The fact is, I stopped writing my Popcorn Content guide a few weeks ago. How come? Other stuff got in the way. More accurately, I looked at where I needed to be spending my time and this project lost out.

If I had started a few weeks sooner I would have finished writing the guide and would have had it out and published. Just poor planning on my part. I misjudged my schedule. I got about half way through and then had to spend my time elsewhere.

In addition to getting my schedule wrong, I was also late in the game. By the time I started on this project, other people had already written and published some excellent information about using Twitter. My intention wasn’t simply to follow what they did, but to look at Twitter as a tool specifically suited to freelancers. But I should have got to it sooner anyway.

So, that’s the end of this particular project.

And now I’m busy on bigger and better things.

Thank you for your attention if you had been following along.

It used to be that the information we read was filtered by editors before it reached us.

The internet has changed that. Newspapers are closing their doors left and right.

Today we are all publishers and readers, and we all have to find ways to find the good stuff without becoming overwhelmed by the meaningless stuff.

Google is a great filter. It works hard to bring the cream to the surface. Bloggers filter by finding and writing about topics that will be of interest to their readers.

On Twitter we are all both consumers and creators of content, almost simultaneously.

So why would anyone follow YOU?

For a number of reasons. Maybe they know you. Maybe they already read your blog or newsletter.

But you want more followers than those you already know, right?

So how do you deliver value to the readers you really want?

You become a valued filter. You become the go-to Twitter person who knows how to find the good stuff.

Understand what your prospective followers want. Understand what kind of content they value most. Then find it for them.

Not that every Tweet should be that calculated. You can also send a Tweet about the birth of your dog’s puppies, if you want.

But if you are using Twitter as a business tool, then the bulk of your Tweets should be of high-value to your followers. Save them the time they would otherwise have to spend finding this good stuff. Share information and links they would probably never find.

Be a smart and useful filter, and they will follow.

First I was on vacation for a week, and then I was tied up in the launch of my new writing program, How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites.

But now I’m back on track and at about the 6,000 word point in the Popcorn Content guide.

The more tightly I focus my writing on the needs of freelancers, the more interesting I find the whole project. Goodness knows there is already a ton of information already available on using Twitter. But freelancers are a unique group and the use of Twitter as a tool in marketing our services deserves special attention.

I should be done in about a month, and then you’ll be able to get a copy of Popcorn Content and find out how to make your Tweets really “pop”.

In the meantime, I am still looking for more examples. If you are a freelancer and have a story about how using Twitter has helped your business, please share by using the comment function below.

Thanks!

As a freelancer you need to separate yourself from other people offering the same services.

In fact, the process of creating a unique positioning for yourself is one of the most important things you need to do as a freelancer. Above all else you have to separate yourself from the vast herd of people who say, “Hi, my name is [insert name], and I’m a freelance copywriter.”

You can separate yourself and build your brand in a variety of ways. One of the simplest is to become a specialist in a particular niche.

“Hi, my name is [insert name], and I am a world expert in social media writing for the veterinary industry.”

But once you have determined how you want to position your business, how are you going to set about creating a personal brand for yourself?

You likely don’t have a huge marketing budget, so you can’t buy a ton of ads that communicate your unique value proposition. Besides which, the ads probably wouldn’t do you much good anyway.

Today, in the world of social media, personal brand building takes place at the conversational level. And Twitter is exactly the place to get started.

You can’t build a brand with a single statement or message on Twitter. But you can build your brand by the impressions you create through a sequence of many Tweets over time.

The topics you cover will give people a sense of your area of expertise.

The courtesy you show to other people on Twitter will create an impression of the kind of person you are.

The quality of people who Re-Tweet and reply to your Tweets will demonstrate your standing in your industry and niche.

On Twitter you are not your last Tweet, you are the culmination of your last 200 Tweets.

A consistent presence on Twitter can become a hugely effective way to brand yourself and give your business a unique positioning.

How many key industry influencers in your niche are subscribers to your newsletter or regularly read your blog entries?

Not many?

That’s probably the wrong question. The right question is, “Who knows?”

I don’t know who reads my blogs. Maybe some influential people in online marketing do read them. But unless they leave a comment, I don’t know.

