Learn How To Become A Better Copywriter With Twitter

By now, you may have read that Twitter can make you a better copywriter. The need to focus on getting your message across within 140 characters will improve your ability to capture the attention of your audience.

For proof, you need look no further than the list of Twitter users with the most followers. Many of them (with the exception of celebrities who attract followers due to their name alone) have developed a large following thanks to their ability to find and present relevant information in a way that makes other people want to read it.

Their copywriting skills encourage other Twitter users to retweet their messages, increasing the prominence of their username within the network.

So to help you get started, we’re going to deconstruct a few successful tweets to see if they share any common characteristics.

All we need is a friendly Twitter rockstar who is willing to have their stats audited. Step forward James Rivers, the Twitter Power Team’s resident Twitter expert.

So here, for the first time ever, we’re going to examine three of James’s top  successful tweets.

Let’s get started…

Tweet Number 1: 7,600+ Clicks

Still Don’t Know What #FollowFriday is? Watch n share (video) >> http://cli.gs/qmeHR5 PLZ RT

The first section “Still Don’t Know What #FollowFriday is?”, which broadly relates to the headline achieves three things;

First, it asks a question, which helps to build intrigue. This is a long established method used by traditional copywriters to attract their readers’ attention.

Second, it makes it clear what the post is about, which helps people to qualify whether they are interested in the post.

By this stage, anyone who has heard about Follow Friday and wants to know more about it will continue reading.

Third, it incorporates the #followfriday hash tag. This helps to categorize the tweet as information that’s directly related to the subject of Follow Friday. It will also help people to find this message if they look for “#FollowFriday” using Twitter search.

The second section “Watch n share (video)”, which acts as a sub-headline by providing more information, achieves two things;

First, it builds on the interest already generated, by telling people what to expect…a video.

Second, it provides a call to action. It asks people to watch the video and then share it with their friends and Twitter followers.

The final section “>> http://cli.gs/qmeHR5 PLZ RT” consists of three parts;

First, the two arrows help to separate the headline from the rest of the message and draw attention to the link.

Second, the link is shortened using the service at http://cli.gs/ Pierre, the creator of Cligs has been a good friend to the Twitter Power Team and his amazing service allows us to shorten the website address (the real link consists of 84 characters) and track the number of clicks that the links receives.

Third, “PLZ RT” is a shortened form of “Please Retweet”. This call to action helps encourage people to share the link with their followers.

Share #FollowFriday Video Here >> RETWEET

Tweet Number 2: 4,500+ Clicks

SHAQUILLE IS REAL - 50 Cent, Britney Spears Have Twitter Ghostwriters >> http://cli.gs/n5R6X2 Plz RT

Although this message has only been retweeted 7 times, it has generated overt 4500 clickthroughs to the MTV website.

The first section “SHAQUILLE IS REAL” is a short, powerful statement. Shaquille is known all over the world and he’s one of the top 100 Twitter users, so that is a great way to attract attention. The use of capital letters also helps to get the headline noticed and make it stand out from the rest of the tweet.

The tone of these three words also leads people to think “If he’s real, who isn’t?”, which sets up the next section.

The second section, “50 Cent, Britney Spears Have Twitter Ghostwriters” provides the pay off. Shock, horror, some celebrities, who are top Twitter users, don’t actually manage their own account.

So, well known celebrities + a topic that generates strong opinions among other Twitter users = Massive interest and drawing power.

The third section “>> http://cli.gs/n5R6X2 Plz RT” closely resembles the previous tweet, apart from the destination of the link.

Share “SHAQUILLE IS REAL” Post Here >> RETWEET

Tweet Number 3: 3,200+ Clicks

The Funniest 404 Page Ever (or most depressed…lol) >> http://cli.gs/Za5Dmv Plz RT

The first section “The Funniest 404 Page Ever (or most depressed…lol)” is short and direct. It tells people exactly what to expect, but builds up the intrigue at the same time.

The section in parenthesis helps to show the character of the post, while the LOL (laughing out loud) adds an element of familiarity to the message. It helps to bridge the gap between the writer and the reader, making the post appear friendly and less formal.

The final section “>> http://cli.gs/Za5Dmv Plz RT” once again follows the tried and tested formula. The arrows, link and call to action helped to generate 34 Retweets of this message, which is impressive given that fewer people know about 404 pages than 50 cent or Britney.

Share “The Funniest 404 Page Ever” Here >> RETWEET

These three tweets have generated a total of over 14,000 clicks

The Recurring Themes of These Successful Tweets Are:

One: Make it clear what your message is about.

Two: Make it clear what they can expect from clicking on the link

Three: Provide an element of intrigue.

Four: Provide a call to action that will encourage them to check out the link and share it with their friends and Twitter followers.

It goes without saying that you should only recommend links and resources that provide value to your followers, otherwise it will lower your reputation and reduce the number of people who will click through on links that you post in the future.

One final thing to bear in mind when constructing your tweets - If possible, keep your tweets under 120 characters in length.

This makes it easy for people to add RT followed by their username and stay within the 140 character limit without having to alter your original message. This one simple consideration will make a great difference to the number of times that people retweet your messages.

Ultimately, the repeated practice of creating your Tweets, the discipline of sticking to the point and learning how to persuade in 140 characters will transform your copywriting skills. And as the skill is transferable, the ability to craft emails, classified ads, sales letters and advertising campaigns will help to transform your business.

Have your copywriting skills improved since you started using Twitter? Have any of your tweets gone viral and been retweeted hundreds or even thousands of times? If you have any Twitter copywriting tips or interesting Twitter stories we’d love to hear about them.

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