How I Broke 5,000 Followers On Twitter… And Into The Top 500

This is posting I came across on a 16 year old entrepenur's website/blog. The teen's name is Stanley Tang. How did I find Stanley? Through Twitter; and what was Stanley's most recent posting about . . . Twitter . . . what else! Many of you, my colleagues, have asked me, "what is Twitter?" Well here's the answer from an expert.

Jan 11, 2009 in Articles, Marketing Ideas, Online Marketing, Personal Thoughts, social media

5 days ago, my Twitter followers count crossed the 5,000 milestone. In fact, as of now, my Twitter shows 5,425 followers. At the same time, according to both Twitterholic and TwitterCounter, I am now officially part of the exclusive Top 500 on Twitter :-)



It’s just amazing to see how fast my follower count has been growing… considering just 28 days ago I was at 1,425. It took me 10 months to hit that mark, but I was able to add an additional 4,000 followers in just a tenth of the time - that’s nearly 400% growth in 28 days!

So how did I do it? Here’s the 3 step formula:

1. Follow

Follow Others - Follow as many people as you can, who share the same interest/passion. For example, if you are in the golf market, you want to follow golfers, golf trainers, golf enthusiasts etc. That’s the idea. So how do you find people who are in the same niche as you? There are 3 ways:

1. Friends. Obviously, first follow the people that you personally know. They are probably going to follow you back :-)
2. Find thought-leaders or big-guns in your industry and follow the people who they follow (or the people who follow them). If the people you’re interested are interested in these people, chances are you will be interested in them too.
3. Follower Suggestion Tools. There are plently of websites/scripts out there that will analyze the list of people you follow or following you and give you suggestions on who you should follow. A great one out there is called Who Should I Follow? There are also Twubble & Twitter Grader.
   

UPDATE (16th Jan 2009) - Twitter has now launched a new suggestion tool that helps you find people to follow - http://twitter.com/invitations/suggestions

I tend to look for people who have a balanced following/followers ratio. These are usually the ones who will follow you back. People who have lots of followers but don’t follow many people usually suggests that they are not into building relationships and making new connections (people use Twitter for different reasons - but in this post I’m talking from a marketer’s perspective). These people are unlikely to follow you back, and probably aren’t worth following (unless they are a thought-leader, guru etc).

It’s going to take a while to build up your network and accumlate your followers. Just keep in mind not to follow 1,000 people in 3 hours otherwise they’ll think you’re a spammer. And NEVER ever use scripts or bots or names that look fishy (e.g. BobSmith4231) as you will simply get banned.

Once you are able to branch out and expand your circle, that’s when you begin to find the TRUE VALUE of Twitter.

Follow People Back - I believe that Twitter is about building MUTUAL relationships. Always follow people back (make sure to check their profile page out first to make sure they are not a spammer trying to get your follow). I mean, if you walked up to somebody in a party and said, “Hi” and that person just turned his back towards you, how would you feel? It’s the same thing with Twitter.

You are seeing more and more gurus (like Loren Feldman, John Reese, Mike Filsaime, Guy Kawasaki, Jason Calacanis) doing just that. Somebody like Kevin Rose would be a bad example. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Remember, it’s about SOCIAL media, not SOLO media.

You might be asking, “What if I can’t keep up with 5,000 people that I’m following?” Well, just go get yourself a second Twitter account (like me) and use that just to specifically follow the people you want to hear more about. Guess how much a Twitter account cost? Alternatively, TweetDeck has this cool feature called “Groups” which literally help organize your followers into groups (although I personally don’t really like this and find it a lot easier to get a second account)
2. Tweet!

Tweet Often - After following people, you need to start tweeting - and OFTEN. You need to invest time into social media. People want to know what you’re up to and what you’re all about. Keep in mind of your noise level though as you don’t want to spam people’s Twitter homepage out with your Tweets. I personally post around 10-20 tweets per day.

Provide Value - Make sure your tweets are TWEET-WORTHY. Tweet stuff that are interesting or useful and people will follow you. If all you do is tweet “at work” or “at home” or “at school”, you probably won’t get too many followers. You need to CONTRIBUTE to the community and add VALUE. Produce and share content that your audience will love. That way people will begin to notice you and start re-tweeting your stuff, thus bringing you new followers.

