Ten Top Tips for Making the Most of JustRetweet

My recent post about the free JustRetweet service (see screengrab above), which aims to help bloggers and Twitter users reach a wider audience, attracted a lot of interest.

So in this post I thought I'd share a few tips on getting the most from the service, based on my own experience and what I've observed of other users.

If you're not familiar with JustRetweet, you might like to read my earlier post before proceeding and watch the video embedded in it. Don't worry, I'll wait :-)

My ten top tips are as follows...

1. Don't retweet everything that's available on JustRetweet to earn credits. If you do, it will only alienate your Twitter followers and cause some to unsubscribe. There are lots of messages to choose, so pick the ones that look as though they would be interesting and relevant to your followers. In my experience - and I guess I'm a fairly typical user - you only need to retweet two or three messages a day to keep your account nicely topped up.

2. On the other side of the coin, when adding messages you hope others will retweet, be aware of what a reasonable reward is considered to be. Certain norms have evolved on the site, so I would suggest offering a bare minimum of 10 credits for an RT, and preferably 20 or more if you want to get the most from the service. Offering just 2 or 3 credits won't impress other members, and such 'low-paying' offers will quickly disappear from view on the site.

3. It's not just about credits, though. Remember that your messages will (you hope) be retweeted by other people who want to preserve their own good reputation. Make your messages sound interesting and useful - and if you offer a decent reward as well, there is every chance you will get an excellent take-up from other JustRetweet users.

4. Avoid being overly promotional in your messages. Twitter, as you should know anyway, is not the place for this. In addition, other JustRetweet members are unlikely to want to RT explicit sales messages, for fear that they will be accused of spamming. And JustRetweet also has rules against requesting retweets of some types of commercial messages, including those promoting trackback spammers and other products or services deemed undesirable.

5. Another thing that doesn't work on JustRetweet (in my opinion) is posting a barebones URL with no other message. When this goes out on Twitter, it will look like spam, and few people will want to click on it anyway. Always include a message with your link to explain why viewers should click on it. If it's a long link, shorten it first with a service such as Bit.ly.

6. Another approach to be wary of - again in my opinion - is the short and enigmatic message. I've seen a few of these listed on JustRetweet, and I can't believe they are productive, either of RTs or clickthroughs. I wouldn't retweet these messages, and even if I did I can't imagine that many of my followers would want to explore them further. I could be wrong about this. Maybe a few people will click through out of curiosity - but even then, it's pretty unlikely they will happen to be interested in whatever you are trying to promote.

7. Bear in mind that a message shared in someone else's Twitter stream is likely to be seen by someone who has never heard of you before. Messages that might work in your own Twitter stream - "Secrets of Better Novel Writing, part 26" - may be off-putting to such people, implying that this is something that has been running for a while and there is no point in a newcomer joining in now. The same applies with very personal sounding or enigmatic messages (see item 6).

8. JustRetweet now offers a PostLater option. This is a great resource for ensuring you don't deluge your followers with a series of tweets in quick succession. At present - in response to a request I made - the interval between PostLater posts is set to one hour, although I understand that an option to vary this may be added soon. I recommend mostly selecting PostLater when retweeting messages - you will still receive your credits for these immediately.

9. Bear in mind that JustRetweet offers other methods for earning credits as well as retweeting. You can sign up to follow other members listed on the site on Twitter (this typically pays between 2 and 10 credits), introduce new members (pays 25 credits per new member), visit other blogs and websites for credits (pays up to 10 credits), and so on. If all else fails, though, you can also buy credits for a very reasonable sum!

10. Finally, it's worth mentioning that you can choose the minimum number of Twitter followers a member must have to see your offer. It's obviously tempting to set this figure high, but doing that will drastically cut the number of potential retweeters. In addition, Twitter users with a small following may actually have more influence over their followers. Personally, I tend to set my minimum follower number to 200 or 250, but experiment to see what works best for you.

So those are my top ten tips - I hope you find them helpful. If you are already on JustRetweet, do you have any tips of your own you would like to share? Please do post them below!

My Top 12 Blog Posts of 2011 for Writers

As is becoming traditional in the blogosphere, I thought I'd start 2012 by looking back at the most popular posts on my blog last year.

