How To Get Twitter Followers by the Millions!

I reached the 100,000 Twitter follower milestone recently and as naturally occurs, that is precisely the quesion I am asked most often.

“Christian, how did you get 100,000 Twitter followers? How do I get more followers? Will you get me more followers? Can you show me how to get more Twitter followers?“

I’ll be blunt in saying in the beginning that there is no secret to gaining Twitter followers.

Especially followers of quality.

However, I’m going to be open and frank with you in this post, and share most everything I know about the process.

Below I’ll do my best to uncover the Twitter secrets I do know about.

“The qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what makes it so powerful.” - Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard law professor and Internet expert

Growing a Twitter following includes some of the following choices & habits.

Starting a Twitter properly.
The smart use of powerful Twitter management tools.
Being patient with time.
Being genuine and true.
Actively engaging with followers each day.
Striving to be helpful and needed.
Finding ways to be intriguing.

I’ll begin by talking about how to start your Twitter account with the right goals in mind, and we’ll continue from there.

This guide isn’t meant to be all-inclusive, but should give you a good foundation on which to build your Twitter goals and aspirations. I promise to be genuine, and warn you now that I will occasionally ramble.

I apologize in advance!

Don’t start off with the wrong foot like I did…

Many jump into creating their Twitter account too quickly, and struggle to grow as a repercussion.

Usernames are chosen poorly
The Twitter account isn’t connected to a larger purpose
Tweeting for the wrong reasons
Quotes and rehashed Tweets are spewed ever minute like vomit
Thousands are followed in hopes that others will followback

These are all signs that the Twitter account may run into difficulty down the road.

You don’t want that.

When I first opened my @SmartBoyDesigns account in the year 2008, I wasn’t tweeting for the right reasons. I was 17. By that I mean I was only tweeting information I “thought” I was supposed to share. It wasn’t from the heart. I shared quote after quote after quote in the high hopes of others retweeted my material. It wasn’t genuine. Often I’d fill my Twitter stream with one-liners. I was sharing more than I was communicating and responding to others.

There was no balance.

Since nobody was enjoying the content, I decided to take matters into my own hands. So I mass followed 2,000 people. Only a few followed me back. I was stuck. I was following too many people and nobody was following back. I didn’t know how to get Twitter followers.

I had become a broken Twitterer.

It was time for me to “rethink” my Twitter approach.

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” -Napoleon Hill

Obviously, I wasn’t happy with how my Twitter account was developing.

People weren’t following me. Communication didn’t exist. Twitter was an empty pit where I shouted into the darkness, hoping others would listen.

And then, a change occurred.

I don’t exactly remember where or when, but the change was a grand experience in enlightenment.

You know what I realized?

Twitter was more about others than about myself.

Lucky for you, contained below is much of the new approach I developed after realizing that simple fact.

Tweet with a grand vision in mind! Visualize what you’d like your brand, Twitter account & followers to look like 5, or even 10 years down the road. What have you accomplished?
Remember that often a Twitter account grows because it’s connected to other channels of promotion (e.g. blogs, Facebook, videos). For example, take a look at the Twitter accounts of celebrities. Often they’re widely followed simply because that celebrity holds great influence outside of Twitter.
Offer Tweets that are valuable and useful.
Be realistic with your goals. If you’re in a niche with only 10,000 people who practice the craft, don’t be too stunned when only 5,000 people follow you after a few years time. Don’t, however, underestimate the power of growing and pushing the niche as a whole with the power of your Twitter account.
Tweet because you have an important message to share!
Love what you do.
Give more than you’re receiving!
Serve others.

The above are just a few suggestions I offer to the beginning Twitter user. More ideas abound everywhere!

“You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.” -Dale Carnegie

It took some time to fine-tune this new way of managing my Twitter account, and it’s continually evolving even today. Today you’ll find me striving to respond to every person that @mentions me, I thank others for their continued involvement and support & share content that I certainly hope is useful. I hope the Spirit of Thanksgiving I feel is evident in how I now manage my Twitter account.

