If you haven’t figured it out quite yet then let me be quite frank: There is a significant and compelling reason to have and use Twitter and that reason is traffic.
Twitter can be a powerful tool!
Historically, I’ve seen Twitter bring up to 20% of the monthly traffic to a blog! That’s 1 out of 5 visits! You can’t ignore that, not even for a second.
Over the course of many years of blogging Twitter brings about 13% of my monthly traffic to most of my blogs while it’s hovering around 8% right now for TentBlogger.com.
So why is it so important? Because traffic is an important part of your ability to make money via your blog (but you knew that already, right?).
But never overestimate the need for traffic and don’t bank on it as the sole metric for succces!
Your Twitter Story and Brand
So here’s the challenge: Tell me your story in 140 characters or less!
The point of this exercise is three-fold:
- Can you adequately capture your “story” succinctly?
- Can you boil your brand down into it’s lowest denominator?
- Can you communicate it simply?
If you can, then share it in the comments! The better you can communicate your story the easier it will be to propagate to your readers and beyond!
Here’s mine:
I am a Professional Blogger who loves to teach others to blog better and make an income through their blogging efforts.
Mine is 119 chars! What’s yours?
Fellowship One helps churches be more effective in ministry, more efficient in administration & increase their engagement in the community
what “is” fellowship one? is it a business? it is a software application? is it a way of thinking? (obviously I know what it is, but what if someone encountered this statement with “fresh eyes”?
PT-Blogger, FT-Firefighter, sharpening life’s edges.
what does the last part mean?
Try again:
PT-Blogger,FT-Firefighter,taking the rust off of life’s edges by sharing personal experiences.
what does taking rust off of life’s edges mean?
3rd time the charm
I’m sharpening life’s edges by grinding into your doubts and fears by blogging about my life experiences as a firefighter, father, minister. (130)
hah. i think we’re just missing each other.
“sharpening life’s edges” doesn’t mean anything to me!
I am a blogger who cannot tell you what a sharp edge is or what it even looks like. Get an axe and join me anyway.
J/K
Feeling dull or ineffective, sharpen your vision by knocking the rust off of life’s journey. A sharp axe makes life easier. (126)
i just don’t get the “rust” i mean, it’s cool (and yes, I do “get” it) but you can’t trust that everyone will.
That is freakin’ hilarious…off to buy an axe.
golden axe.
While you are there..getting your axe….Get me a chainsaw instead.
rusty axe. oh… wait.
This maybe one of your best challenges yet.
(10 hours later… just kidding)
Current Twitter Story:
I am a FT husband, dad & grad student working a 9-to-5 office job & blogging his way thru life’s lessons & sharing them with you. (129 characters)
Future Twitter Story:
Pending…
Still need to work on refining purpose, goals, categories and target audience.
i definitely think there needs to be some work here…
“Some” is an understatement.
Basically I’m keeping the personal blog while trying to develop a new one that is MUCH more focused.
As I’m planning to launch in 2011 narrowing the blogging focus is proving my biggest hurdle for SomeWiseGuys.com
How about…
Some Wise Guys: Quick tips on life, love & leadership for men w/ too much to do. We’re dads, husbands & dudes like you. Only we have a blog. (140)
is it a play on words? is it being “sarcastic” and silly?
The “wise” part is meant to be sarcastic. Wanted to delete the last part as soon as I clicked “submit comment”.
This felt too short though:
Some Wise Guys: Quick tips on life, love & leadership for men with too much to do. (82)
Alright, after trolling through all the comments am thinking this is better.
Some Wise Guy: Lessons on life, love & leadership for men with too much to do from a husband, dad & MBA grad in the same boat. (126)
Thoughts?
too confusing. there’s too much info in there. simplicity.!!!!
Yeah, I agree. Was trying too hard.
How about…
Some Wise Guys: Lessons on life, love & leadership from men with too much to do.
The Passionate Pursuit of Christ is about my life as a disciple. Hopefully, through my blogging and Twitter one will find encouragement. (136)
i like it but it doesn’t flow as nicely as it could.
I’m a pastor and blogger who is passionate about using social media to help small church pastors network and share resources.
love it.
I am a Christian in the Rough. Finding fun in the middle of dysfunction, action at the end of distraction, and grace at the end of disgrace.
I like this one..
poetic… but why should i listen to you?
Hmm…ok, how about:
I equip and encourage people to find fun in the middle of dysfunction, action at the end of distraction, and grace at the end of disgrace.
wow… now that is clever…. i think the first part got me confused.!
Thanks very much for your help, John. I really appreciate the feedback!
sure thing larry!
I can tell you in 140 characters or less, but it would require some rust and a sharp edged axe.
J/K
I followed the link and look at the blog. It flowed with what he described in the 140 characters.
evangelican exists to shed light on the state of evangelicalism in the American church and in doing so HOPEfully draw her back to her roots.
sweeet!
I am an innovator of new ideas, a developer of strategies that help mobilize people to action in the mission field.
like this.
thanks.
I am a writer and my purpose is to inspire you to fulfill every purpose for which you were created.
how will you inspire specifically?
I am a writer who enjoys using the written word to consistently inspire others to fulfill every purpose for which they were created.
Better?
kinda of redundant, right? writing who uses written word?
give me some flavor!
Thanks for the honest feedback! Let’s try this again…
I am a writer who enjoys inspiring others to pursue every purpose for which they were created.
cool! that’s more succinct. now, why are YOU the guy to go to?
John I really appreciate the ongoing dialogue and feedback!
Am I supposed to explain why I’m the guy to go to in my “twitter story?”
Or are you just asking?
just for kicks…. see if you can get it in there.
