3 Tips for Audience Development

I have been promoting, not writing. Trying to work on audience development before I post anything else.  I have a backlog of material with that being said, so I want to try and deliver a few nuggets of wisdom that I have come across. I have mentioned some before, but they are worthy for startup bloggers. So here is the latest installment with 3 tips for audience development.

1. If you are not using photos in your blog post and tweets and Facebook posts...stop. Don't do anything else until you check out Canva or PicMonkey or Snappa so that you look like you care and create strong visual content. I don't mean that harshly, but there is nothing worse than opening up a blog post and there is a plain old picture off of your phone with no border, enhancement, nothing. OR worse...I saw one that the writer did not even rotate and it was posted sideways. So why would I want to follow you if you can't even be bothered to care? Mine are by no means a work of art, but I am trying. I read and try to imitate what works for huge successful visual experts like Emily la Grange. She talks about successful, cohesive images that brand you so that people are able to know to whom the image belongs to without having to read it. I have mentioned her before and you really must follow her for all of her weekly tips. She runs various platform tips each day. Here is a sample of hers below from her twitter, property of Emily la Grange. This image holds her fact in her tweet and provides data. People love data. I myself am data driven. This one in particular is a powerful fact that we as bloggers, need to take into consideration.

2. I keep saying this and I keep seeing it not being done...have you defined your audience? If you are a mom blogger, for instance since that is my primary audience, who in particular are you targeting? You can do a mom blog as a broad spectrum, but you'll never make a dent in the traffic. Are you a breast feeding mom who is vegan? Now you are talking a little sweeter to readers; this is niche marketing. We love the occasional anecdotes about family, but really, we don't need your quirky stories all the time. Give me something I need. Try surveying your readers for what matters most to them and post topics based on your readership's answers. We discuss this at length in my interview on the Huffington Post with now, #1 Global Digital Marketer, Sam Hurley. Sam points out, "Obviously the deeper you go, the narrower your audience…but also the more engaged..." You have to figure out what makes your audience tick and why they should choose you to read
Here is an example of both a creative image with data and my niche target:

This sums up my main niche: I am a data driven growth hacker for mom bloggers. Bam! That's my niche. So I tell you in my visuals what my article is about; statistically why you need a more defined niche. Have fun at the park you say chasing the ducks...great we do that, too. What makes you stand out? Did you have to breast feed there and what obstacles did you face? Do you have a special needs child that you do particular interactions with so as to provide the correct outside stimulation or socialization while you are there and how that may help others? Now were are cooking.

3. Lastly, please for the love of all that is holy use HASHTAGS!!!! If you don't have a large twitter following, and even if you do, it can't be searched by someone looking for that topic if you have no hashtags.  Example: say you only have 143 followers and you post a tweet with no hashtags...that is all of the people who will see your topic.  Get creative and find hashtags trending or what is relevant to the post and use it. Don't use more than three or so (use your judgment but it's not Instagram), but use them!!!!! I can't stress that enough. I say it a lot in my posts, but I still see great blog posts that no one saw because they aren't using Twitter effectively. I actually read all that I tweet out because I hate it when people post stuff that is broken or no longer up and was it really helpful or just the same ole regurgitated crap from 800 other people? I like to know it before I share it. The same thing for Instagram, but there you can use up to 30 hashtags. I have gotten lots of audience build up by changing up my relevance of posts with hashtags to get in front of more people.

"When someone clicks on a hashtag on any of these social networks, they’ll automatically be shown all other public posts that include the same hashtag. This is incredibly valuable for a small business because it can expose your content to a wider audience, and help your business get found. If someone does a search on a social network, or Google, for a hashtag you used, your post — and potentially even your profile — can be found by someone you never would have reached without hashtags". See this and the full article by Constant Contact on their blog, here.

