You’ve worked hard on a post that you think many people will like. You tweet it to all your followers and wait to see all the RTs come in on your stream. They aren’t there. It’s like a ghost town. What happened?
I’ve experienced that so many times. But now, after posting several posts that have received hundreds of RTs, I’ve discovered my own magic formula for getting RTs.
I’d like to share it with you in hopes that it might help you get the RTs you want also.
I break down this process into three separate steps:
1. Entice people to click on your link
2. Make sure they are moved by your post
3. Get them to take the extra step and RT it
Each one of these steps is very important and cannot be skipped. How many times have you clicked on a link and the content was terrible or the content was great, but the title of the post was way off? All of these things will affect your RTs, so you have to pay attention to each one independently.
Let’s go into more detail:
1. Entice People To Click On Your Link
You have to have a title that grabs people, period. So many people spend a lot of time on the post, and then at the end, choose a quick title without thinking about it much. Bad move. Sometimes I spend as much time choosing the title as I do the post. Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Choose something that if you saw it, you’d have to click on it. This is so important.
Next, in order for people to click on your link, they have to see your tweet, right? I disagree with whoever once said you can only tweet your posts once. I don’t see anything wrong with tweeting your post 4-5 times over a 24 hour period and then a couple times each week after that. I do that.
There are different people on Twitter every day, each hour. I’ve never had anyone complain, but if I did, I would wonder why they were following me so closely that it bothered them. Get a life, right?
2. Make Sure They Are Moved By Your Post
Notice I didn’t say “make sure they like your post”. You have to step out on the edge a bit when writing, without worrying about the comments you receive. I know this is hard. I’ve had my fair share of nasty comments, but the goal is that they are moved.
I’ve had people RT my posts with a comment that they disagree – but they RT’ed it! Whether they liked it or not, the goal here is the RT.
Make your posts short and use short paragraphs throughout. Your reader should be able to read it in 3-5 minutes maximum. Write your post and then go back and cut it in half.
Use short paragraphs because the majority of people don’t read every word. They skim your post and jump around instead of reading it start to finish. You have to accommodate these readers otherwise you’ll lose RTs. Make it easy for them to skim and jump around by writing in short paragraphs.
Pay attention to your words! I believe good copywriting is an art form in itself. Be careful about overused words like “amazing” and “great”. I keep http://www.thesaurus.com open when I’m writing so I can pop those words in there and find creative alternatives like “breathtaking” and “mind-blowing” or whatever might be appropriate. You want to find words that evoke emotion. It’s all about how your words make the reader feel. Are your words stale or powerful?
Get inspired! I don’t even bother writing if I’m not inspired. I know it’s a waste of time. Your writing has to reflect your passion in order to move others. How do you get inspired? For everyone it’s different. I have two main sources of inspiration.
I am inspired every time I take a walk in nature. Something about being that close to my spirit is very inspiring. I take deep breaths and really feel how happy I am in nature.
I am also inspired every time I take a bubble bath. I know – I’m weird. When I’m working on a writing deadline for a client, I’m known to take 3 or 4 bubble baths in a day. I’m always creative there. What works for you? Find it and work it.
3. Get Them To Take The Extra Step And RT it
You have to make it easy for people to RT your post. Add a retweet button to your blog. You don’t want to make them have to shorten the URL. Also, make sure your title is short enough so they don’t have to do any surgery on that tweet to send it.
Your reader will only spend a few seconds to RT your post, and if they run across any obstacle, they will just move on and you won’t get that RT.
When I started following this formula, I noticed a huge increase in the number of RTs I was getting. If you follow this, I can almost promise you that you’ll notice a difference. If you have any additional tips that have worked for you, please let us know in a comment below.
Good luck and Let me know how it goes!
Photo above courtesy of https://weareloremandipsum.com/
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