5 Ideas For Interesting, I-actually-want-to-click-that Tweets

We’ve talked about using Twitter lists for super-targeted, super-time-effective networking.  I’ve given you the slightly-controversial-but-I’m-standing-by-it advice that you should tweet about your blog posts multiple times.  But how, pray tell, does one write a tweet that people want to click on?

Here are five different types of tweets that I use.  For the sake of continuity, I’ll show you how I’d apply each of these ideas if I was tweeting about my blog post ‘True Story: I’m a 26-year-old Lady Deputy.’ 

1. Use a pull quote
What’s a pull quote?  It’s a juicy quote from an interview or blog post.  When you’re reading a magazine or newspaper, it’s the quote that’s been pulled out of the piece and put into a different, larger font - like this.  A good pull quote will grab a reader’s attention and lead to a whoooole lot of link clicking.  If you don’t always have space to include the title of the blog post, that’s okay!  Sometimes a little mystery is a good thing. 😉
Example tweet:
“They dive off upper bunks onto concrete floors because they want to go to the hospital and get narcotics.” [link]

2. Ask your followers a question
Social media is meant to be social, but you already knew that. Asking your followers a question about the post/topic you’re about to link to will increase engagement and clicks.  It will also help create a conversation around the topics you’re writing about.
Example tweet:
Do you think the American justice system is flawed? ‘True Story: I’m a 26-year-old Lady Deputy’ [link]

3. Share your opinion about the information you’re linking to
If you’re posting about something slightly controversial or you’re taking a stand, share that with your followers.
Example tweet:
I could never do this but I’m glad someone’s willing to. ‘True Story: I’m a 26-year-old Lady Deputy’ [link]

4. Tease upcoming posts
Since you’re promoting a post that’s not actually live and you don’t really have anything to link to, this is more of a ‘buzz-building’ tweet.  And honestly, this is a tweet that should be used sparingly.  People tire pretty quickly of ‘coming soon’ shenanigans.  But if you’ve got something big in the works, if you just got the proofs back for a new product, or found a new space for your shop, or chose fabric for next year’s line - by all means, tease away!
Example tweet:
Just finished formatting an interview with a 26-year-old female deputy. Wow. You guys are gonna love this. 

5. “Did you miss it?” tweets
This is a copywriting trick that you should also use sparingly.  It’s super effective at first and increasingly annoying with each usage.  However!  If you want to drive people towards your archives or a post that went up earlier in the day, this is a good tweet to use.
Example tweet:
Did you miss it?  An interview with a 26-year-old female deputy? It’s like ‘Orange Is The New Black’ IRL. [link]

Do you have any tips or tricks for writing tweets that people really click on? Share them in the comments! 

image by  garrett heath // cc