I am not trying to say that I am the most perfect at this, but at 4500 followers and steady growth, I feel I am doing something right. But you have to read. You have to research. Twitter is a fickle beast as is Google and Facebook and you have to stay up to date on algorithm changes so that your posts get seen first and foremost. To be successful at blogging, you have to have a game plan, not just throw out lot of posts. Again, read that interview I linked to above on the Huffington Post; a game plan all devised and ready to go...but you have to read it.

Interview on Blogging with Sam Hurley|Recipe for Success

In defining who you are on social media, networking is key as much here as it is in any type of business. I recently had the privilege of interviewing a leader in social media marketing. The ultimate digital marketer and entrepreneur, Sam Hurley, Top Ranked Digital Marketer, Owner and Founder of Optim-Eyez (more below).  A powerful social media influencer, SEO and Content Marketing expert whose tips I implement regularly with proven success.  Sam’s knowledge and demeanor can help anyone, anywhere. Sam has been featured on the likes of Adobe, Search Engine Watch, Salesforce, MarketingProfs and StartupNation while casually popping up on the BBC, Global News, Social Media Examiner, John Rampton and The Next Web to name just a few.

Anyone can ask the stereotypical questions regarding Sam’s background and knowledge; I could not go down that road as you can find that information anywhere online about him.  This would an interview on blogging, tailored toward my parenting blogger readers. It was with great honor that I am granted this insight on that which he has to offer.  Please read on to see how Sam’s business recipe for success and dominating the digital marketing industry has formulated huge growth for me that I am very proud to share.

In an interview you gave in January of this year, you spoke on influencers, including yourself, and how interacting with top influencers can become a win/win for both parties.  I put that theory to the test and only one other does moderate interaction…one other than you, but you blow it out of the water. Fostering these relationships takes time.

I want a little deeper answer as to how do you manage with everything else you do and why do you do it so consistently? Being ranked the #2 Digital Marketer, you certainly have bigger fish to fry. Why help the little fish; why an interview with a virtual no one in your world?

SH: I am a firm believer in both humility and karma. I see it so often – ‘influencers’ who never engage with their audience or take the time to help anyone out. Is that really somebody who is influential?

You only get out what you put in. That is the same for life in general. I’m so laser-focused on what I want to achieve and won’t stop until I’m there at my destination, no matter how much work it takes…and by then I’ll have created more destinations to reach!

But how can anybody arrive at their destinations without the support of others? Very rarely. Relationships are the key to success. It’s often been said that ‘it’s not what you know; it’s who you know’ and this is certainly true to some degree.

You can’t make this journey alone and everybody you come across has their own sparkle that becomes mutually beneficial. Each person can help in ways the next (or previous) can’t. So, tot this up and 500 connections equals 500 unique opportunities. Next, compound that with the connections you’re likely to make as a result of that initial relationship...

You can see how these bonds quickly grow to become powerful networks which can be leveraged both ways – and that is important. It must be a two way street. Give to receive, but never expect to receive. Just like birthdays!

Back to your question…how do I manage it all? With great difficulty! It is extremely time consuming to maintain relationships and grow presence simultaneously, in addition to the work which directly pays an income.

That said; the direct income is always a result of the relationships I nurture. So I shall continue!

Not your usual line of questioning, because I know you get asked all of the stereotypical things about content and digital marketing; we know what you do and that you do it well.  I am taking this from the view point of the Average Joe like me who is trying to build and grow on a restricted budget or even no budget at all, looking for free tools and such.  That is who my readership is catered to; bloggers with families out there starting up. If you had to tell them 3 key things about firing up their blog to build their audience, what would it be?

     SH: Unfortunately, nothing in life is free these days. Be prepared to spend to create something of real value. Don’t start your domain as newblog.genericfreedomainservice.net – this will instantly put people off visiting or reading. Buy a domain, fast hosting and a mobile responsive theme. Ideally, you’d pay a web designer to create a custom site. It’s all about credibility and this needs to be presented at every touch point. If that means being patient for a few more weeks until you’ve saved the funds, so be it. Mediocre creation will give you mediocre return and only lead to frustration further down the line.