If you missed any of these first time round - perhaps you've only discovered my blog recently - I hope you'll enjoy reading them now.

And if you've been following me for a while, I hope there are some posts here you'll enjoy revisiting. They are listed in no particular order...

My Top Ten Twitter Follows for Writers - More and more writers are joining the micro-blogging service Twitter, and a question I hear repeatedly from newcomers is, "What other Twitter users should I follow?" So in this post I shared ten of my top Twitter recommendations for writers. These are people whose tweets I especially look out for, as they regularly share useful, interesting and/or entertaining info and links. You might also like to check out Ten More Top Twitter Follows for Writers, which I posted later in the year.

The Best Writing Apps for Writers - This guest post by social media and smartphone specialist David Sumner listed some of the best smartphone apps for writers, which aim to ensure that lack of access to a computer need never present any obstacle to your creativity.

How Non-US Authors on Smashwords and Amazon Can Reclaim US Tax - This guest post by self-publishing author Ali Cooper was among the most popular posts of 2011, and still attracts a lot of traffic today. It's about an issue that concerns many non-US authors publishing their own work on Amazon and Smashwords (the popular e-book self-publishing platform). The issue is that these US companies automatically deduct tax at 30% from any income earned by non-US residents before forwarding it. This applies even though there are tax treaties with the US that are supposed to prevent this happening, as it means an author could potentially be taxed twice on the same income. In her in-depth article, Ali sets out the exact steps she has taken to recover tax deducted by Amazon and Smashwords on the sales of her literary mystery novel, The Girl on the Swing and other books. Don't forget to read the interesting comments that have been made too.

The WCCL Affiliate Program - Ten Reasons You Should Join Today - As you may know, The WCCL Network publish my writing courses, including The 10-Day E-Book and Write Any Book in Under 28 Days. They also sponsor my blog and the myWritersCircle forum. What you may not be aware of is that they also run a highly professional affiliate program. If you have a blog, a website or a newsletter, you can join the WCCL affiliate program and receive generous commissions for every sale generated via your links. In this post I set out ten reasons why I believe joining the WCCL affiliate program is a no-brainer for any writer with a presence on the web.

An Interview With Mike Essex, Author of Free Stuff Everyday - In this in-depth interview, UK author Mike Essex talked about how he came to write his first e-book 'Free Stuff Everyday' and how he published it on the Amazon Kindle. He also revealed how he earned his reputation as 'Freebieman' - and how he receives a steady stream of freebies from companies desperate for the feedback and publicity he can offer them. You can also click through to read my subsequent review of the print version of Free Stuff Everyday (which I edited on behalf of the publisher).

Just Retweet: A Great, Free Resource for Bloggers and Twitter-Users - JustRetweet is a new service I found out about this year and have adopted enthusiastically. If you're a blogger and/or a Twitter user, I strongly recommend you check it out. As the name indicates, JustRetweet aims to provide a simple method for members to get additional "retweets" of selected Twitter updates, thus helping them reach a much wider audience. You can also use it to get more Twitter followers, visitors to your blog, and so on.

Should Writers Create Their Own E-Book Covers? - This was one of a number of excellent guest posts on my blog this year from author and self-publisher David Robinson. In this one, he addressed the question of whether writers can - or should - create their own e-book covers, and spilled the beans on how he creates his own professional-looking covers. I also recommend his guest post How to Create a Video Book Trailer Using Windows Moviemaker, which reveals how David brings his low-cost DIY approach to the creation of attractive video trailers for his novels.

When It Pays to Ignore Copyright Theft - I deliberately courted controversy in this post, in which I suggested that occasionally it can pay authors to take a more relaxed approach to having their work plagiarized, quoting the example of a children's book which aroused the interest of publishers partly because it was being plagiarized so much! Check out the comments the post generated as well.

Novelrank: A Brilliant Resource for Tracking Your Amazon Sales - If you have any books or e-books for sale at Amazon, you should check out the excellent NovelRank website. It provides an easy method for keeping track of your title's sales rank and actual sales, almost in real time (the stats are updated hourly). NovelRank is an independent site set up in a public-spirited way by author and programmer Mario Lurig. Respect is due!