If you have any of your own suggestions for a more majestic, grand Twitter approach; please add them to the comments of this post!

Let’s continue…

Twitter needs you to use the proper Tools!

I’ve used many tools for Twitter.

TweetAdder, Triberr, Tweepi, TweetDeck, HoostSuite, Buffer App.

The reason behind Twitter tools is to save some time in tedious tasks while giving you more time to do what’s most important. Connecting!

Now, if all you really wanted to do was grow your Twitter following (while suffering in quality) you could follow and unfollow (follow churning) until people started following back. Thus, giving you more followers. Twitter frowns upon this strategy, and as mentioned before, your brand is not going to benefit from this mass market method.

Trust me. I did that for a time.

The tool I used was TweetAdder. There was a time in my Twitter career when almost everything was automated. Hundreds were unfollowed and followed on a daily basis, auto tweets and quotes were sent out, and feeds of blogs I enjoyed were automatically turned into tweetable bits of text.

I wasn’t getting much out of the process. If Klout scores existed then, I’m sure mine would be next to null.

Fast forward to today, and I’m getting much more from Twitter all due to less automation.

I use a combination of tools. HootSuite, SocialOomph, Buffer App, Tweepi, Triberr and my iPhone.

Hootsuite allows me to easily manage multiple Twitter accounts, lists and search terms. What I love about Hootsuite is its simplicity (it does its job well) and the subscription is cheap. I also use the actual Twitter site for tweeting as well when I’m just using my @SmartBoyDesigns account.
I started using Buffer App this week. What can I say? I’m floored. I pay monthly for the Pro account (worth it) and it’s wonderful. It tweets at the best time and I’m able to save blogs and posts as tweets in one location. It’s lovely.
I use SocialOomph for one reason. Its followback function. I enjoy following back all those who follow me. I’ve been running into problems, however, of late. Due to too many people following me daily, the system has trouble keeping up. Currently looking at my options in fixing this problem.
Tweepi is the tool I use to find new tweeps to connect with and follow in my target niches of blogging, business, technology & making money online. The tool allows you to plugin search terms to find related accounts. At that point I follow, visit their blogs, comment, connect and network. It’s important to always have a flourishing stream of new Twitter users to follow and connect with. It keeps your followers fresh.
Triberr is what allows me to be syndicated to nearly 9 million Twitter followers. How does Triberr work? You’re invited into tribes and then content is tweeted and promoted from various users. Basically, you tweet their posts and they do the same for you. Luckily, I was able to support and become part in Triberr from its beginning. Let me know if you’re interested in an invite. I’d be happy to help you get involved.
My iPhone 4S has become crucial to my Twitter approach. I have a policy of replying to all @mentions (I do my utmost best) – and this helps me do so throughout the day, before bed & even while traveling. As long as I’m not driving of course!

There you have it! The tools I use to manage my current Twitter account. No secrets here! In later posts I’ll go into more depth of how I use each.

Total cost per month for these tools? $30

If you’re serious about growing your Twitter following (and saving time), you’ll see these monthly costs as a business investment versus a hindrance.

“Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” -Brian Tracy

Take the time to familiarize yourself with each tool, understand its uses, and then go full throttle in harnessing their power daily. Daily effort is the key to continued progress. Use these tools daily and not weekly. Therein lies their power.

Twitter loves an active, daily user.

Be patient. Twitter takes time.

Time is the great equalizer within Twitter.

Even with a brilliant product, high-traffic blog or fame in the real world – it’s difficult to attain a large Twitter following. We’re not talking celebrities here. Their brands are entirely different animals.

“The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply.” -Denis Waitley

I’ve been tweeting for almost four years now, so I can say it’s been a long road. As you’ve already noticed from this post, I’ve had my ups and downs.

I’ve shared in the mistakes. I’ve celebrated the success.