         Secondly, ensure you enjoy your blog and offer something of real value to your audience. Do you enjoy writing about the topic you have chosen, or are you trying to write 100 articles on dishwashers because you heard you can make a lot of money through affiliate marketing in that industry? If it’s the latter, this will show through and you will find it difficult to gain the interest of others if you aren’t feeling it yourself.

       Thirdly, take the time to grow your personal brand and email list. A personal brand is      infinitely more powerful than any faceless company – let your character shine through. People  want to listen to people, not companies. Growing a social media presence will in turn generate  interest in your blog. Guest blogging for other websites will greatly aid your notoriety so I also  recommend pursuing this. With a clear call to action on your site, you will begin to capture email  addresses to build your list – I can’t stress enough the importance of this. Nobody can take your  list away. Google or Twitter could change in a heartbeat…

I see a lot of bloggers out there not defining their target audience, what tips can you provide these parent bloggers who are my key audience?  For example, you helped me define my niche better to focus on the growth for the mom blogger, not just a mom blogger, and I have seen great success.

SH: It’s just as important to ensure your audience exists as it is to ensure you enjoy what you write.

For instance, you might really love dark green fencing. However, you may be the only one…

Use a combination of Google Keyword Planner and Rank Tank to confirm there is search volume on Google for your chosen niche. I thoroughly explained this entire process in one of my articles, including lots of technical SEO tips which will be helpful to anyone starting a website.

When selecting a niche, think of it as levels of granularity.

- A mom blog – millions of them

- A growth hacking mom blogger – hundreds?

- A data-driven growth hacking mom blogger – one?

Obviously the deeper you go, the narrower your audience…but also the more engaged. Think about it, they can’t find your information anywhere else if you go so deep. However, this needs to be finely balanced with adequate search volume (audience interest) of your niche.

In building a brand and digital marketing, what can you do with your new company, OPTIM-EYEZ, and how is this beneficial to the smaller company or startup?  Can you fill us in on that launch yet?  

SH:  OPTIM-EYEZ is set to become the go-to solution for business owners serious about their success, to learn about new digital marketing techniques and most importantly; to discover how to turn their website visitors into paying customers.

                I plan for it to be a hub of information like no other – one without BS and silly words. I like straight talk and the brand will follow this trait. There’s no need to try to appear too clever.

For smaller companies and startups, the blog will be the main point of interest. I am also planning insightful video courses and a series of eBooks.

In addition, I also offer premium services for larger brands. All will be unveiled soon!

Expect launch to be within the next couple of months…there’s still a lot to do and some fancy extras are currently being worked on. Exciting stuff!

What does a growing blogger need by way of your expertise in regards to growing digital marketing trends for the rest of 2016 to set them apart from the herd?

SH: Three practices stand out:

1. Video Marketing – It was relatively easy being a blogger 10 years ago. Times have changed. You NEED to implement video as part of your strategy; whether that’s as a training course, webinar or even videos on every page of your blog. From what I’ve seen, nobody else is doing that...yet!

Live streaming is another biggie right now, although not everyone’s cup of tea. If it suits you, get to it. Facebook Live is the place to be.

2. Marketing Automation – It’s only getting bigger and as the buyer journey advances, so are brands in engaging them appropriately. Customers are learning to expect a completely personalised journey. As a blogger, you need to be able to provide a similar experience by delivering certain content at the best time to the right leads (people interested in your products or affiliate connections). Learn about the complexity of customer journeys and how to intercept them here.

3. Social Media Advertising – It’s not going anywhere. Facebook is colossal and with an audience fast approaching 2 BILLION you cannot afford to ignore this beast. Advertising on Facebook is a must for any blogger. You can apply some clever techniques including retargeting and advertising to custom audiences, uploaded from your email list spreadsheet for example.

You can control certain ads to show to those who may have bought from you, those who have completed a set of actions or those who haven’t taken any action at all! Many smaller bloggers aren’t running such clever ads yet. Experimentation is the key to success.

