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How To Market Your Products and Services On Twitter
By Willie Crawford (c) 2008
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:-)
I've already shared my list of the most popular (and productive) bookmarking sites in an
ebook called, "How To Bookmark Effectively For Massive Free Website Traffic!" You can
actually download that ebook for free, without needing to opt-in or fill out any forms at:
TheRealSecrets.com (http://TheRealSecrets.com/FathersDay/).
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.
Twitter also has a "Direct Message" feature where you can post a message directly to
someone who is following you. No one else sees that message, and using that feature is
more appropriate when your post only pertains to one person.
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 Make $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:
- A PowerPoint Presentation that I could use to conduct a 1 or 2-day live seminar.
- 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.
The package literally contained everything that I needed for a local seminar that
I was already planning on hosting quarterly in my hometown.
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 (http://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)
What are you waiting for?:-)
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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.com (http://InternetMarketingMomentumBootcamp.com)
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