Do check out these posts, and feel free to add your own additional comments if you like. And watch out for more great posts from me (and my guest bloggers) on all aspects of writing in 2012.

Photo Credit: Corfu sunset, by the author.

JustRetweet: A Great, Free Traffic-Building Resource for Bloggers and Twitter Users

JustRetweet is a new service I found out about recently and have adopted enthusiastically. If you're a blogger and/or a Twitter user, I strongly recommend you check it out.

As the name indicates, JustRetweet aims to provide a simple method for members to get additional "retweets" of selected Twitter updates, thus helping them reach a much wider audience.

The way it does this is ingenious. You get a certain number of "credits" for joining up, and can get more by retweeting other people's updates. You can also buy credits if you want, although there is certainly no need (or obligation) to do so.

You can then get your own updates retweeted by listing them on the website, along with the number of credits you are willing to provide for each retweet. You can also set the minimum number of followers a member must have to qualify for your offer. In addition, you can offer credits for people to visit your blog or website, and/or to follow you on Twitter.

You can also in theory enter your blog's RSS feed, so all your blog posts are automatically listed for retweeting. I say "in theory" because this didn't work for me, as for some reason JustRetweet won't validate this blog's RSS feed. However, it seems to me you may be better off listing posts you want retweeted individually anyway, as you can then pick how many credits you want to allocate to each one.

JustRetweet is the creation of blogger Valentine Belonwu, and it is supported by a number of high-profile bloggers, including Gail Gardner, Ana Hoffman, Ms Ileane and Sharon Hurley Hall. Ms Ileane (who runs the excellent Basic Blog Tips website), has also produced a useful introductory video showing how JustRetweet works. I've embedded this below...

As ever, if you're receiving this blog post by email or RSS, you may need to visit my blog to watch the video.

JustRetweet is a hugely promising service and deserves support, so please do take a look at the site at least. And if you have any comments or questions, as ever, please feel free to post them below.

Disclosure: If you join JustRetweet via my one of my links in this post, I will get an extra 25 credits. That's not exactly a fortune - it might be enough to get one of my blog posts retweeted once - but it does demonstrate yet another way you can earn credits on the site.

JustRetweet: A Great, Free Traffic-Building Resource for Bloggers and Twitter Users

JustRetweet is a new service I found out about recently and have adopted enthusiastically. If you're a blogger and/or a Twitter user, I strongly recommend you check it out.

As the name indicates, JustRetweet aims to provide a simple method for members to get additional "retweets" of selected Twitter updates, thus helping them reach a much wider audience.

The way it does this is ingenious. You get a certain number of "credits" for joining up, and can get more by retweeting other people's updates. You can also buy credits if you want, although there is certainly no need (or obligation) to do so.

You can then get your own updates retweeted by listing them on the website, along with the number of credits you are willing to provide for each retweet. You can also set the minimum number of followers a member must have to qualify for your offer. In addition, you can offer credits for people to visit your blog or website, and/or to follow you on Twitter.

You can also in theory enter your blog's RSS feed, so all your blog posts are automatically listed for retweeting. I say "in theory" because this didn't work for me, as for some reason JustRetweet won't validate this blog's RSS feed. However, it seems to me you may be better off listing posts you want retweeted individually anyway, as you can then pick how many credits you want to allocate to each one.

JustRetweet is the creation of blogger Valentine Belonwu, and it is supported by a number of high-profile bloggers, including Gail Gardner, Ana Hoffman, Ms Ileane and Sharon Hurley Hall. Ms Ileane (who runs the excellent Basic Blog Tips website), has also produced a useful introductory video showing how JustRetweet works. I've embedded this below...

As ever, if you're receiving this blog post by email or RSS, you may need to visit my blog to watch the video.

JustRetweet is a hugely promising service and deserves support, so please do take a look at the site at least. And if you have any comments or questions, as ever, please feel free to post them below.

Disclosure: If you join JustRetweet via my one of my links in this post, I will get an extra 25 credits. That's not exactly a fortune - it might be enough to get one of my blog posts retweeted once - but it does demonstrate yet another way you can earn credits on the site.