Log into TweetGrid (see my last post for more about TweetGrid).

Type in your main core keywords. Lets say they’re “Knight Armor”, “Shining Armor”, “Paladin Armor”, and so on.

Find out what related conversations people are having right now (you get topical, recent and potentially “hot” negative keywords this way) that AREN’T associated with your core campaign keywords.

For example, you might be advertising display armor, but your search pulls up computer games which involve the “Paladin” class (hundreds of thousands of searches a month).

Add those words to your negative keyword list.

The same process of course can be used to find new keywords…

Are you looking into potential niches for affiliate marketing?

Have you got a product idea that you’re not sure will fly?

Head over to Tweet Grid. Select a 3 by 3 box (click on the image at the top of the home page). And then type in 9 terms that relate to your idea, niche, or business opportunity.

Tweet Grid's Title Graphic

 Simply click on any of the sizes that appear on the header image – 1×1, 1x 3, 2×2, etc… and you’ll get the appropriate grid size.

If you were researching the widget consulting industry, you might type in a variety of keywords to “listen in” on people’s twitter conversations that include that particular keyword.

So, if I type in “widget consultation” into one of my boxes, I might overhear a conversation about a negative experience involving a widget consultation, or I might see someone advertising on twitter for their own services.

Or perhaps I’d type in “widget 2.0″ and see that many users have been experiencing terrible problems with widget 2.0, and that you could fulfil a need.

I have websites in the World of Warcraft niche and routinely monitor “World of Warcraft” on Tweet Deck. Its amazing how many times you’ll hear girlfriends, wives, boyfriends and husbands bemoaning the amount of time their significant other spends on World of Warcraft. 

Or maybe you want to follow just one Tweeter’s updates, such as Barak Obama, or Jonathon Weston… *cough*. Simply enter their name into the box, and whenever anyone mentions them, or they post an update themselves, you’ll be informed.

Handy.

If you’re new to Twitter, and want to get the most out of it, for any purpose, do this:

1. Make an account at www.twitter.com 

2. Use your real name, especially if tweeting for business.

3. Download and use either Tweet Deck, or Twhirl. I like Twhirl.

4. Go to Tweet Later, and configure an auto reciprocal follow, and an auto “hi” message for new followers.

5. Go to Tweet Grid, setup a 3×3 grid & put in all the keywords/topics you’re interested in.

6. Whenever someone tweets a topic of interest to you, click their name and follow them.

7. If they said something you could comment on, do so. Other searchers will then follow you.

8. Start sending out tweets on your own topics of interest, at least 2 a day. Use the keywords you used earlier for your own posts.

9. Follow the top 10 Twitter users. Reply with value on their tweets when you see one.

10. Don’t just promote yourself. Be useful, helpful, insightful.

11. Follow me at www.twitter.com/jonathonweston (teehee).

Using this exact technique I’ve gone from 20 followers to 150 in 1 week. 100 x 52 weeks = 5200 followers (soon I hope).

Do you have any other tips for a quick start guide?

Well, after thinking on this for a few minutes, my brain figured out that I needed to let you know why I’m writing this blog. What am I trying to acheive, who am I talking with, and why.

First of all is the why. I’m starting this blog because Twitter made me. That’s right, its all Twitter’s fault. Having such a large number of people following my tweets and carrying on a conversation with me made me think its about time to really save what I and others are writing so its not lost in the twitterverse (which is a bit like the land of lost socks), forever.

This blog is primarily here to converse with anyone and everyone intersted in marketing.

I find marketing such a fascinating thing…

And I find it such a powerful, challenging, and sometimes soul searching exercise that sometimes I need to go outside for air. It quite literally can be used for “good” or “evil”, and the line is always blurry. This just makes it more interesting to me, and makes me question exactly what is really “going on”.

I also love marketing because it lets me help people that I’d like to help. 

They are:

1. Small business people.

2. People thinking of starting a business.

3. Anyone who’d like to make a few extra dollars online.

4. Anyone who’d like to live a better life and lifestyle.

If you’re any of those people, why not shoot me a comment right now, on this barely alive blog, and let me know what you love about marketing?

Warmest regards,
Jonathon Weston