14 Ways to Create Amazing Tweets from your Blog Posts

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So you’ve created an incredible blog post. It’s full of knowledge that matters to your target audience. And you know you can use social channels like Twitter to drive people to it.


In a recent study, Forrester found that 50% of all Internet users ages 18 to 23 use social networks as their primary Internet discovery resource, as do 43% of users ages 24 to 32.


How do you create engaging Tweets to drive clicks to your posts?

Every blog post is chock full of great Tweets. These include answers to common questions, statistics and mentions of sourced authors.

In this article I’ll show you 14 ways to create amazing Tweets from your blog posts.

1. [Fresh Content] – The first Tweet


The first time you Tweet about a blog post, make sure everyone know that it’s NEW. It’s their chance to get it fresh. They can get the information first and know it before anyone else. And that clicking on the link NOW will give them a leg up on everyone else.


If you’re as big of a fan of Mad Men as I am you’ll remember that Don’s original mentor, a Greek named Teddy, told him that “the most important idea in advertising is “new.” It creates an itch. You simply put your product in there as a kind of calamine lotion.”


The examples below from Kissmetrics and Wishpond show a couple of ways to do this. IMHO I think Wishpond’s format is a bit punchier.

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2. Questions that are answered in the article


The top reason people read blog posts are to learn find information about a question they have. Some people will go straight to Google to answer it, but many will not be able to right when they have the question. Or they may not be able to find a satisfactory answer when they search.

By asking the question in your Tweet with a link to the answer, you can entice clicks from people who have been kicking themselves trying to find it.

WordPress.com tells users how they will answer the questions: by providing a list of pros and cons. This tells users that they will be provided with an easy-to-read format to discover the answer.

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Another great Tweet from WordPress.com actually answers the question it asks within the Tweet:

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3. Top Takeaways/Lessons


Give people an insight from your blog right in your Tweet. Not everyone will be enticed by a Tweet that discusses the topic you’ll teach them. They may be highly skeptical that your post will teach them anything new about the topic. This is a great way to circumvent their skepticism.

If you can provide a small take away from your blog, like the one below, that people find interesting, they’ll click. They will know before clicking that the post offers some knowledge they don’t already know. And it will also make for an easy Retweet.

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4. Statistics


People love statistics. They are great for proving points and backing up arguments. And they make people feel like they are getting some direct insight into an industry. Pull the stats from you use in your article to create Tweets to promote your article.

They are also one of the most Retweeted types of Tweets. Why? They have the ability to tell a whole story (whether true or not) within a single sentence.

And they also have the ability to draw more interested people in to the article. Many will see the stat and want to understand the context behind it, or more stats on the topic.  That’s how Wishpond crafted the Tweet below. It gives the reader one stat and pulls them in with the promise of more.

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Another way to do it is like Hubspot’s example below. They have phrased their statistic in a way that makes it sound like the stat is overturning a long-held assumption or that it’s almost unreasonable.

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5. See how company X is doing [Blank]


People like to follow industry leaders. When they dive into a new activity they’ll want to see how the best do it. Even advanced users do to. They will already know a number of methods for doing an activity. They won’t be easily enticed to click on a blog post that may include redundant information. But they will be interested to see how others are executing on those methods.

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6. See how [Person/Company] is [Achieving Results]


A slight twist on #5, this Tweet focuses on the results, not the means. This will drive clicks from people who are more turned on from big numbers and positioning, and those who are new to the . #5 will drive clicks from people who are more tactical-oriented and who understand the space more.

This Tweet will also drive clicks from people who are new to the industry. They will not know the tactics to look for, but they will look for Tweets about the overall goal. The Kissmetrics example below will attract anyone interested in building an online platform, even if they don’t know where to start.

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7. Replies to people who have tweeted about the same subject recently


One of the best ways to engage people on Twitter is to join in on a conversation they’re already having. This doesn’t mean to butt in on them, but to provide some valuable insight into something that is being discussed.

Look for people who are asking questions or voicing their opinion on the subject as your blog post and reply to them with a Tweet that includes an excerpt from your post with a link back to see more.

