William Lockhart

As Twitter continues to evolve into a major driving force for online marketers, many mobilize their Tweets for the purpose of driving prospective new clients and customers to their offers.

Because Twitter is a social networking medium and not just a distribution channel for promotional copy here are a few pitfalls that you may want to avoid if you’re new to Twitter marketing. Many new Twitter marketers fall prey to these simple mistakes that invariably sabotage their marketing efforts and dilute their Twitter followers.

1 – Using The Wrong Type Of Image On Your Twitter Profile –Why Are You Hiding?

If you’re trying to create buzz on Twitter and attract people to your offerings the last thing you need is anonymity.  Remember, Twitter is a “social” network; therefore people are attracted to following other “people”.  If you have chosen an image for your Twitter profile that is not an image of a “real” person (preferably YOU), you have immediately rendered yourself “anonymous.  People like to follow other people not logos, animals or innate objects.  Use an image of a person to personalize your Twitter profile and attract others. Once people get to know you, gently move them toward your product brand and product logo for branding purposes  but not a moment before.

2- Using A Generic Twitter Page Design For Your Twitter Profile Page – A Sure Sign Of A Twitter Newbie

First let me make something clear here… There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the default Twitter page designs if you’re going to be Tweeting about what you had for dinner last night or who you happen to think the most popular celebrity happens to be… however, if you’re trying to develop a following for commercial purposes I’m afraid that just won’t cut it. Take a look at the most popular profiles… they’re all personalized.

Make the effort to personalize your Twitter profile. Make sure it is consistent with the message and the theme that you’re trying to convey. You can purchase a customized Twitter profile or have someone actually customize your Twitter profile to reflect the look and feel of your commercial offering.

A generic Twitter profile when used for commercial exposure simply says one thing. “I don’t care enough to create a personalized profile to brand myself or my business”. In the mind of many “seasoned” Tweeters it also suggests that you may not care enough to handle the details required by clients or prospects that may be considering you for business projects.

3- You Constantly Tweet Promotions And Advertisements – The Most Fatal Mistake Of All!

Entering into the Twitter realm is like walking into a convention hall that’s filled with thousands of people, with a multitude of interest.  Some of these people may very well be interested in your offers or services but some simply won’t be. Imagine walking into this type of environment, totally new, with no relationship ties established. You then proceed to stand on a table and shout promotional lines and persuasive statements about your offers in hopes to gain recognition and exposure. This strategy probably won’t go over very well.

Think about it, do you enjoy being bombarded with commercial based conversations by friends and associates? Probably not… right? If you were to walk into that convention hall, stand on a table and begin shouting about your great product, service or offering that’s exactly what you are doing. Unfortunately, this is the default behavior of most Twitter newcomers. This will quickly get you tagged as a Twitter spammer. Avoid this behavior like the plague. Mix up your tweets. Throw in a little humor, a famous quote, a funny video and gently mix in your promotions. Get personal to develop new relationships that allow you to cultivate new prospects. Remember, Twitter is simply an introductory medium. The final objective is to encourage a visit to your web site and ultimately to your opt-in form. Here’s a better approach…

Do your homework… search for Twitter conversations that reflect “mutual interest”, then simply approach a person or two, by contributing to the conversation.  This approach lays the foundation for reciprocal conversation which could lead to new relationships and ultimately more business prospects.

Don’t make the mistake of bombarding the Twitter community with a constant string of promotional Tweets about your products, services or programs. Twitter is first and foremost a “social networking” medium. A place to exchange ideas, exchange conversation and interact with others on subject matter that is of mutual interest. Do yourself a favor and mix up those Tweets instead of deploying a constant string of promotional copy.

4- You Don’t Shortening You URL’s (hyperlinks) – “When You Use A Long Link Your Tweet Stinks…”

This may come as a surprise to you but seasoned tweeters simply don’t use long URL’s in their tweets.

One of the most fundamental reasons is based on the simple 140 character format limit. If someone wants to “ReTweet” your tweet,  an extra long URL may be a hindrance to doing so… there’s simply not enough characters left to do so…

URL’s that look something like this http://www.xxxxxxxxx/5555.aaabbbccc.html are simply a dead giveaway that you are new to Twitter and probably don’t understand basic Twitter etiquette.  Use one of the many free services available to shorten those URL’s (like bit.ly), it’s easy, simply and will rid you of the neon light that flashes on your forehead and distinguishes you as a Twitter newbie!