Engage In Conversations - Be part of conversations on Twitter; start asking and answering questions; bring something to the table. If you reply to other people’s Tweets with interesting stuff, people will find you. For example, let’s say you reply to me, I may reply to you by saying:

@JohnSmith I agree with you. The new movie rocked!

Now all of a sudden, 5,430 of my followers will see John Smith and can follow hm (sic) with just one-click! Imagine engaging in dozens of those conversations every day - not only do you get new followers but also build new relationships.

Have Personality - Don’t be another “me-too”. Inject your personality into your Tweets if you want to stand out. These people are all your friends, you don’t want to be boring, you want to be FUN.

3. Promote

Twitter Counter - You’ve probably seen those FeedBurner chicklets that display the current count of your RSS subscribers. Well, do the same thing for Twitter to show the count of your Twitter followers on your blog! Like this: You can easily create it using TwitterCounter. It’s all about social proof. People are more likely to follow you if they see that everybody else is following you as well. Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend you to display it until you hit at least 1,000 followers.

Signatures - Put your Twitter link in your signatures for your emails, forums etc. If you got a mailing list, blast it out to your subscribers and ask them to follow you. If your subscribers don’t know what Twitter is, you might want to take some time to explain what Twitter is, what to do etc.

In fact, Mike Filsaime recently sent out an email doing exactly that and added over 2,000 followers in just 12 hours! It doesn’t just apply to email subscribers, also to your blog readership. Sometimes, taking the time to EDUCATE your subscribers will help boost your Twitter count.

To sum up, it’s really that simple - Follow, Tweet, Promote.

And I’ll (sic) like to end it by saying, Twitter is like a cocktail party. You’re there to make new relationships, not hard selling. I think this quote sums it up:

“Facebook is about people you used to know; Twitter is about people you’d like to know better” - Ivor Tossel

And remember to follow me on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/stanleytang

And remember to follow me on Twitter to - http://www.twitter.com/paulwhawkins

Do You Engage?



This is a posting on M. Sue Woodward's blog, Sue's Muse at http://www.suesmuse.com/. I thought it applicable to both non-profit and for-profit application. If you need any referals to outstanding web designers, please be in touch. I know several who all do fantastic work.


That is the question … do you engage first time and returning visitors on your website?


It is more imperative than ever to ensure that site visitors have a good experience when visiting your site … this may be your only chance to share information, get them to sign up for future communications, volunteer and ultimately, of course, to donate (or buy).


Over the past couple of years, organizations have been taking stock of their existing sites (remember your site is your store front) and have determined that perhaps things are a bit messy, overcrowded and NOT user friendly when navigating … and are now embracing the POWER OF THREE.


“Good design is a Renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need and beauty to produce something.”Paola Antonelli, Museum of Modern Art.


These organizations vary in size, from the newly launched American Red Cross site to ANERA, a small organization that provides humanitarian relief in the Middle East. Other examples include Lupus Foundation, Armstrong Foundation, and HRC.

Suzy DeFrancis, Chief Public Affairs Officer at the American Red Cross shared enhancements to the ARC site in a recent email, included:

• Quickly directing a visitor to donate money, time or blood


• A Join Us button that allows us to register people when they come on the site


• Reorganizing and re-prioritizing the content and functionality to better meet user needs


• Improved navigation


• Links to social media sites


• More accessibility for people with disabilities

This is a great example of prioritizing your site goals and using the elements of good design to achieve them. So ask yourself the question … How do you engage? … It might just be time for a redesign!

QUICK HIT
Study: Shorter E-mail Subject Lines Perform Better

I found this article in the January 13, 2009 edition of FundRaising Success www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com. Allthough the publication is directed at non-profits, the article had considerable application to for-profit businesses as well.

When it comes to e-mail subject lines, shorter is better. Epsilon recently released the findings of a comprehensive study that examined more than a billion e-mails to determine best practices for creating subject lines and found that "shorter subject lines correlate with higher open rates and click rates … ," the company said in a recent press release.

"Epsilon experts evaluated the correlation between the length of a subject line of each campaign and the unique open and total click rates," the company said. "In addition to subject line length, the study suggests that subject line word order, word choice, and brand and audience awareness are also critical success factors. Additionally, it is crucial that marketers perform subject line testing to increase open and click rates."

