Here is the way I used to grow my Twitter list to 2,000 followers in just a few months. With what I know now, I know I could do it in weeks, and without all the new bells and whistles out there. Nothing against new technology, but face it, some people have an easier time doing stuff the old fashioned way. This Twitter marketing tip is to give those people an option.

Here is what I did in 5 easy steps:

(This is assuming you have your Twitter site up and running. If not, go see my earlier Twitter Marketing Tips.)

1. 1. The first thing I did was find a few marketing “gurus” that I wanted to get Tweets from. I picked several like Frank Kern and Mike Dillard , for example. I was learning from them anyway, and wanted to see how they use Twitter . I then started following their followers, about 25 at a time from each guru . These are people who have proven that they will follow and they’re interested in the same information I was, so it makes it more likely that they will follow you back. I just went down the list and started following them. About 25% of these people will follow you back, especially if you are Tweeting several times a day about interesting and valuable information. So, if you follow 100, you can expect to get about 25 to follow you back. I set a schedule to follow 250 people every day, about 25 from each guru I was following. Believe me, they will add up fast.
2. The next thing I did was make sure I was Tweeting and doing about 25 @replies and direct replies every day. Make sure that those replies are positive, sociable, and friendly. They should also contain good valuable information that Tweets can use. If you don’t know what to Tweet , just RT or re-Tweet something that you found useful. Twitter likes to see you communicating and being social. This keeps you from being mistaken for a spammer and getting kicked out of Twitter .
3. Every day, repeat this process. Follow about 20 people from each of your “gurus” list till you have followed 250. Then go do @replies to 25 Tweets or reply to direct messages you have received. Just make sure you follow 250 and reply to 25 every day. After just 4-5 days you should be following about 1,000 and have 250-350 following you. You should also have made about 100-125 Tweets , @replies or RTs .
4. At this point, you should go to your Following list and delete anyone who is not following you back. The way to tell if they are following you is by checking if the words “Direct Message” is underneath their name. If you don’t see it, they aren’t following and you need to remove them. Just scroll down the page, deleting or removing as you go and at the bottom click on next. Repeat this till you have checked every page. From now on, just do this step every 4-5 days to keep non-followers off your following list. This will even up your following and followers list and make you look like more of an authority figure on Twitter . You can also start following more people a day now that you have built up your followers list. This is a good time to up your following to about 500-700 people a day. That will give you about 150 new followers every day. Then delete non-followers every 4-5 days. This will get you thru the 2,ooo follower Twitter obstacle.
5. Twitter has a rule that limits you to following only 2,ooo people. When you get 2,000 followers, that limit is lifted. That is why it’s so important to make sure you are sticking to the code that says, “If ya don’t follow me back, you’re out’a here.” Of course, if someone has really good Tweets , I make an exception. His followers are probably good ones to follow as well, as they are following him for his value and will be looking for others who Tweet valuable info.

As soon as you get 2,000 followers, you are able to follow at will. I would still keep the practice of following and deleting non-followers and Tweeting and sending @replies at least 25 times a day. It’s also a common courtesy to follow everyone back. Always respect the Twitter community and follow these rules. You’ll be amazed at how fast your list grows when your Twitter goes viral. Hope this Twitter marketing tip helps. Happy Tweeting .

Do you sell products online?

Whether you run an online retail store or if you sell on eBay, internet marketing should be a component of your business plan. When you market your products, you increase your earnings potential.

In terms of internet marketing, there are many successful approaches. These approaches include article directories, purchasing advertisements, banner exchanges, and search engine optimization. Yes, you should implement each of these steps, but also examine unconventional approaches, such as social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Twitter and Facebook are social networking websites. When you register for a free account, you can search for other users. You can then become a follower or a friend. This means that you will receive their messages, also known as updates or Tweets on Twitter. Many will do the same for you. Search for contacts on the Twitter and Facebook websites based on name, location, or email address. Also, exchange contact information on online communities, like internet forums.

As previously stated, Twitter and Facebook are social networking websites. All types of posts are allowed, but many expect social messages online, not advertisements. This does not mean that you cannot use these social sites as an internet marketing tool. It just means that you must take the clever approach.

How can I market on Social Sites Like Twitter and Facebook you ask???

• Ask for feedback. With an advertisement, your Tweet may say “Buy eco-friendly products at affordable prices.” Yes, this may work, but you will find some individuals who think “great, another advertisement.” So, instead ask for feedback. Provide a link and ask your followers to review the product in question. Do they think it can help the environment, is the price affordable?

• Offer promotional codes. Even if you use affiliate links to generate income, you should be provided with moneysaving promotional codes. Offer these to your members.< For example, your Tweet or post could include the message “Eco-friendly products available for sale with a money saving discount for all my Twitter and Facebook friends.” Yes, this is still an advertisement, but you are offering an incentive.

• Host contests and Tweet about them. A great way to generate traffic to a website, including a website where products are sold, is to offer something free. Whether it be a free sample or a contest, people love free stuff. Instead of advertising a product you have for sale, highlight a contest on your website. This will get people to your online store. To increase sales, have your contest landing page filled with products.

