8 Tips for Sponsored Tweets?

What price do you pay?

I’m back again with another opinion post about sponsored tweets on Twitter. You know where I stand on this issue. My previous post  – Sponsored Posts and Tweets – generated a lot of comments and emails. No doubt about it, this is a hot topic.

The topic of sponsored tweets is not going to go away. My guess is this is here to stay. Therefore, it is wise for each of us to consider our position on the matter.  ShoeMoney has had a huge impact with his announcement that he earned $15,000 from sponsored ads on his Twitter account last month. Wow. $15k for a few tweets. That is incredible and made me stop and wonder…

Is this whole concept totally ridiculous?

Or is it worth a closer look?

I know that many internet marketers are going to take a serious look at this method of generating income. (If you haven’t already!) Before you decide to jump in the deep end, I think it is wise to do some research and weigh up the potential risks and possible benefits.

There is a great blog post by Media Shift @ PBS.org which covers the whole idea of sponsored Twitter accounts in great detail from a media and an advertiser’s perspective. I found it to be a very interesting read and want to say “Thanks” to one of our readers, Simon @ Bloggasm, for bringing it to my attention. Thanks! 

Here are 8 steps to make sponsored tweeting work for you:

(courtesy of the Media Shift blog post mentioned above)

1. Protect your reputation. (this is my main concern)
   
2. Beware of systems based on Pay Per Click.
3. Be transparent and clear that your tweet is an ad.
4. Ads perform better if you have fewer followers. (presumably because your followers have chosen to follow you and they trust you?)
   
5. Go beyond a simple product pitch.
   
6. Ads should be conversational to be effective.
7. Beware that the networks won’t allow fake twitter accounts.
8. Too many sponsored tweets will turn off your followers. (I wonder how many is too many?)

I am sure this topic will be discussed in great detail. Where do you stand? Please leave your comment below….