Thane Stallings, senior analytic consultant for Epsilon Strategic Services, is quoted as saying, “Companies are spending little time thinking about and testing subject lines, compared to the resources and time devoted to creative development. The reality is that more people will see a subject line than its accompanying creative.”

Here are some guidelines for successful e-mail subject lines culled from the Epsilon report:

1. Front load subject lines with the most important information.
2. Keep the subject line as short as possible to convey the message.
3. Use longer subject lines only when there is a compelling reason to do so.
4. When in doubt, test.
   

The full report is available at www.epsilon.com/emailsubjectline

Focus Your Sales Efforts

Posted: 09 Jan 2009 04:32 AM CST by my good friend and colleauge, Scott Howard, on his blog at www.ScLoHonet.blogspot.com.



Recently in one of our sales meetings, I told our staff that one of the keys to success in 2009 is to sharpen our focus.



Face it, there will be a pruning of businesses in 2009.



Not everyone will survive. Your clients and potential clients are looking for the best value for their individual needs.



If not, then they may go out of business in the new year, and you'll be left with worthless accounts receivables.



I found this article Sunday at the CompellingMarketingBlog.com.



Finding Clients that Fit Like a Glove



Clients are a lot like pants.

• Some seem fine in the store but then constantly rub you the wrong way until you can’t wait to rip them off.
  
• Some require a lot of fussing and tugging—and they never stay comfortable for long.
  
• Many fit fine, there’s just nothing particularly special about them.
  
• And then there are your favorites…a few that seem to be tailor-made just for you. You’re always happy to put them on because you know both of you will end up looking good.
  

Getting dressed would certainly be easier if you had a closet full of the made-for-you pants…And so would your business.

The trick is finding out who those perfect-fit clients are. Here’s one way to do it:

1. Print out your client list—the ones who have actually hired you to work with them. (Skip any who have just bought products from you.) Include past clients too.
   
2. Rate your clients. Jot down a few positives and negatives that immediately come to mind by the client’s name. Consider things like:
   

• Were they easy to work with?
• Did they know what they want from the start, or change their mind a lot?
• Were they knowledgeable or need a lot of educating?
• Did you look forward to doing the actual work? Why or why not?
• Were they enthusiastic about your work?
• Did they follow-through (if relevant)?
• Did they get good results?
• Did you work with one person? A team?
• Did they balk at your estimate? Pay promptly?
• Did they volunteer a testimonial or refer others to you?
• Are there ongoing opportunities to work with them? Or just a one-off project?
• How would you feel if they called today and had more work for you?

3. Pick your ideal client. Maybe none of your clients really get you jazzed. Then who would you LOVE to work with? Pick a specific person you know of and jot down all the reasons why.
   
4. Now analyze your notes. What consistently came up in the negative or positive columns? Overall, which projects and clients did you like the best? Why?
   

Which of those traits could be easily found in others? Do people in their industry or profession need (and want) your services? Or people with similar life experiences (e.g. working moms, people nearing retirement or who practice yoga)?


Finally, once you’ve identified some concrete traits to look for then get busy finding more clients just like them…and soon you’ll be looking at a closet full of clients that fit like a glove!

"If a man does not know what port he is steering
for, no wind is favorable to him."

I received this quote along with a message from Neal Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God. Neal says in his message:

“Seneca said that, and it is true. You have to know where you are going in order to get there. This may seem simplistic, but many people have no idea where they are going in life--much less where they are headed on the Journey of the Soul.”

“ Yet these are things that have to be decided , not discovered. Too many people are waiting to discover what they should decide; to chance upon what they should be choosing. Are you one of them?”

January 23 I attended a CEO Round Table planning session at the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce (just one of the many benefits available to members of the Fort Wayne Chamber). The session was led by Jim Wyrostek with The Growth Coach. We left our afternoon session with individual 90 day plans for the 1st quarter of 2009 and what actions would be required to complete the projects. We also had of list of “Money Making Opportunities” in 4 different areas.

Why did we take time from our busy schedules to work on these plans? As leaders of companies and organization, we need to know where we are going – what our destination is or “what port we are steering for”. The extraordinary opportunity we now have, as a group, is to help each other keep our “instruments” calibrated and focused each time we meet. Projects cannot be left on the "back burner". We now have a group of like-minded individuals to whom we can be accountable.