Nobody wants to hear it, but the truth of the matter is that it takes ample time to grow a solid Twitter following. Sorry.

There’s no overnight 100,000 Twitter followings (unless you pay for an established account or gather fake followers).
I don’t have a secret formula for getting you thousands of new followers every day.

You see, I’ve been tweeting for nearly four years. At a total of 1460 days, I’ve only been gaining an average of 71 visitors per day. Although it’s a faster gain rate than many, it’s still been a long process.

“Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time.” -Brian Tracy

During the entire year of 2010, I wasn’t online. I was serving as a service missionary in Colorado, and I didn’t have the option of even touching my Twitter account. It was stale. The interesting part of the time away, was that I still gained 10,000 followers. People were searching for related tweeters in their niches, and obviously came up with my account a few times. Just goes to show that it’s important to have a clearly defined Twitter bio!

And why do I tell you this story?

Building a Twitter following takes time.

What are you? Human?!

I feel this last section of the post could be summed up into a few words.

Be a person. Be human.

People want to follow and learn from others who care, are inspiring, share information & live life.

I have this odd hypothesis that you’re only as interesting online, as you are offline.

Whether it’s true or not – I believe it.

“It is not what we get. But who we become, what we contribute… that gives meaning to our lives.” -Tony Robbins

You may consider all this talk about “being human” to be fluffy and boring, but it works. Being a genuine human who cares about other’s needs really works in growing a brand. Especially on Twitter.

Trust me.

Although it may come across as pompous and pious, but I know people have chosen to follow me because I really, genuinely care about their businesses.

I strive to share information that will help the small business world, grow brands online and aide others in making proper business choices. People feel that I care about their business. You need to find that same passion in your own niche, and share caring information within your own sphere of responsibility.

Why? Because humans are gifted in the art of feeling.

Am I an active Tweeter? You better believe it!

I also know that people follow me because I’m an active tweeter.

I don’t have weeks where there’s no content being shared on my stream. There’s always something new to feast upon. People crave information, and your Twitter stream becomes a way to deliver that content to followers. They’ll learn from your thoughts, share you with friends – and you’ll see an influx of growth. Bam!

Some more ideas…

Thank people for sharing your material. Show that intense gratitude!
Engage in Follow Friday and share personal recommendations of users you admire.
Be so interesting, that people will have no choice but to follow you!
Share information so valuable, that others will find reason to share your Tweets.

These are just a few thoughts in becoming a stronger Twitter engager.

Many more ideas are contained within this blog, on the web and even in your mind! Take time daily, weekly and monthly to ponder ways to engage with your audience at a deeper level.

Seek for new ideas daily. They’ll help grow your Twitter account.

So how do I build Twitter followers in just a few words? By being an actively engaged human!

Some parting thoughts on getting more Twitter followers.

“If we don’t start, it’s certain we can’t arrive.” -Zig Ziglar

I could go on and on and on about how to be a better human on Twitter. How to care. How to connect. How to share.

At this point, however, I don’t want to bore you.

You’ve skimmed (or gobbled) over 2,000 words if you’ve made it this far. I’m quite certain you’ve read enough to start running with my thoughts.

It will take more than a single blog post to learn how to connect with others, because you must connect in your own way.

This post is a start.

By reading more blogs, learning, trying, failing and growing - you’ll really be on the road to success.

Remember: Don’t give up!

Your Twitter stream will grow. I know it. And if I know and believe in you, you sure better believe in yourself! Trust and believe in yourself enough to know that you’ll reach the people whom you need to reach.

Visualize them. Call them out from crowd.

Whether you operate a following of 10 or 250,000, know that the message you’re delivering is important…

…So share it well in the Twitter world, my friend!

Are you happy with the growth you’ve experienced from within your Twitter account? Do you want more Twitter followers? When will you be satisfied? When will enough be enough? Did you learn how to get more Twitter followers? Still need more information? Ask in the comments and I’d be happy to answer.