Christian, husband, father, and blogger that is exploring life one post at a time. Topics Explored: Faith, Tech, Blogging, and Books
cool.!
I’m a podcaster and blogger who’s passionate about homeschooling and technology trying to teach others to use tech in their homeschool.
wow. i had no idea!
For my personal account: Providing daily doses of humor and inspiration – @bryanallain
For my BlogRocket account: Coaching, resources, and other creative fuel for your growing blog. – @myblogrocket
For my modeling account: making other models look good, one mediocre feature at a time. (i kid, of course)
dude. love it.
eyespeak believes that small businesses deserve access to the same agency quality design and development as huge corporations.
eyespeak does it with style.
I had a job, then I had a business, then I had some clients, then I had a facebook, twitter and tumblr. Weird.
… and that’s it?
Haha, hence the ‘weird’
Don’t have the courage to do this yet. I don’t think I have ever expressed an idea in 140 characters or less. Gonna’ work on this idea… and then submit a response.
can’t wait to hear it then!
I have a number of Twitter brands and stories out there, some of which are just launching publicly in early 2011 but for me personally…
I am a marketing strategist who helps authors, professional speakers and orgs doing good (making a difference) to expand their influence.
My @danieldecker Twitter account does not reflect a “brand” too well but that was not my intent (to brand around content vs person) but that is changing as these other properties come online and I push specific things through each outlet.
ah. you manage both the personal and professional. i bet they overlap.
Yeah and I’m working on removing that a bit.
sweet. let me know how that goes.
Cool topic you’ve got going on here.
Well, let’s see how it goes:
IT professional, blogger, follower of Jesus Christ, human being in beta version. Sharing what I’ve learned in my walk with Christ so far.
and….. why should someone listen to you?
Hummmmmm, that’s a good point… Back to draft mode
Thanks for now, John!
Gothreestory.com – devoted to helping church planters produce FANTASTIC media.
That seemed too easy. Someone tear it apart for me.
love it. done.
Honestly, what if you have no idea what your “brand” should be? I’m at a crossroads right now and idk where we’re going.
what are you trying to communicate?
Hi Michelle,
If I may, I might suggest changing your “links” page to “resources”. After going visiting the page, I certainly felt that the word resources captured what you were linking to, rather than just “links”, if that makes sense. I know this is random, ha!
Also – from reading your “about” page, it seems that you certainly have a very interesting story to tell that others would very much benefit from. About how God and and the study of His Living Word has brought (and is bringing) you from darkness into light. That sounds like something inspiring for sure!
Best of luck!
Brian
totally agree with this.
Sabbath is elusive. Apathy is violent. Peace is love.
is this your story?
it is our story. so.. if you are using “your” in the plural, yes.
i like it.
John,
If I link your site, may I use this idea on my site? I will link the site for this post and also the Standard Theme post.
If not, no big deal…
Thanks
sure.
Let’s see – I’ve got two blogs that I’m trying to develop.
1. Worship Tutorials (http://www.worshiptutorials.com):
“Worship Tutorials is a resource for worship leaders by a worship leader. Song tutorials, chord charts, and tips to help you lead better.”
2. DIY Musician (http://www.diymusician.net):
“DIYMusician.net exists to help you how to record music and video and distribute it on the web. Don’t just be a musician, be a DIY musician.”
So these seem to describe the sites, but not quite sure if they capture who I am as well.
Thanks, John, for this incredible resource. You have certainly inspired me to get a lot more serious about blogging!
Brian
honestly….. i like both.
Thanks!
Seattle Before Starbucks – The Decaffeinated Version. Blogging about growing up in Seattle prior to Espresso and Bill Gates.
and why does this matter?
eFlections on Doing Life: Giving perspective on the faith journey in the context of community
great….. but why you and not someone else?
Good question…I’ll continue to refine.
My book and blog help people like me truly live the fundamentals of faith–loving God, loving my neighbor as myself. swordofthelordbook.com
i like that. here’s a follow-up question: Why you?
Grandson of the most prominent fundamentalist in America in the 20th century – John R. Rice – now I want to know: What’s truly fundamental?
hah! good one.
I’m an AG minister who loves to blog about the interplay between Christianity and culture with a message of grace and second chances.
Thoughts?
can you be more specific about the “christianity and culture” play? what does that mean?
Would something like this be more clear?:
I’m an AG minister who loves to blog about living out authentic Christianity with a message of grace and second chances in today’s culture.
Thanks for the input!
sweet! like it jon!
Writings about discovering God in the midst of the pains of life. Encouraging others to take the journey to a fulfilled life, as I have.
marni,… can you be more specific? what “pain” … is that appropriate to share?
Emotional, mental and spiritual. The pains generally everyone experiences in life.
How else would you see it being better worded…because the more I think about it, the only other word I come up with is brokenness (which is the root of the whole concept of my blog).
I sincerely want to have my blog understood with the message I am looking to relay, based upon the very experiences I have lived – and hoping to simply encourage others to reach out and find fulfillment in their own lives.
i was just wondering if there was a specific event that you had experienced (e.g. cancer) that could help people quickly understand your experience.
that was all!
That’s cool.
I just sincerely am still evaluating how to relay this in a succinct statement – because I am very prone to wordiness. 
were you able to do this?
I’m a happy husband, father, grandfather and pastor seeking and sharing bits of biblical wisdom about the life of following Jesus.
anything more specific in those areas?
In ’09 I was downsized for the 2nd time in 5 years. So I looked 4 ways 2 protect myself from structural unemployment. See what I learned.
sweet. that’s a great topic to share your experiences about. sorry to hear that though.
A man grappling with manhood and helping others be intentional about the effects of their lives.