What are your plans for the first quarter of 2009? Where are you headed and who is helping you get there? You can reach Jim Wyrostek with Growth Coach at (260) 969-0781, j.wyrostek@thegrowthcoach.com or visit his web site at www.thegrowthcoach.com/jwyrostek.

For more information about CEO Roundtables or about the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, you can contact Teresa Royer at (260) 424-1435, troyer@fwchamber.org or visit the Chamber web site at www.fwchamber.org.

Happy Sailing!

"Would Somebody Please Call Me Back?"
Mark Helsel

I received the following as a free subscription member of Networking University.

One of the most frequently asked questions we get is "how do you get people to call you back?" It is arguably one of the most frustrating issues of our business. At Virtual Office Systems we have been answering this question for over 10 years and I must say, our answer has evolved over that time. This article will give you a clear and effective answer to a very important question. Before we delve in to how to get people to call us back, we must first understand why many of them don't. Case in point, I received a voicemail message not long ago from a woman who mentioned something about her son playing on my travel baseball team. There were a few inherent problems with her message. First of all, she did not...
To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE

7 of 15 Tips to Get More Sales
Posted: 07 Jan 2009 04:46 AM CST

This is another outstanding post on Sott Howard's blog, http://www.sclohonet.blogspot.com/.

Actually, this is the first of a two part-er on cold calling. Look, I know very few people that like to cold call, but anyone that says you never have to do it, are either lying or dead. Everyone in sales needs to learn how to do this:

7 tips for confident cold calling

In the challenging markets of today many salespeople and business owners are focusing more and more of their efforts on cold calling to secure sales appointments and to win new business. Cold calling is an area of selling that many sales and business people can be very uncomfortable with.

As a sales motivational speaker and sales author one of my core focuses is helping individuals and teams to be more motivated and more confident and to deliver sales excellence and positive sales results on demand. To help you to get and maintain the right sales attitude here are 7 tips (of 23) that will help you to be a more confident and successful cold caller!

Tip 1
Know why cold calling is important to you and remind yourself constantly.
Stick pictures that remind you why cold calling is important to you on your PC. Make notes in your diary to remind yourself why cold calling and the results that you get from cold calling are important to you. Spend time focusing on your reasons for taking positive cold calling action every morning.

Tip 2
Cold call consistently, even when you have enough business.
Make cold calling one of your sales success habits. Cold calling is something that you should do all of the time not just when you don’t have enough business.

Tip 3
Cold call every day (or every week).
Ten cold calls every day of the month is easier than saving them all up and trying to make 230 calls on the final day of the month! 10 calls every day means positive sales habits and positive sales habits mean consistent sales success.

Tip 4
Keep a sales log book and record your cold calling successes.
The most important things in your life are worth recording. That’s why many top salespeople keep a sales success logbook. Record what works, what doesn’t, what you learnt, what you’re proud of, how you are going to do things differently next time…

Tip 5
Know your cold calling ratios . . .
Keep a record of your dials to conversations, conversations to meetings, meetings to opportunities, opportunities to deals etc. Knowing this powerful information will enable you to measure your progress and your skills.

Tip 6
Get your (motivated) colleagues involved in “inter-mate” competitions.
Don’t wait for your manager to organize competitions to get you fired up; organize them yourself and set your own expectations and standards higher than anyone else could ever set for you. It’s your sales results that will benefit.

Tip 7
Reward yourself for activities completed and maintaining a positive attitude, not just when you get results.
Many salespeople only reward themselves for results. You should reward yourself for displaying the right sales behaviours and doing the right sales activities also. These positive behaviours and activities will ultimately bring top sales results so it is these superstar behaviours and activities that you need to reinforce.

I’ll share more of the 23 stategies with you another day but in the meantime if you want to unlock more free cold calling strategies, tips and ideas check out my other blog posts on cold calling or check out my cold calling resources.

Gavin Ingham is an author and motivational speaker specialising in sales training and business growth. Gavin has helped tens of thousands of salespeople, business owners and entrepreneurs to increase their sales and build the businesses that they desire.

Check out Gavin’s powerful books, audios & DVDs & make sure that you join his free Success newsletter.

If you want to set your next conference, AGM or away day alight then call Gavin’s team now on +44 (0) 845 838 5958. To syndicate any of Gavin’s articles or to find out about having Gavin write something for your magazine or newsletter then contact us now.