Are you using Twitter?

I’ll admit it, I didn’t “get” Twitter at first.

Micro-blogging? What fun is that? I’ve always blogged to clear my thoughts, communicate complex ideas, educate… “micro” just didn’t seem to cut it.

Now, I understand. Through Twitter, you can meet more people in less time than ever before. You can talk directly to extremely successful Etsy sellers, website owners, newspaper journalists, radio hosts, marketing professionals, and everyone in between! If you’re not using Twitter to market yourself, go sign-up right now! (No, Twitter isn’t paying me to say that!)

Some tips (please add your own in the comments!):

• Make sure your “brand” is your username. You’ll get to know the people behind the brands – but remember, your username is your number one asset! Use a picture of your best product as your avatar.
• To get people to “follow” your entries, you need to follow them first. Make sure to follow @handmadeinpa and then click on the people I follow. Then follow them indiscriminately! At first following more people will feel overwhelming, but the more people you follow, the easier it is to join in the global conversation. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.
• Start tweeting (writing entries). Go ahead and write about what’s going on in your day. Definitely write about new items, items you’re working on, sales you’re having, etc…
• Then tweet back. Reply (using the @ sign) to get into the ongoing conversation. This is how you form relationships.
• Along the same lines, ask questions so people @reply to you! This will get your brand out there even more.
• Post links. Definitely post links to your blog and items you are selling but also post links to great sites you’ve found, interesting articles, anything you think might be of use to your followers. The goal is always to improve the conversation. You can use tinyurl.com to shorten links to be able to fit in the character limit.
• Finally, use your Twitter background to highlight some of your favorite items.

My favorite way to do this is to go to bighugelabs.com and choose the Mosaic Maker.

For large pictures, resist the urge to select more than the default 2×2 mosaic. Just choose 4 of your favorite items – items that really reflect your craft – and follow the instructions. Then go into “Settings” on your Twitter home page and upload your mosaic. Be sure to click the “tile” button. Here’s @babyvagabond’s background (don’t forget to enter to her giveaway!):

Those are just a few tips to help you get started.

You know what else? @handmadeinpa is happy to “retweet” your sales, new listings, great blog entries, etc… just use the Direct Message function to send me the message you’d like to have sent out!

Please fill my comments with stories of your success on Twitter, your Twitter names, your questions, and your tips!