Have Your Twitter Followers Already Informed You That You’re Annoying?

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If you’re using Twitter, you’re probably getting tens if not hundreds new followers per day. Of course, there is no doubt that you can’t greet them personally (or at least not all of them). So what can you do then?

Dewald Pretorius, creator of TweetLater, came up with a solution to this pesky little problem. TweetLater allowed you to greet every single one of your followers with an automated welcome message. All in all it was cool at first, but as Twitter grew and developed, auto DMs became a major pain amongst Tweeple around the world.

Today, when you follow someone, chances are that you will receive some kind of a welcome message. Everyone’s got one. And more likely than not – you’re not an exception either. However, what most auto DM lovers do not realize that they do more damage than good.

“WayneParksSrI just gave you “peace and happiness “! Check it out: http://bit.ly/16eEC3 You should send me a gift back ”

Now this one didn’t seem bad at first, however within an hour I received those three:

“raz4125I just gave you “Pelau”! Check it out: http://bit.ly/5vbiL You should send me a gift back ”
“LindaTygenhofI just gave you “High Five”! Check it out: http://bit.ly/2l6rRR You should send me a gift back ”
“starr52I just gave you “Beach Island”! Check it out: http://bit.ly/i6Qb0 You should send me a gift back ”

How generic of them. Besides, why in the hell do I need a beach island and a Pelau? WTF is a Pelau anyway?

Now, here’s another kind of auto DMs I receive but don’t get:

“TedMakovskyHere’s a heads up on a Incredible Internet Marketing Training Program that will help you advertise your business… http://bit.ly/tl2R1”

“Did I ask you about an incredible Internet Marketing Training Program, Ted? I don’t recall, do you?“

Can you see where I am going with this? Did Ted even bother to ask whether I am into internet marketing? Maybe I am retired from marketing and I am into deer hunting? Maybe internet marketing is responsible for my dog’s death and I hate it… WHO KNOWS?!

However, I wish Ted was the only one who is ignorant enough to send those kinds of DMs on Twitter. There are thousands of people just like Ted that make the same mistake over and over again. They annoy their followers by trying to help out with a problem that doesn’t necessarily exist.

Ted and his crew are shooting blind. They hope to reach an audience by spreading their message wider. But they go about it in the wrong way… the WORST way. Chances are that most of Ted’s followers are indeed interested in an Incredible Internet Marketing Training Program, but did Ted bother to ASK them? He just shoved it in their face ASSUMING they are.

Now here’s a guy who gets it:

“docmagi How many times have you received one of those messages that try to sell you something, Hello is all”

That kind of message instantly made me want to check out his Twitter profile and find out more about him. This message stands out. It is different. It implies that this guy actually cares about the people who follow him and doesn’t want to risk being thought of as a Jackass by spamming his followers with affiliate offers and free gifts.

Here’s a selection of four PROPER ways to auto DM your followers.

Greeting. Greet the follower. Ask him to tell you a little bit about himself. Spark a connection.
Explain What You’re Tweeting About. Be genuine. That way your followers can decide whether to stick around.
Propose To Connect On Other Social Networks. You can ask your followers to befriend you on Facebook and Subscribe to your YouTube channel.
Thank For Following. By thanking your followers for following you encourage them to stay in touch. You show them you care.

You can either choose to go with one of these options or to mix them up to create a more powerful alternative – it’s up to you. But whatever you do, keep affiliate offers and free gifts out of it.

Do you have some Auto Welcome Messaging tactics to share? Leave us a comment!

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

1 R.W. Jackson August 23, 2009 at 15:23

It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed away from twitter for so long. That and I really don’t like to hear about people using the bathroom.

I’ve finally jumped in though. YOu can add me with my username newsnotion

I don’t have any autoresponse either…at least not yet, though I might start giving people some pelau.
R.W. Jackson´s last blog ..Promoting Your Money Making Blog — Part 1

2 Igor Kheifets August 23, 2009 at 18:22: Yeah, Give ‘em some Pelau!! LMAO!

3 Patrice August 29, 2009 at 02:45

Yes, I have received some comments from my followers on twitter that I am very annoying. Thanks for the tips you shared about the proper ways to send an auto direct message to my followers.

Very informative post, keep it up!

4 Sweton Fleming September 5, 2009 at 07:37