Sanders Says - Tweeting with impact via Tiny URL

January 19, 2009

Tweeting with impact via Tiny URL

Someone recently asked me if you can make money on Twitter (or Facebook).

At first, I shot back, "only indirectly, by developing a following that drives personal brand awareness." In other words, your Tweets (or status updates on Facebook) keep you top of mind with your social network, and sometimes you add value through your comments. In the long run, that's goodness and makes it all worthwhile.

Recently, though, I've noticed Tweets and updates with short URLs at the end. In many cases, I click on them to find reference web pages related to the update. Nice. I started to do it recently, to tout a video I'm watching or a provocative article I'm reading online.

This sets the stage for referral income. If you like a CD or book, and have an Amazon or BN.com associates account, you can make money with your updates. Here's an example: Login to your Amazon Associates account and click on the Links & Banners tab to get to the Product Link lookup page. Lookup the last great book you've read. Copy the link, it has a reference your account. Go to TinyURL and convert the link you got from Amazon Associates into a Tiny URL (no pun intended). Now it's small enough to fit in an update, leaving room for the rest of your message.

Now post an update ("I'm reading Gladwell's new book, Outliers, and it rocks!") and then cut an paste the TINY URL (all of it) into the end of your update. Now, all your friends and followers have a recommendation, and a clickable link to the Amazon page where they can buy it. If they do, you'll receive a commission on that sale -- plus anything else they buy in that shopping spree!

Finally, if you don't want to earn money for yourself, you can raise money for a cause by lending your updates. Same process: Find a cause you want to promote, locate the donate money/join web page, reduce it to a Tiny URL and update!

In either scenario, it's easy to see how our updates will be fungible and valuable in the future. I predict that we'll even move the stock market via updates (eg., getting ready to buy 10000 shares of HAST, join me here...). So don't write off Twitter or Facebook as a 'waste of time'. We are just getting started!

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Posted at 10:45 AM in Blogging and Blogtalk | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)

Comments

I love tiny url, its so cool and compact!

Posted by: eavestrough oakville | October 20, 2011 at 09:23 AM

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Thanks for your help.

Posted by: mike mcallen | February 02, 2009 at 06:51 PM

I love tiny URLs and joined a site here in Indiana called Pickylist. When you enter a posting with a long URL it automatically converts it to a tiny URL. Invaluable where space is limited ala Facebook and Twitter, and saves some time as well. Great post and great blog. Thank you for the message you are sharing!

Posted by: Bryndon Preston | January 23, 2009 at 01:44 AM

never mind :) I was looking for a button, but then I found your Twitter Updates on the right rail

Posted by: Barb | January 22, 2009 at 04:44 PM

Are you on Twitter? I would love to follow you, but I don't want to follow the wrong guy!

Posted by: Barb | January 22, 2009 at 04:42 PM

Hey Tim

I just tried this and it gives me a Tiny URL error message from my URL link from twitter. Which URL link do you use from your links and banners associate page?

Text and Image (Enhanced Display)
Image Only (Basic Display)
Text Only (Basic Display)

Hope you are well and we have to schedule that interview for Meetingspodcast.com

Your friend,
Mike

Posted by: mike mcallen | January 20, 2009 at 08:29 AM

Phil --

Good point (is Twitter the new bazaar?).

Here's the safety valve: "The Internet rewards what the Internet likes." This means that you have to feed the community to feed from the community.

Our Tweets need to be authentic recommendations that add value (I really love Outliers, and believe that others who buy it will too). In that case, I am a trusted infomediary -- not someone carrying a digital sandwich sign.

Tim Sanders

Posted by: Tim Sanders | January 19, 2009 at 03:05 PM

Tweetdeck will shorten URLs for you. It just makes things that much easier.

Gotta say, Twitter feels an awful lot like an Oriental bazzar...everyone is trying to sell you something. Is that any way to build a community?

Posted by: Phil | January 19, 2009 at 12:50 PM