Thank you for your time in answering. This is very exciting and I appreciate your taking this time to answer these questions for me. This is exactly what I want for my readers to know, as well as myself. I cannot wait to check out your new site when it is launched. Best of luck to you on this new adventure!

SH: My pleasure!!! Thank you for having me…

----------------

Sam Hurley is a lateral-thinking digital marketer holding 6+ years' self-expedited experience in both agency and client-side settings before launching his own digital consultancy venture: OPTIM-EYEZ.

He has achieved success for both agency and client-side businesses from SME, national to international blue-chip organisations while being ranked as the World's #1 Digital influencer by Webinale and the #2 most influential marketer by Onalytica.

Catch him on Twitter for heaps of helpful tweets on entrepreneurship and marketing.

800 New Followers in 9 Days:3 New Growth Tips

Today I wanted to discuss some tools and people, that I have found that are not only helping me time wise; I have seen my number of followers per day double.  My numbers are increasing from 25-30 new followers a day, to around 50-60. I have to contribute this to the content that is being shared as well as help from retweets (STILL) by Sam Hurley, ranked #2 digital Marketer, SEO expert and social media influencer. Here are three tips to what I have been utilizing to experience my continued growth this week.

1.New Tip of The Week- Time Management
I have been using a trial of Drum Up, an app that schedules great content for you. I have a free trial, but I am just not in a place to blow money out the door right now, but I will say this, it is amazing for pre-scheduling your posts. Very efficient. I am also trying Feedly, which is pretty great too.  You can organize your topics and draw from those feeds whenever. I really like it.  I haven't upgraded to the paid format, again, trying to utilize all things free for us rookies and beginners out there who don't have the funds.  It is still a great way to share, and the articles get better engagement when they are shared in a more professional format. Other than the standby, retweet. There are several platforms out there. You just need to find what works for you.


2. Chrystie at Naptime Nation
I had a great webinar this week with Chrystie over at Naptime Nation (@Naptimenation). She has sold four blogs and is a huge success and she has great tips, groups and products.  Again, I wanted in on the package she had for sale, but I am just not there yet! Anyway, after the Q & A, I decided to make the jump and spend the money since it was one time for a year, and get my own domain.  She had turned me on to affiliate marketing, and she suggested that it was a better route to have your own domain in order to be successful at it. If you are new to the blogging scene, make sure you follow her and her advice...she knows her stuff. Chrystie has a great Facebook group for mom bloggers where we can share and follow and grow together; she really makes a difference. Her webinar last week was eye opening.

3. Get Your Own Domain
So that brings us to the big news...I have my own domain! Click here to get to it. I am officially "A Mom That Blogs". After talking to the best influencer I know, Sam Hurley, in a message, (if you haven't read my other blog post he is retweeting, he actually responds when you interact with him and has great tips all day long on his feed), I asked Sam what he thought about blog titles, like should I use my name; it is so important if you ever sell them so he advised a short snappy name, no personal name because it would never be bought.  I hope "A Mom That Blogs" covers everything enough.  Both my blogs are on the site as well as links to my published articles. I hope to start guest blogging soon.  When I started this journey back in April and May I had a hard earned 700 followers and as of today, I have over 2800. I crested 2000 followers on the 11th in that post. So in 9 days I have around 800 new followers.  All good ones, too.  This was all grown organically.

Again, all of this is achieved through reading what I find on twitter, getting some relationships built with some great influencers, and growing all by myself without paying anyone to do it for me.  I am on the Huffington Post now in regards to my mom blog, so check that out as well.

So this week I tried out time saving tips: Feedly is one that I will be sticking with.  Make sure you keep trying new things. We don't know what we can accomplish if we don't try! The one thing I will be trying new this week is that I will not be publishing any more new content.  I have read that it is about driving traffic to your site more than the articles you pump out. So I will be taking the next two weeks to do just that. I will be sharing that when next you hear from me!

Cheers to growth!

