Twitter – The Regal Writer

The calendar may read April but the weather outside my window says winter. Nonetheless, at this time of year, my thoughts often turn to spring cleaning. I notice the layers of dust everywhere (my place is a dust magnet), the piles of papers, the books scattered about, the dust bunnies and cob webs, reminding me it’s time for a deep cleaning. Needless to say, housekeeping has never been my strong point. So while I recognize that spring cleaning is a common rite of spring, it’s also one I dread.

Beyond the housework though, there are other areas that may need spring cleaning, such as my writing practice. Like many writers, I can get lost in my own head to the point I forget about my writing environment. It’s easy to get so caught up in everyday work that I forget that my writing practice might need some sprucing up too.

There are numerous half-finished projects sitting in my file drawers and notes from completed freelance assignments. Not to mention the backlog of emails and texts that have piled up in my archives, and the miscellaneous notes and newspaper clippings I’ve collected over the years, believing that they might come in handy for an essay I hoped to write one day.

Spring cleaning is a tough task, but a necessary one if you want to feel more productive. The good news is you don’t have to do the spring cleaning all at one sitting. Take an hour a day over the course of a week or two, and you’ll get through each one. By the end, you’ll likely feel lighter and freer than before. By clearing away the deadwood and clutter of unfinished manuscripts and story ideas, you can make room for fresh, new ones.

Here’s my to-do list for spring cleaning a writing routine. You may have a few different tasks than what I’ve listed below.

1. Review and reassess story notes. This is a biggie, which is why I’ve listed it first. This can also take the longest time because it can be tempting to lose yourself in story lines from the past, just like going through old photos can bring up memories.

If you’re like me, you’ve created a notebook of miscellaneous notes for each story idea, which means I may have ten or twelve notebooks sitting on my shelf, taking up valuable space and collecting dust. There’s no guarantee that I will ever get around to writing these stories. It may be time to unload some of those stories, especially the ones that are too vague. If you’re reluctant to let go of the idea, but want to lose the notebook, I suggest making a spreadsheet for each story idea. A spreadsheet will help you organize your ideas and streamline your writing activities, while making room on your shelf.

If you use notebooks to handwrite drafts of your stories, and you’ve already typed the up, it’s time to lose the notebooks. Dump them since you likely won’t review them anymore.

2. Go through old emails and text messages. If you have long chains of emails and text messages unrelated to one another that go back several years, take time to delete them. They’re taking up valuable space on your computer and phone. But you might ask, “What if I need to go back to them later for some reason?” If you haven’t gone back to them by now, then you probably won’t need to in the future. Besides, it feels cleaner to get rid of them. Remember to clear out the messages you’ve sent too, not just the ones you’ve received. Those sent messages can pile up in a hurry.

3. Reassess your social media. When was the last time you assessed your social media needs? How often do you use them, and for what purpose? If you use Twitter to learn about freelance assignments, by all means, keep it. But if you’re never on that platform, or worse, you spend countless hours on it when you could be writing, then it might be time to let it go.

4. Reassess your writing tools and equipment. Do you still use a desktop computer from ten years ago? It might work fine for you now, but like anything that ages, it’s likely slower with time. Which doesn’t help your writing practice. It’s time to find another home for that desktop if it’s still in good, working condition and upgrade to a newer, faster version or transfer to a more portable laptop. Ditto with printers. Today’s versions can spew out more pages in a shorter period of time. If you do decide to upgrade, think about what your writing needs maybe in the future as well as today.

5. Reevaluate your book collection. Do you have books about writing or freelancing still sitting on the shelf that you read a long time ago, or worse, not at all? Then it’s time to go through them to decide if they should go or stay. If you haven’t read a book and it’s been sitting on your shelf for three years, it may be time to donate it to someone who might appreciate it.

6. Spruce up your writing environment. Does your designated writing space still inspire you? Or do you avoid working there because you’re not comfortable there? Think about the chair you use, the desk, the lighting. If any of these items aren’t helping you feel more productive, It might be time to replace them.

Try to keep your space clean at all times. There’s nothing more uninspiring to a writer than a cluttered work environment. Add an inspirational poster on the wall and a live plant to be close to nature. Little things can inspire you to write every day.

7. Review your calendar. Are you so busy with non-essential activities that you can’t find time to write? If you feel overcommitted, it’s time to reconsider your priorities. If writing is important to you, you need to make room for it in your life. Don’t be afraid to say no to invitations and obligations if they will interfere with your writing practice.

