I went from 0 to 120k Twitter followers in 11 weeks. If you're interested in growing a Twitter audience, read this:
Today We'll Cover:
• The benefits of building an audience
• Finding your niche
• Creator mindsets
• Twitter Tactics for new accounts
Let's dive in.
Having an Audience is Leverage
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People want to network with you
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You can monetize (don't dump please)
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Opportunities such as jobs & deals come to you
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You have an audience for ANY project you want to launch.
It's like having steroids for your goals.
There's a Japanese concept called Ikagai. It's the intersection among:
• What you're good at
• What the world needs
• What you can be paid for
• And what you love
You need to hit all of them to find the sweet spot.
Specialize When Starting Out
When Lululemon first came out, they ONLY made Yoga Pants. They MASTERED Yoga Pants which gave them CREDIBILITY.
They then expanded to other clothing options. Now they're about to enter the footwear space!
Narrow focus first, then expand later on.
Applying this to NFTs:
• 0-5k: news + analysis on a specific NFT collection
• 5k-50k: bring that energy to a bigger NFT collection like Azuki
• 50k+: Talk about ALL NFTs and even bigger topics.
It's easier to establish expert status on a smaller subject.
Create a Brandable Identity
Make it easy for people to remember you.
• Have a name that's easy to remember
• Your twitter handle / name / websites should all match
• Have a profile pic that stands out
You won't stand out with a bootleg cryptopunk profile pic.
Fire a Lot of Bullets
My first tweets were about DeFiKingdoms. I wanted to create data and charts. But it didn't get too many likes or impressions . So I started writing about different things. And writing about Wonderland got my 1st traction 😐
Become Irreplaceable
It's popular to create the "best threads of the week" or "biggest crypto news". The problem? You're replaceable. Thousands of other people can create the same content.
Strategy is about eliminating competition and becoming irreplaceable.
Here's how:
Specific Knowledge
What are you passionate about that you're willing to go deeper than anyone else?
Some examples:
• @TaschaLabs
crypto macro
• @woonomic
bitcoin charts
• @zachxbt
crypto investigations
• @sassal0x
ETH
These creators are 1 of a kind.
h/t
@naval
My Examples of Specific Knowledge
I've spent months in the
@avalancheavax
ecosystem. I had enough knowledge and experience to share some gems and projects I found in that ecosystem.I can't do that for some other ecosystems.
Deep Research
People wanted to learn about FAAS - a topic I didn't know about.I spent 50+ hours researching this sector. I interviewed people from the protocol and investors. I spent hours reading GITBOOKS and discords.
The Cold Start Problem
Starting out with 0 followers is the hardest part. You don't want to spend 5 hours writing a thread, and there are 0 likes. You need to grow your audience a bit first. Here are some strategies to go from 0 to 5k followers:
/1 Turn on Notifications of Big Accounts
Write an INSIGHTFUL tweet as soon as they post. Other people will see your comment, and check out your profile. I'd avoid doing this for the big swinging dicks like @cz_binance, because his account's too big.
/2 Getting Retweets from Big Accounts
A retweet from a larger account can be a boost to your account. Here's the problem... They don't know you.They don't care about you.
The secret? Provide VALUE to them and their audience.
Ideas:
• "X was on a Podcast, here are my notes"
• "X says blank. I visualized his ideas"
• "X has taught me more about Crypto than anyone else. Here are their 10 best ideas"
/3 Quality Followers Over the #
Be careful of doing giveaways, engagement baiting, buying followers, or doing "follow for follow" strategies.They can pump your numbers up, but it's not adding value.The Twitter algorithm punishes you for this behavior.
/4 Hustle for Distribution
You've written a great post or thread.You HAVE to market it. My first threads didn't do so well. I posted them to Discords, Facebook groups, and subreddits. You HAVE to be comfortable with self-promotion if you want to make it.
/5 Engage
You have to be interactive with your community. Comment back whenever someone posts.Find content creators your size. Retweet and comment on their content. A rising tide lifts all boats.