5- You Never Send Thank You Messages To Your Followers

Once you began to gain followers, it’s always a good idea to send an instant “Thank You” message to those who have CHOSEN to follow you. Understandably, you may think that this is to laborious but there are ways to circumvent the time required to execute this gesture. Try automating the process with service like  http://www.socialoomph.com which can cut down on the tedious task of following up with new followers and save you lots of time. This approach can also start the conversation.

Try following these simple suggestions and your initial Twitter experience will be much more productive.

If you find this article helpful, I’ll make a deal with you…. Tweet this article, follow me on Twitter and I promise to follow you back….. see how easy it is, you’ve already picked up a new follower. (smile…)

How To Increase Your Profit Through The “Backdoor”
By Jimmy D. Brown

You make a $97.00 sale and you say an emphatic “Yes!” as a smile breaks out on your face. This selling online thing is cool and it feels good to be getting sales.

Then, a few days later you get a refund request. The $97.00 is gone. And so is your smile.

Or, worse still, a month and a half later (after you’ve spent the $97.00) a chargeback hits you. Not only is the $97.00 gone, but you’ve also been zapped $20.00 in service fees.

Instead of making money, you’re losing money.

Now, to be sure, that doesn’t happen on EVERY single sale. If it did, we’d all be out of business. But, it does happen frequently, from 2-10% of the time depending upon your offer.

Regardless of how often it occurs, when it does, it takes money out of your pocket.

So much emphasis is placed on ways to “make money” that many people forget to focus on how to KEEP the money that you make.

In today’s article (with part 2 coming later) we’re going to talk about increasing your profit through the “backdoor” by identifying 10 ways to reduce refunds and chargebacks so you can make the most money possible from your internet business.

The best part is this: most of them take just a few minutes to implement and most of them don’t cost a penny.

1. Be Accurate In Describing Your Product.

Probably the most common “legitimate” reason for a refund is when the product or service doesn’t deliver what was described during the sales process. When you create advertisements and salesletters, it’s important that you be accurate in describing your product.

This involves both…

* “Avoiding hype” which creates unrealistic expectations that ultimately lead to disappointment with the order. Your advertising sets the tone for what “results” the customer feels they can accomplish. If your claims are found to be unreasonable (or downright false) then refunds will often follow.

* “Correctly Define” the components of your product including its type (I.E. digital goods vs physical goods), its size (I.E. 20 pages vs 200 pages) its delivery (I.E. Immediately after order vs within 7 days) its required skills or knowledge (I.E. For beginners vs experienced) its exclusivity (I.E. Common knowledge vs your unique offering) its compabibility (I.E. PC only vs Mac users welcome) and its freshness (I.E. Updated for 2006 vs last year’s news) to name a few.

Perhaps the easiest way to turn back refund requests is to be clear in what your product or service offers without raising false expectations.

2. Offer Several Unadvertised Bonuses.

After the sale has been completed, let the customer know that you’ll be sending them 4 or 5 “unadvertised” bonuses over the next several weeks via email. You can even list what those bonuses are and their delivery schedule.

Example: In exactly 7 days you’ll receive unadvertised bonus one, an 18-page report entitled “27 Ways to Attract Butterflies Year Round”.

These unadvertised bonuses can be extra reports, articles, audio/video, interviews, tools, etc. The important thing to remember is that they should be related to the original purchase (I.E. an extension of the base product or service being offered) and should be desirable enough to add real value to the order.

I recommend that at least one of your bonuses be a “list” report with more than 20 entries (I.E. “27 Ways to Attract Butterflies Year Round”, “Top 20 Shortcuts For Starting A Christian Bookstore” or “The 21 Best Homeschooling Time Savers”). When it’s over twenty entries, it has a tremendous perceived value.

And that’s the point here: add more value to the existing purchase. The more bang your customers get for their buck, the more likely they’ll be satisfied and NOT request a refund.

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