The same goes for my e-newsletters. I suppose I could read through thousands upon thousands of email addresses and try to identify some big names. But then what? Do I just email them a private message, out of the blue?

Blogs and e-newsletters are still working within the old-world publishing paradigm. I am the owner and writer and publisher...and those who subscribe are “my” readers. Both platforms allow for limited interaction. But it really is very limited.

Now let’s look at how Twitter works, with a timely example.

A couple of weeks ago I heard about a new book that was soon to be published. It’s called World Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to Spread Your Ideas and Share Your Stories, by David Meerman Scott. It’s on the topic of how one can use social media to spread one’s message. It’s a marketing book, but looking at a whole new way of marketing. I highly recommend you get a copy.

Anyway, I went to Amazon, pre-ordered it, and the book finally arrived yesterday. After reading a few pages I wrote a short Tweet about the book.

As you can see, that was tweeted just 16 hours ago.

Now let’s look at what appeared on my Twitter page just six hours later.

It wasn’t my intention to solicit a response from the author. I wrote the Tweet simply because I felt that the people following my Tweets might be interested.

That’s how things happen on Twitter. Unlike with blogging, writing articles on my websites or publishing my e-newsletters, Twitter does an amazing job at matching and connecting people with similar interests. And it’s fast, fast, fast.

Is there value in my having connected with David Meerman Scott?

I don’t know. It’s not my intention to somehow rush to take advantage of this passing introduction. But yes, I can see there might be something there. We are both authors and speakers with an interest in online marketing.

As if we were at that party with the bowl of popcorn being passed around, he and I have shared a few words, exchanged a virtual business card (our Twitter pages) and moved on.

Would I have made that connection without Twitter? I very much doubt it.

Here is another example, shared by fellow writer @KathleenRoberts:

“I originally joined Twitter for the opportunity to learn from others. However, I am please to say I have also made a few nice business connections.

Because I am able to choose who I follow on Twitter, I seem to be able to connect with a higher caliber of clients. Craigslist often has questionable writing gigs. Twitter has connected me with serious business people. Joining was definitely a wise move for my business.”

Whether you are hoping to connect with prospective clients, or make connections with key influencers in your area of interest, Twitter not only helps you find these people but also helps facilitate introductions at lightning speed.

This means that while Twitter may be fast-moving and very much about what’s happening “now”, it can also create connections that will have great value to you in the long term.

Back when I started out as a specialist in online copywriting the most efficient way for me to meet other movers and shakers was to speak at as many conferences as possible. Mingling with the other speakers created relationships that helped shape my professional future.

But flying from city to city a few times each month was a massively inefficient way to achieve that result.

I didn’t have to fly anywhere to make contact with David Meerman Scott. I just wrote a 14-word Tweet.

I have been reworking the introduction to Popcorn Content. Here is part of it. If you have any feedback, please share through the comments function.

 

==

 

One of the biggest downsides of being a freelancer working from home is that you are alone.

 

Many of us choose to be freelancers simply because we are loners and like to work as solopreneurs. In fact, some of us don’t work at our best in teams anyway.

 

For myself, I love to be the sole master of both my successes and disasters.

 

But isolation also has its downsides.

 

For one, we can become isolated from a massive world of opportunities. By being alone we can get stuck in our own little rut. Ironically, the more successful we become, the more we lose touch with what is happening in the world around us.

 

There have been times in my own freelance career where I have become so busy working on a few large projects that I have barely even noticed the passing of the seasons. I have simply been head-down at my desk, working incredibly hard and becoming increasingly isolated from the people and events around me.

 

That may be fine from an income point of view while one is working on those projects. But there is a downside. That isolation means that you may miss out on new opportunities as they arise. Worse still, you can lose touch with people.

 

One of the first things that happened to me when I started participating on Twitter is that I got back in touch with dozens of people I hadn’t been in contact with for years.

 

It is this fracture of isolation that lies at the most important benefit you can get from participating on Twitter.

 

With Twitter you can build and participate in a high-value network within days or weeks.

 

There is no other tool that can get create so many potentially valuable contacts so quickly.

 

The bottom line is that Twitter can help you find new work and make more money.

