really looking forward to test Twitter Location.

Have you tried it, and if you have, do you find it useful?