Why a Twitter Primer for Artists?

I decided to write this e-book to give artists a basic user manual for Twitter.
The goal is to give you some guidance on the functions of Twitter as well as
answer some of the questions I hear artists asking about Twitter. Keep in mind
that Twitter continues to go through updates and changes to its features and
functions which means this manual will need to be updated at some point down
the road. The next edition will be based on feedback I get from you.

I’ve tried to keep it as simple as possible so that it is easy to read and helps
you decide if Twitter is right for you. I wrote it with the same attitude as I
would writing a friend who asked for some information and advice on Twitter.
It is by no means an all inclusive tome of knowledge on Twitter.

If Twitter came in a box this would be what is often called “The Quick Start
Guide.”

Please email me any questions or feedback you have so that I can make Twitter
Primer for Artists Second Edition that much better. You can send those emails
to twitterbook@artpalaver.com. Or you can offer me feed back right on Twitter
at www.Twitter.com/DaryleDickens.

Thank you for taking the time to download this little e-book. I hope you find it
useful.

Live to create,

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative

Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to
Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California,
94105, USA.
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My History with Twitter.

I first created an account and logged onto Twitter way back in January 2008
and since then I have quit using Twitter, started again, thought it was stupid,
thought it was great, made a lot of mistakes, and learned a lot of lessons. I’ve
also read many blog posts, articles, and books about Twitter. What that means
is I am simply an experienced user, not an expert and I will not claim to be
one. But I think I’ve learned enough and heard enough questions from artists
that I am able to write this free e-book to help you navigate the Twittersphere.

Why Twitter can be useful.

Before you invest too much of your time reading this manual I thought I would
address the question of “Why use Twitter?” Like many things in life, Twitter
can add value to your life or it can be a complete waste of time, it is all about
how you use it. The best thing Twitter can do for you is connect you with
people. People all over the world in all walks of life, people that you would
otherwise never have a chance to connect with. For an artist this can mean
connecting you with other artists for support, galleries for representation,
bloggers for information, and collectors for sales just to name a few.

Twitter is a way to build an online network of people and over time that can
become a very large and very powerful network. As you share yourself and your
art with your Twitter followers you will gain fans of your work, people who feel
they know you, people who like you, and more importantly people who trust
you. And when you have trust you’re much closer to making a sale. All this is
possible through Twitter if you know how to use it.

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The Basics of Twitter.

When you first visit Twitter.com this is what you will find:

Without having an account or signing in to Twitter you can really feel the pulse
of what is happening from this page. By using the search bar found in the
center of the screen you can find out what is being said about any given topic.
This search works instantly meaning as soon as someone publishes a “tweet” or
comment it will show up in searches. This can be most useful when you’re
looking for information on a late breaking news story or something that is
happening right now. It is also helpful in finding like minded souls in the arts.
Type in “oil paint” and you will see who is talking about oil paint right now.

The lower half of the home page shows all the “trending topics” or what
people are talking about the most. The first line is what people are talking
about most that very minute. The second line is what is most popular that day,
and the third is for the week’s current hot topics.

Even if you do not feel Twitter is for you and you do not create an account it
can still be a useful search tool and source of real time information. But since
this is a manual on using Twitter as an artist let’s move on to creating your
account.

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Creating Your Twitter Account.

The first step to begin your Twitter adventure is the big green button that says
“Sign Up Now”:

Clicking that will get you here:

I know some people are a bit nervous about the idea of Twitter. I have a friend
who states that “Twitter creeps me out” every time Twitter comes up in

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conversation. If you find yourself in this boat and you are not quite sure about
it but you want to kick the tires a bit I’d suggest not using your full name here.
Maybe use your initials or a Twitter pen name. I won’t tell.

After signing up Twitter will give you the option to search your email contact
list for people you already know who might be on Twitter:

Beginning your Twitter experience by connecting with people you already know
can be a great way to start but I highly recommend holding off on this when
you’re first signing up. It is an option you always have on Twitter and is more
effective after you have your account set up. To skip this option look for the
tiny link found at the bottom of the screen.

Be careful of this next screen!:

It is natural to just want to hit that big “Finish” button on this screen. When
you do this you will automatically follow a list of celebrities and organizations
that Twitter deems worthy of your follow. I’d suggest looking through the list

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and selecting those you want to follow or simply find the tiny link at the
bottom to “skip the page.” (I believe in being very intentional about who you
follow and who you let follow you.) Skipping the page means you do not follow
anyone and…

Ta-Da! You are now on Twitter! Your blank canvas awaits:

From this screen you can either write your first tweet, search for friends, or
hook up your cell phone to your Twitter account. But before you start tweeting
like a bird on a spring morning let’s get your oriented a bit more.

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Twitter terminology
If you have already heard people talking about Twitter you’ve probably
overheard all sorts of funny sounding terms that make you want to giggle. A
key to understanding a new culture is learning the language so let’s take a look
at some of the basic words thrown around the world of Twitter. (I’ve tried to
list them in order of use.)

