Twitterblogology – The Science of Leveraging Twitter For Your Blog

Twitterblogology is The Science of Leveraging Twitter For Your Blog.  I’ve been blogging for just a little over two years, which doesn’t necessarily give me the credibility to be an expert; however this small little blog BigIsTheNewSmall.com has really taken off.  It started out as a place to journal, connect, share, inspire, encourage, life-stream… and that’s what it continues to be and the neat bonus is over time people have begun to make it a daily read.

In the last year BigIsTheNewSmall.com is up 5,000% in unique visitors, subscriber numbers are approaching 2,000 2,600 and some of my most read posts, went viral because of Twitter.  One was re-tweeted by superstar actress @ alyssa_milano and let me tell you she has the right chemistry to make Twitterblogology a work of art.  Alyssa’s one tweet about 70 Reasons People Follow You On Twitter, made that post as popular as the Cash For Clunkers and 5oo plus people were on my blog at one time.  Before I outline Twitterblogology, let’s establish the one most important foundational principle that needs to be present for a blog to gain readers: Your blog must provide consistent content worthy of reading…  (Repeat) Your blog must provide consistent content worthy of reading.

Twitter has positively impacted my blog and here are some ways to become an effective Twitterblogologist:  It’s a little long, but worth the read if you Twitter and Blog!

Tweet Your Posts- Of course I don’t mean tweet your entire post but rather tweet to let your followers know that you have a new post.  Make sure that your title is a catchy one and you can even use a quote from the post instead of the actual title; and add the link in a shortened form.   I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a science to the number of times you tweet a link to your blog post.  If you tweet a link to the post too many times, you will lose people; if you don’t tweet a link to the post enough times, you will… well loose people.  The scientific number for the number of times to link to your post is 4-5 each day.  For me it’s specifically 1 in the morning, 1 at lunch, 1 on the drive home and 1 late in the evening and 1 discretionary.  This has become the new RSS feed for many readers; therefore making consistency very important!

Relational Re-tweets- This is the science of leveraging the relational connections with your friends on Twitter.  In other-words people are more likely to re-tweet you post links if they have some relational connection with you.  Those relationships may evolve to a level in which you can simply ask someone to re-tweet something and they will.   The key to being successful in this type of situation is to make sure you have the relational equity before you ask someone to re-tweet.

It amazes me how many people will ask me to re-tweet something and I have never had a prior relational connection with them; not a @reply, a blog comment, a DM or anything.  I simply say No thank You!  I have developed some relationships with some high profile tweeps that won’t mind re-tweeting something if the content is great; @ Twitter_Tips, @guykawasaki  & @mayhemstudios  to name a few.  These relationships must be reciprocal… you may remember the old slogan from the video stores in the old-days of VHS “Be Kind, Re-wind” well in Twitter it’s “Be Sweet, Re-Tweet.”

Twitter Presence- Twitter has to be present on your blog and you should use any and all of these methods: Option to re-tweet post, visible twitter stream, display your latest tweet… There are many plug-ins and tools to twitterize your blog; your blog must have a twitter presence.

Don’t Sweat The Comments- Since twitter has become so popular the number of comments on blogs has been drastically reduced.  Don’t let this bother you or think it’s an indication of fewer readers.  There is a good chance that the comments that you used to receive on your blog are now coming in the form of @replies, DM’s and Facebook replies.  Embrace these replies as the new blog comments and be sure to respond periodically and always try to respond when questions are asked.  Replies Are The New Comments.

Call To Action-  Periodically you should call your tweeps to action on your blog.  It can be as simple as asking them to join a conversation that’s happening on your blog, encourage your blog readers that currently don’t twitter to try it out, you can even ask them to subscribe to your blog…  BTW- you can subscribe to my blog here.

Blog About Twitter-  This might be shocking but people on Twitter love to read blogs about Twitter.  I dedicate at-least one post a week for Twitter Tips, Tools or Thoughts.  You don’t have to be a Twitter ”Expert” to blog about Twitter and believe me your readers will digg it.

Moderation- This moderation is not where your blog comments stay until they are approved.  This moderation applies to everything that is listed above, and the fact that it should be done in moderation;  incremental steps taken with the understanding that blogging is a marathon and not a sprint.

The bottom line is that there can definitely be a positive correlation between Twitter and increased blog traffic, presence, subscribers etc.; you simply  have to master the science of Twitterblogology and become a Twitterblogologist.  Please Re-Tweet This Post… see how easy that was!

Share your thoughts on Twitterblogology and add any additional effective methods that you have used!