Squidblog

Last week we released Twttrstrm, the very addicting Squidoo-Twitter power punch. Here are a few tips for keeping your Twttrstrms (and your followers) on their toes.

0. Start here.

1. Make a clear, compelling, specific statement or question.

2. Have a point of view.

3. Publish your Twttrstrm page (yes, it’s a Squidoo lens). Then tweet your question to kick off the conversation.

4. Don’t be shy about asking friends to retweet it for you.

5. Curate the discussion — reply to feedback. Don’t just reply; amplify.

6. Find another influential Twitterer on your topic and @reply them to see what they think of your twttrstrm.

7. Fill in the “liner notes” around your Twttrstrm page — flesh out the topic at hand with videos, links, pictures. That’s what the rest of the lens structure is for; background on the question.

8. Keep tweeting the Twttrstrm, and kindly retweet some of your followers’ best replies. Better yet, invite them to make their own Twttrstrms and reach their followers with it. Snowball a go go.

9. Know if your Twttstrm has a shelf life. Your “Best line in the Inaugural speech” Twttrstrm is probably over and done (but a fun time capsule for later). Whereas the “What’s for dinner tonight?” Twttrstrm could keep going for a year, if enough people enjoy swapping daily stories about steaks and taters!

10. Here’s a fun one: start a game that brings the power of Squidoo and Twitter together. A daily treasure hunt. A twitterhaiku contest. A “tweet your favorite charity lenses” drive. Get your followers engaged and spreading your tweets (and therein your Twttrstrm lens) and you not only get more traffic; you earn more influence.

11. Lucky number 11: Be interesting. Be useful. Imagine what body of feedback and answers would be helpful and content-rich and fascinating to have preserved in one place on your page.

BONUS: Don’t wait for someone else to run something interesting. You do it.