Tweet: The term for updates on Twitter. They must be 140 characters or
less. And though the text above the box prompts you with the question “What
are you doing?” a tweet can be anything you want it to be. The number in the
upper right side lets you know how many characters you have left in your
tweet. And Twitter keeps track of how many times you have tweeted in the
upper right side of your Twitter page.

Reply: A way to respond to someone on Twitter. When you move your cursor
over other people’s tweets in your tweet stream you will notice a little gray
arrow. Clicking on that arrow will automatically put that users name in your
text entry field with an @ symbol. Like so…

ReTweet or RT: Tweeting someone else’s tweet. This is done when you want
to share something you read and liked with your network. And it is also one of
the highest forms of compliments on Twitter. To retweet someone you simple
start your tweet with capital RT followed by a cut and paste of the person’s
tweet. Most 3rd party Twitter sites and software make RTing very simple.

Direct Message or DM: A private message sent to another user that only they
can see. But you can only DM someone who is already following you. Twitter
also sends you an email when you receive a DM. (You can opt-out of the emails
under Settings >> Notices.)

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Following: The Twitter users whose tweets show up in your Twitter stream.
The number of people you are following is noted in the upper right area of your
Twitter page.

Followers: Twitter users who are following your tweets. Every time you send
an update they see it in their Twitter stream. Your number of followers is also
noted in the upper right area of your Twitter page.

Mentions: Anytime someone on Twitter includes a Twitter username in their

update. Clicking on your username on the right side menu will show you every
time your name has been mentioned on Twitter by anyone whether you are
following them or not.

Favorites: A bookmark of any tweet you’d like to save. Moving your cursor over
a tweet will reveal a small gray star, clicking that will add it to your favorites.
Your list of favorites can be found on the menu to the right side of your Twitter
stream.

It should be noted that your favorites are available to be viewed by anyone.

Click on someone else’s Twitter name to be taken to their page and find the
“favorites” link on the right menu to know what your friends are bookmarking.

Trending Topics: A constantly updated list of what is being talked about the
most on Twitter. Clicking on one of the topics on the right side menu bar will
show you the most current tweets about that topic.

Block: Removes a user from your Twitter stream and also removes your updates
from their Twitter stream. (If you just don’t want to see someone else’s stream
you can also unfollow, which is less drastic.)

Private Account: This setting hides your updates from everyone except those
who you approve to follow you. By default Twitter accounts are set to public
and anyone can read your updates, the privacy setting allows you protect your
content.

Hashtags or #: A simple way to categorize your update so that it can be found

by other users interested in that topic. Add the hashtag to the word you want
to be a category (#art). Also a good way to search for topics you are interested
in.

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Setting up your Twitter account like a pro

Remember after you signed up for Twitter I said your blank canvas awaits? You
wouldn’t show off a blank canvas to the world would you? Of course not. It is a
good idea to get your Twitter account set up before you start showing it off to
the world. Doing this and following these steps will put you ahead of most
artists and people using Twitter. And will make your Twitter experience more
effective and more enjoyable.

This is all done through “settings” which is found on the menu in the top right
of your Twitter home page. Clicking that gets you here:

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The easiest way to get everything squared away is to go through each page in
your settings. Your name, username, and email should already be there from
when you signed up. You do have the option of changing all of these on Twitter
anytime you’d like. Though be careful when changing your username because
that will also change your unique Twitter URL and may cause some links out
there to break.

More info URL: Enter your website, blog, Etsy shop, or any website you’d like
to direct people to when they want to know more about you. This can also be
changed at anytime. This is a great way to drive traffic to your artist website.
You do have the option to leave it blank if you do not wish to share a site with
the Twitter community.

It is good practice to put some thought into this URL and also to make sure
where you are sending people is ready for them. I always check out the website
people post on their profile when I am deciding to follow them or not.

One Line Bio: Here you get the pleasure of writing about yourself in 160
characters or less. Twitter was kind enough to allow 20 more characters here
than in your updates. Put some thought into this as well because these 160
characters are also a deciding factor for someone when they are thinking about
following you or not.

As an artist you could put a few words about your medium, your style, your
common subjects, and than just a dash about you.

Oil painter of surreal landscapes and buildings of the Southwest US.

Mother of two who can’t say no to chocolate.

Black and white portrait photographer that travels the world in pursuit
of the perfect image. Canon guy through and through.

Both the examples are well under the 160 character limit so as you can see you
should have no problem letting people know a bit about you in your Twitter
profile. Just be sure to include something here. Leaving your profile blank will
not encourage people to follow you.

Location: Most people put the city they are living in. Your location is a good
way for people around you to find your Twitter account. I often check out
other people who have Fort Collins, CO listed as their location.

But this can also be a reason to be a bit vague about your location if privacy is
a concern of yours. You can also just put your state, your country, your planet,
or a smart ass answer, or just leave it blank if your worried about stalkers.

Protect my Tweets: Clicking this box will set your account to private so that
only those you allow will see your updates.

