Discover 10 Ways to Mine Copywriting Gold From Twitter

Want to brainstorm copywriting concepts more creatively? Write stronger copy? Instantly solve technical problems that derail your copywriting workflow?

Start using Twitter as a copywriting tool.

Now wait a minute, you say. Twitter is a time suck. A distraction. Dive into the tweet stream and you’ll never come up for air, let alone client projects—right?

Well, no.

Yes, Twitter can be addicting. Yes, you need to use this unique platform strategically. And yes, you must set limits on Twitter time.

But with goals and time limits defined, you’ll find Twitter delivers tremendous value to your copywriting and marketing work. Here’s how.

Ten Ways Twitter Delivers Copywriting Gold

Twitter can help you:

1. Stay on top of industry trends in copywriting—and related—niches. The trick here is to selectively follow a variety of copywriters, marketers and digital mavens. You’ll soon find your tweet stream filled with valuable work-related nuggets. After a recent 15-minute trawl, I found an authoritative SEO copywriting white paper, tips on split testing landing pages, a number of posts on Facebook’s new privacy settings, Gowalla and FourSquare “compare and contrast” reportage, a collection of brilliant conceptual print ads—and much more. Here are some terrific people to follow for diverse marketing and copywriting links and understandable tech tweets: @Cheth,@Mashable, @MayhemStudios, @ChrisBrogan.
2. Take advantage of breaking news first. Where were you when Captain Sully Sullenberger landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River? I was on Twitter reading the surreal details as they unfolded. If timely information is important in your work, take note: Twitterati are among the very first to learn of earthquakes, oil spills, terrorist attacks, election results and celebrity births, deaths and rehabs vacations. Good news sources to follow: @BreakingNews, @AJEnglish, @NYTimes
3. Source stories and posts. Need a quote, statistic or fact? Post a querying tweet to your Twitter friends and followers—or use Twitter Search or Tweetdeck Search to get answers and links to specific, relevant information.
4. Provide turnkey solutions for clients. Your client needs a blog, eBook or autoresponder series—not just content but platform design or development. You can give her an it’s-not-my-job shrug or you can provide the help she needs by partnering with designers, developers, coders and the other freelancers and consultants. Crowd source them on Twitter: Tweet key folks in your community, scan Twitter lists—yours and your followers’—to find and vet skilled, reliable professionals.
5. Get help! Macbook frozen? Need to embed a tweet into a post? Want to compare a word’s UK, US and Australian usage? When you need fast answers—or advice—you’ll get by with a little help from your friends: tweet your question or problem and wait for the hive to buzz back with help and directions. WordPress hacks, recipes, travel directions, restaurant recommendations, traffic and weather alerts and parenting advice are just some of the support you’ll find at Twitter’s ad hoc Help Desk.
6. Find the write right word, usage, syntax or grammar. Being on Twitter is like having Miss Kendall—or your own favorite English teacher—right at your desk all day. Twitter is a favorite online hangout for smart, nitpicky copy editors, English professors and other grammar geeks. My Strunk-and-White superheroes include @GrammarGirl and @Editor Mark.
7. Get leads and jobs. Last week fellow copywriter @SeanMLyden tweeted me with a link to a healthcare copywriting lead. My tweet stream flows regularly with job postings from copywriting and marketing recruiters such as @JobAngels @tmj_nyc_writing. In addition to word-of-mouth from your own Twitter crowd, you can type “copywriting” and “copywriter” into Tweetdeck searches for a bonanza of freelance and permanent copywriting gigs.
8. Build brand. As part of a self-marketing strategy, Twitter strengthens authority, drives traffic and generates leads in a highly credible way. How? By providing a powerful platform that lets you leverage additional online content—blog posts, articles, videos and your online portfolio. But warning: Use Twitter judiciously for self-promotion. To avoid self-serving boorishness, you must cultivate community, share helpful information and serve others before you think about broadcasting your own messages. On Twitter you’ll find payback from paying it forward.
9. Strengthen search engine ranking. Obviously Google likes to see backlinks generated by Twitter folks who click through and retweet your links. But your sites also benefit from links you include in your Twitter profile. And remember, in addition to link love, a completed Twitter profile significantly boosts follow rates.
10. Refresh yourself at a virtual water cooler. Twitter’s sociability remains one of its most attractive features. Yes, if you tweet nothing but bon mots and amusing links to fellow copywriters, client work can grind to a halt. But use Twitter with discipline and you’ll find it provides tremendous professional support, personal satisfaction and much needed recreation. The promise of a Twitter break can motivate you to push through grueling work and tedious tasks. And your Twitter community can boost your confidence when you have to suit up for a tough meeting, networking event or other offline business.

How does Twitter support your copywriting work?