Mindsets for Writing
Here are some mindsets I've adopted for how I write.Remember, there are many ways to skin a cat.This is MY approach.(and I encourage you to experiment to find YOUR style)
/1 Creating Superfans
It's NOT about how many followers you have, it's about the # of SUPERFANS you have. The ones who have a genuine affinity for you. You can grow your # with cheap tactics like engagement bait or even buying followers.But what's the point?
/2 Write to Solve Problems
The best products solve problems.The best content solves problems. I'm always trying to understand YOUR problems with DeFi. I've actually interviewed 15+ people to find out their DeFi pain points. That gave me 30+ topic ideas.
/3 Signal to Noise
People don't care about you, people only care about themselves.
They don't care about your dinner.
They don't care about your politics.
They don't care about your new car.
Help them win, and you'll have their loyalty
/4 Write About New Topics
Ethereum is going through a triple halving. While important, it's already been covered!People want to learn something different. One of my most viral threads was about Mark Zuckerberg's gray shirt. (seriously, wtf?)
/5 Your Writing is the Product
• YouTube's product is video. Learn video editing.
• IG's product is photos. Learn how to take better pics.
• Facebook's product is being old and cringey.
Twitter's product is writing, so learn how to write better.
/6 Thoughts on Writing Better
@scottadamssays
wrote a post several years ago about writing.Be concise and edit often.
Do you think THIS thread is long?
It started as 85 tweets before I spent 4 hours editing it down.
/7 Threads
• Threads are the easiest way to grow, but you need a certain # of followers before the algorithm pushes it. (maybe 5k?)
• Quality over quantity.
• Try to make them as short as you can. Spend more time than you think editing.
• Make the 1st tweet interesting
/8 Don't Worry About the Tactical Stuff
What time to post?How many tweets are in a thread? IT DOESN'T MATTER.
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Understand your audience.
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Figure out their problems.
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Solve it better than anyone else.
That's the formula.
/9 Imposter Syndrome
You may not feel qualified to write - I didn't either when I started. I'm interested in becoming a better chess player. I don't need to learn from Magnus Carlsen to improve. A person rated 1600 who can EXPLAIN things is valuable to me.
/10 Combine Skills
I'm NOT the smartest person in DeFi, but that hasn't stopped me.
• 8/10 in my DeFi knowledge
• 8.5/10 in writing
• 7/10 in understanding Twitter
I've combined these 3 skills + my personality to create The DeFi Edge.
What can you combine?
/11 Being Likeable
You can drop the sickest alpha, but people won't engage if you're unlikeable.
• Be humble and keep your ego in check.
• You WILL make mistakes. Own up to them.
• Put your followers 1st. They're not your piggy bank. There's a person behind that frog pic
/12 Finally, listen to your audience.
I didn't want to write this thread - it has NOTHING to do with Crypto. But I'm getting 10+ messages a day asking.That's called feedback. Give the people what they want!(I'll check the stats later to see if it did numbers)
"Ser, what tools do you use?"
Here are the tools that I use for Twitter (most are paid)
• @typefully
to write all my threads.
• @hypefury
to schedule tweets in advance.
• @iloanalytics
to see what's performing
• @notionhq
to keep track of my ideas.
"But ser, why Twitter and not elsewhere?"
I chose Twitter because I wanted to remain anonymous, and I'm good at writing. Follow your strengths. If I wasn't anonymous, I would've started a YouTube or Tik Tok channel. It's easier to build emotional connections with video
"But ser, my following's not growing"
Something's not working then.
• You're not writing anything new
• Your content might be boring
• You're not doing enough to promote it
• You're not iterating / improving
Try asking for feedback. Keep experimenting.
Apologies for the Flooding of Threadooors.There might be a bunch of new threadoors inspired by me. I made this meme to roast us.
Takeaways:
• Differentiate yourself
• Experiment and obsess over data
• Solve problems for your audience
• Building an audience on Twitter is high leverage
• Writing is the product. Learn how to write better.
This topic was HIGHLY requested, and it's not a subject I usually cover.
(see, I'm experimenting)
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