Twitter is one of well over 1000 social networking sites that I know of. I actually have a list of that many, but have only checked out a handful of the most popular ones.
Actually, my list is about 1800 bookmarking and social networking sites. I may share that list with my inner circle soon... after my assistant goes over it with a fine toothed comb
Back to Twitter... Twitter is actually a micro-blogging platform. You register, and then you can "follow" others, and others can "follow" you.
When you log into Twitter, on the homepage you have a window where you can type in messages ("tweets") of up to 140 characters. When you click the "update" button, everyone who has subscribed to your updates... everyone following you, sees that message instantly... provided they are logged-in to Twitter.
When someone that you're following updates, and you're logged-in, you see their posts instantly.
There are Twitter users who post dozens of messages a day. There are Twitter users who seem to stay logged into Twitter and following their friends tweets for hours each day.
At a recent JV Alert Seminar where I was on the expert panel, I watched other panel members, who are also avid Twitter users, actually carrying on conversations over Twitter... right from the stage. They simply pulled out their handheld devices, and twittered away!
While Twitter is fun to just chat with friends, many "capitalists"... like me, wonder if it can be used for conducting business and making sales.
The answer is "Yes, but you shouldn't post blatant ads on Twitter."
Instead, you should post links to resources and news, and those links CAN be your affiliate links.
I have made numerous sales via Twitter. Some examples include:
1) When I noticed that the World Internet Summit was hosting a live event in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 17th - 20th, 2008, I twittered about it. This is the first time that they are holding an Internet marketing seminar in a location that doesn't get very many of those type of events, so I considered it news.
Shortly thereafter, one of my followers from that area, posted a thank you. The next time that I checked my email, I DID notice that he had already registered for the event and that I had earned a nice commission.
2) When Jeff Walker launched Product Launch Formula 2, I tweeted about the bonus package that I offered. I had several followers ask me questions about my package (via direct message) and two of those purchased the package. That earned me nearly $2000.
3) When a friend noticed that I was twittering about how easy it is to earn money marketing to offline businesses as compared to the Internet marketing niche, she posted a link to a product that she suggested I check out.
I clicked on her link and saw that a friend, Rachel Rofe, along with a co-author, Jaime Mintun, had a product that they were selling called "How To Makë $10K In A Weekend." The product was literally "a seminar in a box." It contained everything that I needed to conduct local seminars teaching offline businesses about the internet. In fact, the product even included:
- Ads that I could run to get commission-only sales people to actually sell the seminar seats for me.
- A script that I could use along with the slides or even give to someone else to conduct the seminar for me.
- Supplemental materials that I could use as bonuses, handouts, or products-for-sale at my seminars.
- Very detailed start-to-finish instructions.
I drooled over the webpage, but didn't buy right away because I was getting ready to travel to JV Alert Live in Philadelphia that upcoming weekend, and I didn't want to get side-tracked. However, at the seminar, I got a chance to chat with Rachel Rofe, and she talked me into both getting a copy of the course, AND becoming an affiliate for it.
Wrapping up this story... After going through the course, I fell so "in love" with it, that I twittered about it as well as mentioned it in an ezine editorial. The ezine editorial sold enough copies to earn me nearly $1000, and the tweet, triggered several old friends asking questions about the package. One of those friends subsequently purchased the package.
Those are just a few of the many sales that I'm sure that my twittering has generated. The key is not to just post blatant ads, but when you have something worthy of sharing, and that you know your followers will likely appreciate, then you can generate sales from just pointing out resources.
Aside from direct sales, I've noticed dozens of posts on my followers blogs about things that I've posted to Twitter. These blog posts were others indirectly promoting me and my products to their audiences.
Your posts on Twitter are also indexed by the search engines, so I've noticed my "tweets" showing up in Google for some of my prime keywords. That's very powerful.
So, there you have a proven formula for marketing your products and services on Twitter without being too "in your face." The only thing left for you to do is go over to Twitter.com and set up an account. It only takes a few minutes.
Be sure to add me as someone you're following.
My Twitter URL is: http://twitter.com/innercircle1
Willie Crawford is founder of The Internet Marketing Inner Circle, Executive Directory of The International Association of Joint Venture Brokers, and co-host of the Internet Marketing Momentum Bootcamp. Have Willie teach you serious marketing firsthand at: InternetMarketingMomentumBootcamp
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