Attention Medium Writer, You’re Using Twitter Wrong

4 ways to make Twitter your sidekick.

More and more I’m seeing writers on Medium recommend Twitter to grow your audience. I agree. Twitter is a great place to grow. But growing a community requires you to be a part of it to reap the rewards.

Every time I see a writer recommending Twitter, I end up disappointed. Time and time again, I go check the writer’s Twitter profile and it's a ghost town.

It’s always the same sad timeline. Thousands of followers, a link to their latest post, and 1 like. Thousands of followers should net at least a few retweets and 5–20 likes.

They treat Twitter like an acquaintance.

Twitter should be more like a sidekick. You know, right by your side all the time.

Here’s how you can make Twitter your writing sidekick.

Be a part of the community.

Every niche imaginable has a presence on Twitter. The first thing to do is find the biggest accounts in your niche. These are the ones with 10,000 + followers and lots of comments.

If you have a small niche, this might be less. But the point still stands. Find the accounts with the most followers and lots of comments. This is where your potential followers are hanging out.

Now you’ve found your area to focus.

Every day, get into the comments of these accounts. Answer the questions asked. Leave questions you have. Give extra context to what they posted.

These questions, answers, and context are what will get you involved. You will start to gain a following because of these replies. Who knows, the big account might follow you back.

This is how you become known in the community.

Post every day

Everyday post 2–3 things related to your niche. This can be parts of old articles (without links to them), new ideas or even something you’ve learned. People will start looking forward to hearing from you.

The point is posting every day gives love to the community. The community will love you back.

Social media is social. Once you stop thinking, “I’ll drop a link and everybody will see my articles.” You will win the game.

Once you have started building a following, you can post a summary of your article with a link each day. But you want to give the value up front. You can’t post a link and expect people to react.

Test out content

This one only works once you’ve done the first two.

Twitter is a testing ground for content. You can share thoughts, ideas, and headlines used for articles. You can see the response to the thoughts before writing the full article. Twitter is the only platform where this works.

There are many people on Twitter looking to learn. Use this to your advantage. Garner instant feedback. A lack of response will let you know you need to tweak the idea. Tons of response will let you know you’re going in the right direction.

Network for collaboration

Once you start gaining traction, you’ll gain attention from known people. Use this to your benefit by reaching out to them. You can get interviews, quotes for articles, jobs, and podcast interviews.

This is will take your online presence to the next level. You’ll start getting mentions, retweets, and more follows. Your content will reach other people you couldn’t get to before.

I’ve seen 3 different people net jobs from Twitter. I’ve seen celebrities agree to interviews through posts. And collaborations between brands, so their message gets out.

Conclusion

Twitter is the place for Medium writers. Using these recommendations will take your writing to places you’re not even dreaming of now. But it's a tool and tools won’t work if you don’t use them correct.

Instead of wasting time reading how to build your Medium audience. Start using this extra time to join in the conversations of your niche on Twitter. It’s surprising the difference using Twitter the right way will make to your writing.