If you're wondering how to make money online using Twitter, then check out a number of Twitter monetization strategies you can adopt. These different approaches will depend on your goals, the kind of audience you attract in Twitter, the quality and number of followers you have, the nature and timing of your tweets, and the products or services you offer.

First of all, what is your goal in Twitter? It is to make a quick buck, or to develop relationships? Is it to grow an audience, or to market something in 140 characters or less?

When you try Twitter yourself, you will discover that you will eventually adjust your goals to match the audience you eventually do attract in Twitter. Sometimes, you simply cannot control (or you won't have time to effectively control) the kind of people who end up following you in Twitter.

Yes, you can also go beyond the concept of "followers." Sometimes, people will RT or retweet your posted Twitter messages, and even people who are not your followers will end up seeing your message. In some cases, people who retweet your messages might not even be your followers.

For purposes of this article, however, let's focus on followers.

If you are attracting mostly Twitter beginners who are interested in Twitter marketing, then you can post affiliate marketing offers. In some Twitter accounts I've seen, people mix manually posted messages with automatically posted tweets.

The manually posted tweets assure you that there truly is a person behind the Twitter account, and that is it not just some kind of bot auto-posting feeds. These tweets can range from "what am I doing right now" messages, to tips or even links to interesting, useful or entertaining websites.

The automated portion usually presents offers to a particular crowd. This part is automated because, based on tests, there are certain times of the day (or night) when posted tweets elicit some form of impulse buying behavior.

It so happens that during those golden dollar moments, the owner of the Twitter account is probably asleep or busy doing something else. That's why he or she resorts to automated methods.

Here are examples of items promoted in their tweets:

  • Twitter follower boosting systems
  • Online surveys
  • Twitter backgrounds
  • Watch TV on your computer software

Based on the list above, you can probably guess that the target market here would be Twitter marketing newbies, or people who search for entertainment or even make money online opportunities (that might not necessarily be Twitter-based).

Some affiliates who have claimed that they have earned commissions by promoting such offers in Twitter have cited figures of around $230 per month. I haven't seen actual proof from these people (who have over 25,000 followers in Twitter), but a $200/month figure is not that far off from some bloggers (who have 1,000 visitors a day). Still, it is better to get proof, right?

Others, on the other hand, have made fantastic claims of average earnings of over $100 a day, but have not presented verifiable proof.

There are groups who offer products or services in the $900 to $1800 range, and who have over 40,000 followers in Twitter, so their earnings claim of over $100 a day is not too far-fetched.

Assuming only 0.5 percent of their followers click on a URL promoted in Twitter, and visit their blog only once in a month, that's 200 visitors. And if only 2 percent of those 200 go on and buy the $1,000 monthly service, that's $4,000 in monthly recurring income thanks to Twitter. Still, it is more prudent to get proof. (Anyway, that group is not selling any Twitter marketing system; they're selling their high value outsourcing service.)

I have seen a blogger who averages around $2,000 a month because the product offered is indeed a high ticket product (price range: $42,000 to $104,000 per product). So even if the blog gets less than 200 visitors a day, the average monthly commission of $2,000 is reasonable. Please note that I use the word average, because in some months there are zero sales.

In other words, when you see claims of high earnings in Twitter,
especially when someone has less than 15,000 followers and earns less
than $50 for each product sold, please ask for verifiable proof, if
you're interested in joining that particular kind of Twitter marketing
system, that is.

If you want to make money online in Twitter, then look at the market and find out what kind of people you can attract and show your tweets to. Then analyze what high ticket product or service you can offer to them (which they are willing and able to buy), and go ahead and offer it to them.

If you offer it to them directly (i.e., via your tweets), that means you're going for impulse shopping. On the other hand, if you offer it indirectly (i.e., via your blog, whose URL you promote in your Twitter profile but not in your tweets), then you are aiming for high ticket sales.

Keep an eye out for the differences in style:

  • Frequent promos posted in tweets (low ticket items), versus
  • Low or hardly any promotional tweets (high ticket items sold via the blog).

From there, you will get a better feel of whether an earnings claim is reasonable or just a gimmick. Either way, do your due diligence and ask for verifiable proof.

Have fun in your search for monetization strategies that work in Twitter! :-)

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"Make Money With Twitter?"
First Posted: August 13, 2009 | Filed in: Make Money Online

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