How I Grew My Following

I have been mom blogging for a few months.  It has some momentum, but not all that I had hoped. This is a very saturated niche.  My main goal is two fold. I have a product I will be launching in the fall.  I am also writing a book and I have seen some trends erupting since I started.
I am going to talk to you all about what I am learning and that you have to actually read what is on Twitter if you want to succeed. I have been an operations and PR manager for years, so I figured I could do the same for myself.  It is a lot of work, but if your message is worth reading they will follow... kind of the Field of Dreams philosophy to blogging.

My head is spinning from the different formats for blogging for twitter promotion and all of the trends and opinions. 

What I did read consistently from twitter content experts like Sam Hurley or Donna Moritz is that you have to try what works.  I read content, not just share it without learning from it. There is a massive amount of research that goes into this and I have implemented some of these big time Twitter and visual content experts ideas. I now use words like, "content marketing" and "visual marketing" in a much bigger capacity and understanding then when I outsourced people to handle social media for the company I worked for.

All of this new information included a blog that helped me learn about an app to see what was going on with my Twitter, and another for scheduling and posting ideas. These plus more ideas can be found over at Post Planner.  Diana Adams, (@adamsconsulting) has a great blog and information and how to get started.This is what helped get me when I got serious. She wrote about Crowdfire and Hoot Suite so I got those.  I cleaned up my twitter as she suggested. That's where I saw some information about Donna Moritz (@sociallysorted)  and where she wrote an article with some pages I could not live without.  The main one I would suggest is Design Feed. I take my images (I will get to that in my next post) and make great visuals.  Donna is the visual content guru. It has become part of my twitter religion.  Click here for her AMAZING article on her top 50 ideas in visual content. I use this article weekly and lots of the resources she noted as well. And if you engage her as Same Hurley said to do, she responds! Twitter is about engagement, the little guys and big dogs alike all engage.  It is what makes social media marketing so powerful.

I have now increased my presence on Twitter, gained more followers in 36 hours than I did in a week, so something they are doing is working. People are engaging.  I know because I am proof.  I can do this! I doubled my followers in a week and now average about 20-30 a day.  I used to average only about 75-100 a week if I was lucky.  I am hoping that with the launch of this new blog on growth hacking, I can help others as well as continue my own growth.  I just crested the 2000 follower peak and I was stunned!

I will leave you with this for inspiration.  Sam Hurley is the man. I mean he is renowned and respected in the social media marketing field especially SEO and growth hacking. The social media influencer that I have to follow.  Listen and do as he does. Not kidding, it works.  I started engaging with people as he mentioned in an article and after a couple of times he liked and now replies with regularity.  I sent him a DM about what he thought about my mom blog not getting much interaction, but my posts on growth, content strategy and visuals were blowing up. I had no expectations that I would hear back. I thought, this guy is huge, it will be some automated reply. Very shortly after getting the guts to hit "send", not only did I get a reply, I got a decent sized message about what he really thought I should do.  The answer...you're reading it.  I am starting a new blog to see what works with the growth tips since that seems to be the sweet spot on Twitter for me right now.

I basically am a nobody; I have two published motivational articles that you can find on my website here, but I hope with this blog and my coming product,you all will find me worth reading. I am pretty proud of what I have accomplished.  I hope that this will give others the courage to start blogging on something meaningful as well.  We all have a voice worth hearing.

Cheers to growth!

3 Tips to Having Your Blog Heard Above All the Noise

I am taking a different turn in today's post.  I am a mom blogger as well as a growth hacking blogger. I am combining the two today. Since the success of one of my growth hacking posts, I decided that since I get a lot of questions from other mom bloggers who are not on Twitter and how to get started, I would talk about that. That is where I am getting the most attention. Even though as a mom blogger, that is the platform that just got me on The Huffington Post. I am super proud of that, but there is something I am finding in reading these blogs.