• Incorporate personal messages into your advertisements. As previously stated, the use of promotional codes is a great way to not only increase your sales and website traffic, but to generate interest. Instead of just staying “Save $25 with a promotional code provided by me,” incorporate a personal message. Mention you are extending the offer to your Twitter and Facebook friends because you want to help them save money. This extra personal message goes a long way.

• Mentioning the products you sell is okay to do, but be limited in your messages. Do not send 10 messages a day highlighting the products you sell. Instead, try one a day. Also, rely on the use of @replies on Twitter. You can reply to those who send you updates or use Search.Twitter.com. Only reply with a clever advertisements when the situation calls for it.

The key to using social sites as an internet marketing tool is to do so cleverly. Internet users tend to sway away from advertisements, so disguise your advertisements. Use this marketing tip and watch your sales go up.

Twitter just decided to implement a new limit – the 1000 follows a day  rule. This new rule will affect everyone who follows new people on a regular basis. It will even affect those who just follow back their big lists of followers. So I decided to share what I’ve found out in this Marketing Tip.

What’s Wrong With This New Twitter Rule?

No one knew about it or that it was coming! It seems that Twitter admin did not have the common courtesy to report this new rule/limit to their loyal followers. This new feature was not even written about on the support section of the Twitter help blog till Monday, 4/20/09. That’s when Twitter officially announced that this limit is for real.

They say they are trying to optimize the follow limit for good Twitter people who auto-follow other people. What’s wrong with this picture? Everyone thought it was a bug. Yep, me too.

So… why did Twitter do this?

One reason could be that in the past few days Twitter has experienced a very slow performance from their servers. This could be from the 1 million auto-follows from @britneyspears maybe? Or it could be from the Kutcher/CNN faceoff! Maybe it’s happening just because everyone wants to use an auto-follow tool. Now, don’t get me wrong, the auto-follow feature of these 3rd party programs is very cool, so cool that everyone wants to have them. Face it, Twitter is becoming automated, it can’t keep up.

The Twitter Fail Whale probably doesn’t like all the bots/scripts, that people are using, picking on him. So… the more people who use these new automated tools, the more often the Fail Whale shows up. So Twitter admin decided… lets slow up the show! It’s probably a very good idea in actuality, but the worst mistake Twitter made was not to inform anyone about it.

The second bad idea that Twitter had was to just implement a dump restriction without first testing if it would be effective. It doesn’t seem like there is a real Google-like algorithm to it. There seems to be no genuine reason behind it that can optimize and help the experience of those Twittering. It also seems there is nothing good in it for the real big guys on Twitter. They are miffed!

So… WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO US TWITTER?

Maybe after thousands of  support tickets and millions of negative discussions on the internet the Twitter team will deactivate this limit or at least tell us how to optimize it for our own good. We can always hope.

What do all you Twitter fans think?

Was this the best idea that a big, super company like Twitter could have come up with? Was it fair to all the people who are loyal, Tweeting fans of Twitter? The ones who, like me, try to follow all the rules and use this great social marketing site as a tool to help build their marketing network.

Who knows what Twitter will come up with next. Maybe a link or RT limit? Scary stuff Twitter fans. Hope this Twitter Marketing Tip helped. I’d like to  hear your comments.

Want to know how I did it? (Here’s my Twitter marketing tip.)

1. Create a Twitter account.
2. Personalize and Brand your profile. You want to stand out from others to get maximum results.
3. Give incentive for people to follow you. Give new followers a free gift or some valued information for following you.
4. Build a targeted list of followers . The more followers you have the better results you’ll get.
5. Implement Tweet/post strategy. It’s not just about spamming your list. You need to follow a specific strategy.
6. Use plugins to automate your twitter marketing. You need to maximize your time and using plugins will allow you to be time efficient.
7. Manage Twitter following/followers. Use automation tools to follow people and  un-follow people who don’t follow you back.

Here is one of the tools I used to figure it all out. You can read about it or watch the videos. Watch right over their shoulder and see exactly how it’s done. This Twitter marketing tip really works.

CLICK  HERE
Result… Twitter success .

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Have you set your keywords up on Twitter alert? If you use social marketing to grow your list, you need to.

If you don’t, you’ll never know when your next possible client is Tweeting about the very problem you can help him solve. You might miss a media contact who wants to interview you about your personal expertise! Some newbie might be looking for information you want to share.

Make sure to set up a wide variety of your own business keywords and phrases, and then go follow and respond to people appropriately.

For branding and seeing where you may want to comment, also set up some alerts for your name and your own domain name(s). Make sure to include any common misspellings or variations.

There are several good sites to set up Twitter alerts :

• One is at http://tweetlater.com.  they provide a bunch of great  Twitter tools, besides the alerts.  @dewaldp provides some wonderful customer service there.

• Another one is at  http://tweetbeep.com . They just came back online this week after some server challenges.  @mdjensen (Michael Jensen) is it’s creator.

• A relatively new one I just found is http://twilert.com made by @danleach.

Hope this helps and have a Twitterific day!

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