 

It’s fast, it’s simple and it works.

I just got back from speaking to dozens of freelance copywriters in Austin, Texas. It was great to see so many freelancers together in one room. But it also made me think that everyone there spent almost all their time working alone, isolated in their own home offices.

Being together at that event gave everyone a huge lift. People were able to mingle, talk, compare notes and get to know other people who were following the same freelance path.

But what about when everyone gets home? Does that sense of being connected have to evaporate?

In a sense it does. But I am hoping that many of the people at that event will find ways to keep in contact. And one of the best ways to do that is to use social media tools. Twitter is one such tool, but they could also use Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms.

And yes, these are “platforms”. Social media sites are places where people can gather together in groups and keep in contact.

Being a freelancer is a very solitary profession. Using Twitter can help mitigate that a little. Better than that, it can become a fertile source of shared tips, ideas, information and opportunities. Got a question? Ask your followers on Twitter.

I shared my Twitter name at the event, and hope that I’ll soon be receiving Tweets from some of the new people I met.

As freelancers we need to make a good impression on prospective clients. We can do this through a number of channels...on our web sites, with our blogs, with the articles we write and so on.

But with each of these channels you are in total control of how you pitch yourself. You are careful to position your expertise and qualities in the best possible light.

Prospective clients are aware of this. They know they have to filter what they find on your web site and blog. They understand that you will be presenting yourself in the best light possible. Then they have to figure out whether it’s all smoke and mirrors, or if you really are the real deal.

Enter Twitter...

By being active on Twitter and by giving prospective clients good reasons to follow you, you can provide a much more detailed and nuanced picture of who you are.

You can’t do much with a single tweet of 140 characters. But you can show people “who you are” by being a good Twitter citizen.

You can answer other people’s questions. You can link to interesting information, and not always your own. You can deliver interesting insights.

You can also demonstrate how well you interact with a group. You can show how you are responsive, polite and helpful.

Over time, your Tweets will build up a pretty accurate picture of who you are.

Put another way, your followers will begin to get a sense that they really know you.

Now sit back and imagine this...

A company needs some help and they check out the web sites of two competing freelancers. Based on their sites, both freelancers appear to be equally qualified.

However, one member of the department involved at the company is also an active Twitter user and knows one of the freelancers from his or her Tweets.

Which freelancer do you think is more likely to get the job?

When you work as a freelancer, you work alone.

That’s not always the case, all of the time. But it is true for most of us.

Yes, we can join lists and forums online. But forums are often dominated by a few people who post their thoughts and comments, while the majority of people simply lurk.

Forums don’t even come close to what can be achieved with Twitter.

With Twitter you can connect with and follow a far broader and deeper mix of people than you can through any forum.

You can follow a mix of fellow freelancers, thought leaders, prospective clients and more. In other words, you create your own group “membership”. You control who you listen to.

That level of control makes Twitter profoundly useful.

But you need a plan. You need to know what your intentions are with Twitter.

Do you plan on using it as a means to connect with prospective clients?

Do you want to use it to keep in touch with fellow freelancers?

Do you use it to find suppliers and possible venture partners?

Whatever your plan is, be clear about it and stick to it.

That way you’ll get what you need from Twitter and you won’t damage your own level of productivity by spending too much time with random, undirected Twittering.

I’m a little slow sometimes.

 

When I first started thinking about writing this guide I took a very broad view. I imagined I would write something remarkable about Twitter and other micro-content social media platforms.

 

It took me a while to figure out two things:

 

1.  Some other people with more experience of Twitter were already delivering some great information about the use of Twitter.  (Check out Twitip.com if you haven’t done so already.)

 

2. I was moving away from my core area of expertise and interest, which is the world of freelance writing and copywriting.

 

So...I am shifting my focus.

 

Popcorn Content will now be targeted much more specifically to the needs of freelance writers and copywriters.

 

Freelancers can benefit enormously from the networking potential of Twitter. It is a tool that a number of freelance writers are using very effectively already.

 

Popcorn Content will be written to help those freelancers who are either yet to sign up for Twitter, or who are already signed up but not using it to its full potential.

 

As always, comments via the link below are enormously welcome.