Here are few ways to write effective Replies:

  1. @[Account] You liked [tactic/product]? I think [your opinion on tactic/product] [Link to article]
  2. [Key Takeaway from your article] [Link to article] RT @[Account] [Recent Tweet from this person]
  3. @[Account] Check out [Article] for more tips on [Recently Tweeted topic]

8. Problems that your post solves


The best type of content in all of content marketing is that which solves a problem your target market has. If you can become a trusted source of information for solving common problems, it will be easier to convince your market that your products or services can help them.

These Tweets push people to surface a problem they’re having in their mind. They may have had the problem in the past, and were not able to find a solution. Or they may have been having a nagging in the back of their mind that your Tweet puts into words.

Hubspot does a great job of utilizing this tactic. Not only to they Tweet about a common problem, but they tell you that their resource can solve it:

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9. Thanking people who have shared or commented on your article


These are simple “Thank you” messages that mention the person who commented on or shared your article.

This type of Tweet is great for two reasons:

  1. The commenter will feel the love. They’ll be happy that their comment was viewed thoughtfully. And this will propell them to Retweet you and come back to your blog and comment again.
  2. People will see that there is activity happening on your blog post. Nobody likes to be the only person at a party. If you can promote the fact that a number of people are commenting on your post, others will be enticed to see what has got everyone talking.

10. Are you attending [conference]? Brush up on [knowledge]


Conferences are great for piggybacking off of. They garner a ton of promotion, buzz and attention in a short time frame. During the lead up to the conference, everyone is watching for news and information about it – especially on Twitter.

For these types of Tweets, find out the hashtag or Twitter handles for the conference or conference coordinator. This is what people will be following for news about the conference. Create a Tweet with the hashtag/handle included.

11. Evergreen Best Practices


Most blog posts include evergreen content, meaning it’s lessons and information is useful for a long time. This means that you can tweet about them multiple times over an extended period.

One of the biggest myths about blogging is that after it’s first launched, a post is dead. This is wrong! Unless your post is about breaking news or weekly trends, it can be promoted over an extended period of time to drive traffic. Check out two examples below:

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12. Ask a question as a point of discussion


In “2. Questions that are answered” in the article I showed how to create tweets from the information you provide in the article. This one is a bit different. It’s meant to start a discussion and get people thinking about an (possibly contentious) issue.

Jeff Bullas does a great job of this by playing on the state of the social media industry – an ever-contentious issue. Do your best to not fall on one side of the issue in your Tweet. Save that for a “Question-answered” or “Key Takeaway” Tweet. In those say why the issue is shifting to that side and how a business can get ahead of the curve.

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13. How you can use [Blank] to get [Blank]


Does your post discuss how to use certain tools or applications to get results? Then this is for you. People who are comparing tools to use or are looking for a way to achieve a certain goal will click these every time.

Here are two examples from Jeff Bullas and Chris Ducker.

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These types of Tweets can also be used for posts about specific techniques or tactics for achieving different results as well. Just like the Tweets about tools, it gives you a double-impact by being targeted to people who are thinking about using a specific tactic and people who are looking to achieve specific goals.

14. Learn a Secret about [Blank]


People’s curiosity is tickled by secrets. Everyone is on the lookout for an edge. Especially in industries like social media, where some people achieve huge success while most do not, people are always looking for the secret to take that leap forward.

But this isn’t anything new. Next time you’re checking out at the grocery store, read the covers of the magazines near the till. I guarantee that more than one will promote something like the “10 Secret Ways to Get Gorgeous Eyelashes” or “Kate Middelton’s Secret Post-Pregnancy Diet Plan”.

This example from Jeff Bullis is great because not only does it use the word “secret” but he magnifies the curiosity by saying its a secret “that Most People Don’t Know”.

Why is this important?

The more you can peak people’s curiosity, the higher your click-through-rate will be. Never be satisfied with the norm. Always look for a way to optimize.

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This second example from Jeff Bullis is another great way to tickle people’s curiosity. Due to the success of experts, that so readily promote their success, people always want to know the things that experts know. People want to be able to not only emulate them, but understand how they think.

Tweets like this tap into people’s innate suspicions that the people at the top are hiding something – and those suspicions drive clicks.

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Conclusion


The biggest lesson to remember is this: Blog posts don’t die after your first Tweet. They can be resurrected many times with great, targeted Tweets. Over the course of a few months you can Tweet about the same article over a dozen times, in unique ways. Pull out different takeaways, lessons and statistics to entice clicks from different audiences. You’ll see long-tail clicks for ages.

Written by Nick Steeves

wishpond

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