The one ingredient missing to make them stand out- it isn't there for a lot of them.  They are talking about things that most of us already know, or they are not providing input on anything to help moms out as a value.  That's okay for the most part. What I am doing is trying to get through the one piece of information that any blogger in any niche needs to know: you have to identify what your audience needs and cater to that. It is Blogging 101. You have to read on how to start one before you start; if you don't you will lose your audience before you ever can grow one. I read a ton of information daily. Did you know that 60% of people share links and never read it (Washington Post reporter, Caitlin Dewey @caitlindewey)? Then why are you on Twitter? If you are doing it for fun, then it really doesn't matter. Which is fine. Lots of people write as an outlet but don't care if anyone reads it or not and that is OKAY! However, if you are going to do the work and want it appreciated, then find a way to stand out in all the mom blog noise.  My mom blog niche is trials and errors of recipes and healthy living. Now I have read some funny mom blogs. Ones that resonate emotion through humor for instance, because they talked about something we can all relate to.  See- that we can all relate to. That is the kicker.  If I have learned one thing, if you say you are troubleshooting a certain problem, no matter the subject, make sure you do and provide helpful solutions. Otherwise your readers are let down and you might lose them or they may never follow you if you don't deliver on the promise in your title. You will read this all the time if you read these great twitter posts about content strategy.

For example, if you are going to give me a headline about some type of mom advice, then give me like three to five really good tried and true tips so that even if they don't apply to me anymore, I might share because I still have friends with babies all the way up to college students for instance. Don't feed me generic information to just fill a post. It has to count. This is true for ANY TYPE OF BLOG or POST. Otherwise, your readers are not going to be interested. In growth hacking, what I have read works. This is one of the top things you will read consistently bu these major social media influencers. If you aren't sure what that even means, take a step back.  Google it.  Then come back to this post. Find problem, offer solution.  It really is that simple.

1. READ YOUR LINKS YOU ARE SHARING
Find useful information and share with your audience.  I know my audience mainly wants recipe information for healthy living and any other useful mom hacks I can find; I share bonus info to keep it from getting stale. If you read the links to articles on Twitter you will actually find awesome info...use it. Put your own spin on it. Develop it as your own, then give props to the one who wrote the article.  This is where I am learning still and developing the proper retweet. This is what blew my following up this past week which brings us to the second tip...

2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
As I mentioned in previous post on my other blog, The Growth Pixie, social media influencers suggest this because a. you can learn a lot from them on development, and b. they are more likely to retweet you if mentioned because it is a win/win situation when you do.
See below:

I did what he said. I interacted with him. Read his advice and tips. I retweeted and wrote about my experiences. Guess what happened????  This brings us to my final tip number 3:

3. HOW TO ORGANICALLY GROW YOUR NUMBERS
I grow my following organically by doing what this major influencer says on twitter.  Sam retweeted my article FOUR times. I got 284 new followers from the first retweet to the last.  Now some were coming in, but my largest hits were after he retweeted this blog post that he was mentioned in. Sam Hurley (https://twitter.com/Sam___Hurley) follows me, has over 134K followers and he retweeted little ole me. A virtual nobody trying to be heard.  You must check him out.  He has great advice on digital marketing, building your brand, SEO tips and more. MUCH MORE. In writing, this, I don't want Sam to think I am using him to get mentioned again. I was floored and squealed like a kid on Christmas morning when I saw he did the first time, but I am going to use it to back up what I have been saying: that if you do the work, it will pay off. Big time!!!!!
Another great person to follow is Paul Croubalian. He has over 12K followers and interacts with people as well. I retweeted a great piece he wrote and rewrote a caption for the tweet and he replied and loved it.  If someone tweets a great piece of info good enough to retweet, then not only retweet it, but reply to them abut what you liked abut the article. When you get a retweet by someone major, retweet again with a thank you.  It goes out again. Awesome, right? They appreciate it and it is good networking. This is how you build your brand.  It is one thing to blog and have people read it, but the word will get out more when you not only get retweets and people to read your posts, but major people share your insights.  That is the greatest gift of all in writing...to know you wrote something that mattered.