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All these fields are under your “Account” tab in the settings menu. The next
tab on the menu is “Password” and this is where you go if you need change
your password.

The next option on the menu is “Devices” and this is where you enter your
mobile phone number if you’d like to interact with Twitter through your phone.

Under the “Notices” you can select which emails you would like to receive
from Twitter. Receiving the new follower emails can be a good way to connect
with your new followers in a timely manner. In time you might want to turn off
your DM email notification because DMs can be a source of spam.

“Picture” in the settings menu is where you upload the photo that becomes
your square face on Twitter. Ideally you’ll use a good photo of yourself for this
so people can connect a face with your tweets. Though many shy artists also
use an image of their work. Use what you are comfortable with.

(If you need to do some digital photo editing but don’t have the software you
can use sites like www.photoshop.com, www.pixlr.com, or www.splashup.com,
to do free editing right in your web browser.)

“Design” is your last option on the settings page. This is where you change the
background image and the colors of your account. You can use any one of the
sixteen backgrounds Twitter has provided or upload your own.

To stand out I highly recommend uploading your own background. This can be a
great way to show off you and your work as well as offer some more
information about your work. I have found an image that is 1267x895 works
well in most browsers. Be ready to upload you background and discover some
tweaking is needed in order to get the look you are after. And it might look
different on different screens.

A good option for many artists is to simply upload an image of their work or a
collage of their work. Whatever you do try to get away from the default
Twitter backgrounds.

Now what?
Okay so you’re on Twitter. What next? Remember that at its heart Twitter is a
people connector. And that is how you should think of it and how you should
use it. Your goal is to join the conversation, be yourself, meet people, make
connections, and then create fans of your work.

Twitter can best be thought of as a cocktail party with millions of people in

attendance and when you are starting out you only know a few of them. And
just like a cocktail party you meet new people either through the friends you
already have or you simply walk up and introduce yourself. But when you walk

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up to that person you have not met the first words out of your mouth would not
be “Look at my art and buy it.” Which is a tempting tactic on Twitter and one I
see many people trying.

A better strategy is to naturally bring up the topic of your work as you go about
your tweeting. Just as you would do at that cocktail party. And mention it in
ways that do not have to do with sales.

“Another morning spent working on this portrait’s tricky eyes. Commissions

like this are always a bit more stressful.”

“There is magic in watching a photo I’ve been Photoshopping for hours slowly
exit the Epson.”

“1st draft of the 1st chapter done. Time for that latte I promised myself.”

All these examples talk about your art and the fact that you’re an artist
without hitting your followers over the head. They also leave out a bit of
information that your followers may reply and ask you about. Who is the
portrait of? How often do you do commissions? What is the photo of? Is
Photoshopping really a verb? What is the book about? Where are you getting
your latte? Through these types of tweets you will connect with people and
spur on conversations. A much better way to build a fan base that leads to
buyers.

Keep it simple, be yourself, have fun, seek friends and not sales.
That is the best way for an artist to be on Twitter.

I hope this little primer helps you get started on Twitter. The best way to learn
Twitter is by using Twitter. But do not feel obligated to using Twitter. Just
tweet when you have something to say or someone to reply to. I’d also
recommend not staying logged into Twitter for too long in an attempt to read
every post that comes across your stream. Login in, catch up a bit, throw out a
few tweets, then log off and go about your day. But most of all have fun, be
social, and make some new friends.

Please drop me a line with your questions and experiences on using Twitter
from as an artist.

Thanks,

Daryle@ArtPalaver.com

P.S. Here are a few 3rd party Twitter applications that can help you better use
Twitter.

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3rd party applications

Twitter is a very simple website, some would say too simple. Which is why
many other websites and software have been created to support Twitter and
enable you to use it in different ways. This is a list of just a few with a brief
description of what they do. It is by no means all of the applications available.
Just by being on Twitter you will discover new ones through other people’s
tweets.

1. TweetDeck:

“TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with what’s

happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter,
Facebook, MySpace and more.”
This is software that you run separate from your internet browser. Tweetdeck
takes a bit of time to configure but once you have it dialed in it is a good way
to manage your Twitter account.

Find it at www.TweetDeck.com

2. Hootsuite:

“The new tabbed layout takes Twitter categories to new heights.

Organize and customize your Tweeting experience. Within each tab, you
are able to create up to 6 columns. Drag and drop your tabs for easy
organizing.”
This is a browser based Twitter manager. This means there is nothing to
download or add to your computer. And you can also log into your account on
any computer. I personally use Hootsuite and find it to be the simplest and
most effective way to manage Twitter.

Find it at www.HootSuite.com

3. Destroy Twitter:

“DestroyTwitter is a compact though robust Twitter application built to

run on Mac, Windows, and Linux using Adobe AIR. It consists of a series
of canvases that constantly update to keep tweets up-to-date using
notifications that appear when a new tweet arrives.”
Also software that you download and install on your computer but much
simpler than Tweetdeck.

Find it at www.DestroyTwitter.com

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