Indie Business Blog

Increase your Twitter followers in 3 easy steps

I continue to receive a lot of questions about how to increase Twitter followers. I am planning a webinar for my Indie Beauties on the topic. In the meantime, here are some tips everyone can use. These are short and sweet. And they work. I have 2,434 Twitter followers as of this moment. Following this method, I will have at least 10 more by the end of the workday. Here's how you can do it too.

1. Help

Who are you helping by posting a Tweet? If it's yourself, that's legitimate. Just don't help yourself all the time. Help others. Did someone post their good news? Reply to them with a congratulatory note. Did someone ask for help in an area of your expertise? Offer it. Is someone new to Twitter? Welcome them. Did someone ask for retweets? Retweet! Is your new blog post helpful to other Indie Business owners? Share it, with a request for comments. And remember to comment back if you get any blog visitors.

Every helpful Tweet results in new followers.

2. Share

What can you share? If it's your new product or service, that's great. Just don't be obnoxious about it, sharing, re-sharing and recycling your same ol' stuff over and over again. Is there a great post in Digg or StumbleUpon? Share it. Did you read a fantastic newspaper or magazine article? Share it. Did you discover a new blog plugin, online tutorial or helpful business or household hint? Share it. Just like in the sand box, don't keep the good toys to yourself. Share them with others. And when you share, remember to share the link to the post, picture, video or whatever. (Nothing is more annoying than a Tweet that says, "Hey, great video! Thanks for sharing!" and there's no link for people reading that Tweet to click on to see the great video.)

Every sharing Tweet results in new followers.

3. Entertain

That's right, entertain people. Share a laugh, make folks think, help them get their creative juices flowing. Did you hear a good joke (that's suitable for public dissemination)? Post it. Did you find an entertaining video on YouTube or at someone else's blog? Post that. Did you do something fun? Take a photo and post it using Twitpic. Are you live on UStream? Spread the word so others can join you. Make people smile as you also inform and enlighten them.

Every entertaining Tweet results in new followers.

Twitterer Beware!

Oh! And while I'm at it, remember the 08: second rule, which I learned here, as a result of James Andrews' (@keyinfluencer's) recent "Twitter Situation":

“Does this need to be said? Does it need to be said by me? Does it need to be said by me now?” When in doubt, ask yourself these questions before Tweeting. If the answer to any of them is "no," it's probably better left unTweeted. (And if you screw up and Tweet it anyway, if you catch yourself fast enough, you can always trash your post before too many people see it.)

Question: OK, try this today, slipping in and out of Twitter and posting about 15 to 20 times. Let me know what happens.

It's just that simple

I hardly remember a time when I was not basking in the glow of the Internet and all it has to offer. But for a lot of people, the Internet is still a new and confusing place. This is especially true when it comes to social networking. Here's my best effort as describing social networking to newbies, without making their eyes glaze over. If you like it, feel free to share it with your newbie friends!

How to Make Useful Twitter Connections

Twitter a Waste of Time? Try Changing Your Tactics!!

Today, I hosted an Indie Beauty Network member call with experts on using new media to promote cosmetics brands. It was fun hearing them share how they use social media to help create buzz around mega-brands like Covet, Sarah Jessica Parker's perfume. With each passing day, I am more persuaded that there's nothing a mega-brand can do that an Indie cannot do effectively on a smaller scale. Of course Twitter, a favorite social media tool, came up in the conversation. A lot of reasonable, intelligent Indies disagreed about the benefits of Twitter, backing up my experience that no combination of social media tools is right for everyone. We all have to try different things, and stick with those that further our goals and ditch things that don't.

       

This caused me to recall about a conversation I had a few weeks ago with Indie Beauty Network member Katie Corkill of Sterling Minerals Cosmetics. Katie developed her line of cosmetics in response to the severe irritation that resulted when she used other brands of makeup. I asked Katie whether she uses Twitter and what she thinks of it. I thought I'd share her answers. How do they stack up with your experiences?

Screencast No. 1: How to Use Twitpic to Add Photos to Your Twitter Stream

Boost Your Twit-Appeal With Photos

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you are not already including photographs in your Twitter stream, now is a good time to start. As you will see in this screencast, it's easy to do using Twitpic, and it adds fun, color and appeal to your Twitter stream.

     

There are lots of other programs you can use to add photos to your Tweets, but I like Twitpic when I'm at my laptop because it's quick and creates an easy and fun way for people to share my pictures with their followers at Twitter.

By the way, this is my first screencast and I set my screen region to be a little big. Next time, I'll choose smaller screen settings so the video is clearer.

Question: Do you add photos to your Twitter stream? Has it been worth your time to do so? If you'd like, please share other photo sharing applications that work with Twitter.

For more tips on using social media to promote your business, subscribe to Indie Business Blog today.

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Help! I Need A Blog, But Don't Know What To Blog About!!

5 No-Fail, Stop Making Excuses Things To Blog About

I enjoyed a meeting today with some friends who have a great business idea. I am looking forward to their launch next year, but for now, it's a secret so I can't disclose the details. But I can share that, while they have a powerful partnership and business plan, they are not yet up to speed on how technology can help them maximize their partnership and execute their plan. They asked me to share some of my tips and secrets with them over coffee.

        

Since they are new to all of this, I did not want to overwhelm them with too many bells and whistles so I was careful to start with the basics. And the basics is this: A blog. Even if you just decided to start a business this morning, the first thing you can do to maximize its chances of success is to launch your blog. It doesn't matter what business you have, a blog will be an integral part of it. Go to Blogspot, set up a blog and start blogging. You can make it fancy later. You don't have to tell anyone about it at first. In fact, if you don't tell anyone, no one's going to come at first anyway -- so why even bother making it fancy yet?!!