In summation, I got the largest amount of Twitter followers ever this past week; I averaged about 20 followers a day which for the week would be about 140 right? I got 284 for the same amount of days because I nurtured a relationship with a great guy who actually interacts with people.  Which may be small potatoes to most people but for me, right now, that is huge numbers.  I am doing all of this by myself, doing nothing but taking the advice of influencers that know what they are talking about. You must cultivate these relationships on Twitter if you are going to grow. I learn so much by just reading these articles.  I want to create a brand for myself, and help others through learning and sharing.
You have to read these posts these major influencers share on Twitter. They will help you from listing great free sites to help you from visuals, to content curation.  My next post will be the best tips I have found so far on sites for content and visuals.  Stay tuned and let's see where the growth goes.
I blog today not only as a growth hacker or mom blogger, but as a mom blogger using growth hacking.  Now that is becoming my win/win situation.

I set one goal a week on learning something new.  I find a new site that I can benefit from and utilize it.  That ensures I am growing using great hacks I find from these big leaders on Twitter. I challenge you to find one thing to learn this week; see what a difference the one new thing will do for you. I have found one this week that blew my mind and has helped my tweet management and saves me a ton of time. I will share that one plus more in my next post. These tools are not only free, but amazing tools to make your blog and branding the best it can be.

Rookie Tips on Visual Content Marketing

Welcome back! On my last post, I mentioned Design Feed and that I would write about visual content creation. This is a great forum to take your images and make some great branding pictures for posts.
This post will talk about visual content, from why it is important to how to create it with some great resources. Any info you could ever want, just follow Donna Moritz on Twitter (@sociallysorted). She is an award winning guru in this field.
I am a stats person; stats don't lie.  I say that often. Especially in football ( I am a huge Peyton Manning fan and draw stats like a gun to anyone who has anything negative to say).You can find info graphics anywhere on the conversion rate of tweets with images attached.  For instance:

"People don’t engage equally with every tweet. Research by Media Blog, which analyzed the content of over 2 million tweets sent by thousands of users over the course of a month, shows that adding a photo URL to your tweet can boost retweets by an impressive 35%."- The Social Media Examiner, by Patricia Redsicker.

That is a big jump from a random, run of the mill post. Thus the pint of this post. Get visual!
I love this one I created for my mom blog, The Trials of the Trendy Mom:

Clean and attractive. They have options for all the social media platforms ensuring you have an image that fits the platform in question.  Styles, colors, etc.  I can't say enough about this site. 

Eye-catching images are a must in order to be heard through the millions of users out there.  You have to stand apart. I also use PicMonkey to add some depth and imagination, like this one here:

The next thing I learned early on was where to get images at zero cost to me because I am broke (three kids and a move where I haven't found a job yet) and can't afford to buy stock images.  There is a ton of places, but you have to know where to look.  This is why TWITTER WORKS! I actually read these articles and learn how to make these blogs come to life. People are paying attention. I actually got my fist celebrity follow last week and I about lost my mind!

Here are where I get my free images. This is a whole thing I had to look into, but I READ an article on Twitter about it...problem solved.

UNSPLASH

www.unsplash.com

PICJUMBO

www.picjumbo.com

I read this great blog post by Carly Stec (@carlystec). called, "17 of the Best Free Stock Photo Sites". This was a complete game changer for me.  I could now look like a big dog with cool images for my blog. There are others on the list that are amazing, but those two are my main two.  I use them almost every day.

Top social media influencers are paying attention.  They are engaging and I am building relationships with these people that are so good at this.  IT truly helps to get your name out there through such trusted sources. Why wouldn't you want to do the same? So many people get discouraged. I did. Right after I started. All it takes is actually doing some of these things and you will see the ball start to roll and the next thing...you're off and running!

I have been learning something new with growth hacking at least once a week.  I plan on sharing what I find with you in this journey. So if you are a Twitter newbie, pay attention.  I am researching all of these marketing nuggets looking for internet gold. I can save you oodles of time...just follow along.