| Twitter is the latest big deal on the Web. | | | | These things are interesting to people in the pet |
| Everybody's talking about it. And you can be sure | | | | niche. Guess what? Plain products aren't. If you just |
| that there are 1,000 wannabe gurus who want to tell | | | | go around tweeting affiliate links to every pet |
| you how to use Twitter for Internet marketing. | | | | product you can think of, you're not going to make |
| It's likely that these "gurus" just ripped their advice | | | | any sales. |
| off from some list. Those lists are easy to find. They | | | | Give people a reason to follow you by being |
| don't require any special knowledge. What DOES | | | | interesting. Tweet about that new ASPCA news and |
| require a little thought--and a little bit of experience--is | | | | that scientific finding, and then tweet about the new |
| knowing how you SHOULDN'T use Twitter for | | | | product. If you constantly Twitter nothing but |
| Internet marketing. Here are 4 things you should | | | | product links, people will just take you for a |
| avoid. | | | | spammer. And that's exactly what you'll be. |
| 1. Don't Twitter every little event in your life. Why | | | | With Twitter, as with other forms of marketing, you'll |
| not? For one thing, everybody does it. You're not | | | | only make money if you provide something people |
| going to stand out in the crowd if you do what | | | | want. And yes, people really do want those new |
| everyone else does. Except maybe, just maybe, | | | | products. They just don't want to be bashed over |
| everybody wants to hear about how cute your cat | | | | the head with them. |
| is, and how drunk you got on the weekend, and how | | | | 3. Don't use a product image for your profile picture. |
| you just lost two pounds. Think again--nobody cares. | | | | Let's put aside for a minute the fact that this is in |
| On a slightly less cynical note, you have to realize | | | | extremely bad taste. This is actually a step worse |
| that if you tweet every little thing in your life, people | | | | than micro-blogging only about new products. It's one |
| are going to stop noticing you after a while. People | | | | thing to post spam. It's another thing to actually BE |
| are selfish. That's no crime--it's just the way we're | | | | spam. Please avoid this at all costs. It's a cardinal sin |
| built. If you constantly tweet about yourself, people | | | | of Internet marketing [ here just like it is |
| will stop paying attention pretty darn quick. Save | | | | everywhere else. |
| your personal tweets for a group of people that | | | | 4. Don't curse. Yes, we're all adults and we can handle |
| already know you, and are genuinely interested in | | | | four-letter "potty words" without running and telling |
| what you're doing all day. | | | | our mommies. But each micro-blog post you make is |
| 2. Don't just tweet affiliate links. If you're in the pet | | | | going to be only a few words. It's neither classy nor |
| niche, tweet about new ASPCA news, or a new | | | | mature to make 10% of those ten words a curse |
| brand of organic cat food (that you've got an affiliate | | | | word. Some Internet marketers seem to think this |
| link for), or the latest findings in how our favorite | | | | makes them look cool. It doesn't. Don't do it. |
| furry friends see colors. | | | | |