Chad Huck on the Importance of Digital Media

Digital. Social. Success.

I met Chad Huck last week on Twitter. In case you don't know by now, my husbandand I launched Indie Shopping TV, where you'll be able to enjoy weekly (later, daily!) live Internet shows that allow you to buy wonderful products made by real people -- Indies! While you're at it, you'll be able to connect with other Indie fans in a real time chat streamed live with the show. When I Tweeted my need for help creating the live Internet shopping site, Chad came to my rescue. I met Chad today for my first consultation about using UStream for Indie Shopping TV. Chad graciously allowed me to interview him a bit about the importance of digital media to Indie Business success.

               

(If you have trouble viewing the video, it may be because you need to download the latest flash plug-in.) The audio is a little hard to hear because we were in the coffee shop at a crowded time. If you turn up your volume, you can hear all of Chad and some of me as the interviewer. (But you don't need to hear me anyway, because Chad has all the answers.) You can follow Chad on Twitter at @HuckC21. You can also enjoy his live streams to help people build a better blog at his website.

Ever the good sport, Chad also posed for a picture with me.

        

Thanks to the nice guy behind the counter at the coffee shop for snapping our pic. If you have not joined Twitter yet, I strongly urge you to do so, and follow me. All you have to do is log onto Twitter to create a free acount(use your brand name!) and join the conversation. To follow me and get all the latest Indie updates, click here, and then choose the FOLLOW button under my photo. Stories like this happen to thousands of people worldwide because of Twitter connections and I don't want you to miss out.

Question: Has Twitter led you to some exciting new business relationships? What are your amazing Twitter and social media stories?

For more leadership and productivity tips, subscribe to Indie Business Blog today.

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Join my Twitter circle.

How To Get Listed in Alltop

Why Alltop Rocks, and How to Get Listed There

You know I'm always on the troll to discover new ways to help you maximize your presence on the Internet. Here's one of my latest discoveries and how you can take advantage of it. Alltop is a "content aggregator" that collects "all the top" Web-based blog posts and news articles in different categories and makes them easily accessible at one website. Alltop devotes each page at its website to a different category. Fashion, beauty, autism, Christianity, photography, wine, yoga, zoology, nursing, HIV, gardening, sports, social media ... You name it, and it's either at Alltop or it will be soon. Guess what my favorite Alltop category is?

                           

You guessed it: small business. And its a good thing too because yesterday, I was informed that Indie Business Blog's application to be included in Alltop's small business category was accepted. (UPDATE: On November 4, I was informed by Alltop that my blog feed was also added to their "women" category.)This is a very good thing for my blog, and I think it might be a good one for yours too. So this post details the steps I took to get listed in Alltop. There's no right or wrong way to do this. This is just what worked for me. At the end of the post, find out how to get a copy of my Alltop pitch, which you can use as a template for your own pitch.

My Social Media System

How I Maintain My Social Network Without Losing My Shirt

Thank you for the great collection of comments, tips and insights you are sharing on yesterday's post about making connections on Twitter. One of the themes of the comments is that, if you're not careful, Twitter and other social media become colossal time suckers with little to no return. Indie Beauty Network member Anne-Marie wrote, "It can be a bit of a black hole if I follow all the cool links that show up on people's Tweets." And Indie Beauty Network member D'Anna Catterson said, "It can be quite addicting!"

      

I have found these things to be true. If you don't discipline yourself in any fun social situation, you'll find yourself hopelessly unproductive. Who hasn't experienced staying at the party or talking on the phone so long that some other important detail of life or business is not tended to? We've all done that, so we all appreciate the power of using a system to ensure that our social connections are maintained while our businesses continue to thrive.

Here are my Social Media System recommendations and a little about how I incorporate social media into my business model.

Would You Tweet With Me?

3 Types of People To Avoid On Twitter

You know, Twitter rocks, or at least I think so. But not everyone agrees. My interaction with thousands of people on Twitter has lead me to believe that it is a valuable tool for meeting new people, learning new things and expanding your circle of influence as an Indie Business owner. For example, Indie Beauty Network member Marla Bosworth of Back Porch Soap Company, who just started Tweeting a few months ago, says that Twitter accounts for 30% of visits to her website, and that she was booked to speak at a conference directly because of Twitter networking. You can't shake a stick at that!

       

Let's face it, social media like Twitter is time consuming. And it is sometimes difficult and frustrating to deal with multiple personalities. This is especially true if, like me and most Indie Business owners, you are also managing a home and want to maintain some level of privacy. But the reality is that, marketing is time consuming, business is business and if you're home-based, you have to figure out how to connect everything in a way that works for you and your family. And with 75% of Americans on the Internet, this boils down to resisting the urge to maintain so much privacy that your business goes down the tubes.

It Takes a Global Twitter Village

A Call To Twitter Action

In her book, It Takes A Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us, Senator Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of a group approach to child rearing. She reminded us that, while a family is a distinct unit, each one forms a part of a whole, and that, when an individual unit is lifted, the entire group rises. While Clinton's message was specific to children and families, it also applies when it comes to Indie Business owners.

      

This was brought home to me in a real way last Saturday when a member of the Indie Beauty Network emailed me in great distress. She's married and the mother of young children. Tina (not her real name) had emailed me several months ago to share that she and her husband were going through counseling in an effort to save their marriage. Things were on a good track for a while, but as of last Saturday, they had fallen apart.