Brent Hodgson, Copywriter

Hello Twitter’ers,

Ever since I made a post looking at “How Does Twitter Make Money“, I’ve had a steady stream of visitors to my blog from people who were looking for answers to that question online.

In my original post, I promised I’d show you about how you can make money using Twitter.

…But I never did.

Honestly, I’ve just been lazy… and didn’t post for 9 months.

But if you’re reading this now, I want to show you three cool reasons ways Twitter can make you money..

• Mind Share; (The same strategy Coca Cola uses)
• Broadcast Announcements; (A way to quickly and regularly monetize Twitter)
• “Over the Shoulder Selling” (My favorite!… You’ll see why…)

So let’s begin!
Mind Share

Mind share is a relatively new marketing term. Almost every second of every day, people are bombarded with advertisements - and there’s no way that they can possibly remember them all.

Mind Share is all about getting people to “think” about your company, your ads and your offers enough times that people automatically think of you when making buying decisions.

If you’re able to achieve this, then making the sale (obviously) becomes easier.

Twitter can work the same way.

If someone is regularly receiving your Twitter “tweets” about what you’re up to, where you are, and your latest business news, you’re “capturing mind share” - and if they want [whatever it is you sell], chances are they’ll think of you automatically when they go to buy.

Mind share is something Coca Cola invests a lot of money into. Do you know how many hundred Coca Cola logos and advertisements you go past every day - just driving to and from work, and when you go to buy lunch?

Is it any wonder why people automatically reach for a Coke?

Broadcast Announcements

This is a great strategy used by several companies…

One in particular is Woot.

They run a deal-a-day site, promoting a single product each day, every day.

People love getting a bargain - and visit this site daily, just to see what’s being sold. (Plus, they use scarcity exceptionally well - they only have a limited number of each product, never say how many that number is, and never repeat an offer!)

Each day, Woot sends out a Twitter message announcing their product of the day…

And each day, as the product sells out, they also send a message through Twitter announcing that the product is sold out (reinforcing the scarcity, and training their customers to act fast - or risk missing out next time too).

It’s brilliant!

They have a passionate, enthusiastic following who just laps it all up.

It’s all part of the buying experience.

But even if you’re running a more “traditional” online business, sending broadcast messages to your Twitter followers about your latest blog posts, articles, special offers, and product launches is a great way to keep your customers “in the loop”.

“Over the Shoulder Selling”

I’ve kept this to last, because I only just discovered it myself - and I don’t want too many people getting hold of this concept… So if you’ve made it this far, you’re going to stumble on something unique and powerful.

A few blog posts I first mentioned the concept of Over the Shoulder Selling.

Twitter is a great way to really engage your customer in this “Over the Shoulder” way.

Ed Dale is the prime example of this - and one of the most fanatical Twitter’ers around. (See his Twitter Feed here)

Ed also posts the most random collection of weird and wonderful crud into his Twitter feed (and blog!) ever - everything from horrible nappy-changing accidents during Christmas BBQ’s, to what web-site’s he’s visiting, to product announcements and blog posts he’s writing.

By reading his Twitter feed, you are practically reading over his shoulder and seeing whatever he’s doing at the time.

Random? Perhaps.

Useful?

Well… Before I answer WHETHER it’s useful, let me take a backward approach and explain WHY and HOW it’s useful first…

What happens in your customer’s mind (when they’re reading your Twitter “Tweets”) is this:

“Look at Brent. Look at what Brent’s doing. Aww, Brent’s with his family! Brent’s on Holidays. Brent’s celebrating his birthday. Brent’s doing normal stuff. I do normal stuff. Brent’s like me. I could be like Brent. I am like Brent. Whatever Brent does, I can do”

It’s not just about having someone look over your shoulder - it’s about building a rapport, and a liking with someone.

It’s about making yourself similar to other people in your market - with some of the same struggles, joys and mundane day-to-day life. It’s “mirror marketing” - allowing people to see themselves in you.

It makes anything you do seem achieveable.

If you’re a guru, and you’re like them, your success becomes within their reach. It becomes achieveable.

And it’s not just about people having that rapport - it’s also about having something attractive that people want for themselves.

(Read that again - make sure it sinks in)

Do you think this would make more people want to buy from you?

hrmm.. Interesting isn’t it…

Unconvinced?

Here’s another article I wrote about Over the Shoulder Selling, and how it works.

Brent

P.S. - If you’re interested, subscribe to my Twitter Feed here. Find out what internet marketing information I’m looking at, as I’m browsing, and more. Yes, you’ll probably find out what I’m eating for breakfast occasionally, and what I’m writing about on my blog too.

P.P.S. - I’m writing this at 4:14pm Friday February 29th, 2008.. An hour ago, I posted my first article on “Over the Shoulder Selling“… And it’s already been indexed by Google… I’m impressed!

P.P.P.S. - Pete Williams has been a great sounding board for these recent posts. He’s had a lot of great input, and plans to post about this “Over the Shoulder” theory in the coming days on his blog.

Popularity: 5%