Conversely, is your calendar fairly empty? Not having many outside interests can be as damaging to your writing practice as having too many. Work-life balance means different things to different people. You’ll need to assess what balance means to you and how you will achieve it.

There’s a lot more to spring cleaning your writing practice than just dusting off your shelves. Imagine how good it will feel when you’ve cleared the clutter from your writing life.

What tips do you have for spring cleaning your writing practice?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

In recent months, we’ve witnessed countless ways that Twitter has either helped or hurt a person’s business or reputation. It doesn’t take much for a person’s comments on Twitter to stir up an avalanche of responses, for good, bad and indifferent.

Twitter is a platform for sharing news, data, comments, stories, images, videos, observations, and a whole lot more. Marketers love the medium for its ability to help their businesses create brand awareness and connect with new and existing customers. But as we have seen too many times before, it can also hurt your business in terms of lost opportunities, lost customers and damaged reputation.

(Editor’s note: I am currently not on Twitter though I do see benefits of it for customer engagement. On a personal level, I don’t feel a need to use it to gain followers because I value my privacy far too much. Facebook takes up too much of my time as it is.)

According to a Pew Internet survey as of February 2018, 24 percent of Americans use Twitter on a regular basis, or about 67 million people in the U.S. That’s a huge increase from 2012 when only 13 percent of Americans used Twitter. Still, in recent months, the platform has fallen behind Instagram, which boasts 27 percent of American users.

Demographics tell a larger story. Four out of 10 Twitter users fall in the 18 to 29 age group while 27 percent are between the ages of 30 and 49. If your business targets these age groups, Twitter is the ideal platform to market to them.

There are a few downsides to consider when using this platform. Below are three reasons Twitter can help your business and three reasons to use it with caution.

Three sound reasons for using Twitter:

1. Brand awareness. If you are just launching your business and you are looking to build your customer base, Twitter can help create awareness for your brand. The key is to interact regularly with followers. Don’t push your product or service too much or too often, which will only turn people off. Being overly promotional is a common mistake with new business owners.

Instead, share your insights about the latest news, your knowledge and your commitment to the industry, related to your brand. Keep it professional, which increases your credibility with customers. Make sure people understand who you are and what you do.

2. Customer engagement. Once you’ve built your following, you have to keep them following you. Keep them engaged by sharing tips and tricks related to your business. If you run a tax business, for example, you might share an idea for saving money or a new update from the IRS that could impact their next tax return.

Many businesses also turn to Twitter for faster customer service. The key is to respond to customer complaints or feedback fairly quickly. That’s important because many customers have short attention spans these days. A recent survey by Sprout Social finds that 89 percent of social media messages to brands are ignored. The average time that a brand responds to a complaint is 10 hours while the average user is willing to wait only four hours. That’s a huge gap of time. The sooner your business responds to customer complaints, the better you look in the eyes of your customer base, and the more likely they will stick with your company.

3. Reputation management. By providing valuable information to your followers, you are seen as an expert in your field, which only boosts your reputation. For example, a physician specializing in women’s health might post links to reports about the latest breast cancer research and follow up with additional posts to comment on it. Each time you post a comment, an idea, an observation or link to a new study or an article of interest to your customers, you are seen as the go-to expert in that field, and your customers and clients will continue to seek out your professional opinions. In fact, they will continue to expect the same level of knowledge and expertise each time.

Three ways Twitter can hurt your business:

1. Gaining followers is more important than gaining customers. Twitter is a communications platform designed to help you develop meaningful connections with people. When you focus exclusively on its ability to tell you how popular you are, however, then those connections have no meaning for your business. At the first sign of trouble, those followers will have no reason to stay and will likely abandon you. Focus on the quality of relationships rather than quantity.

2. There’s no guarantee that your followers will translate to actual customers. Followers are just that – followers. But are they the right followers for your business? Are you reaching the right audience in terms of demographics? If you serve high-end customers but your followers aren’t in the same income bracket, you might have to rethink your marketing approach.

3. It’s too easy to abuse and misuse. As we’ve seen too many times before, comments can spread like wildfire in the Twitter-verse (see Roseanne Barr, Kathy Griffin). Faster than you can say “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to write that,” the damage is done. As your own brand, it’s imperative to mind your manners when you are on social media. Avoid getting too personal on the medium; keep it professional if you use it for professional purposes. Twitter and Facebook are great for connecting with people but it is also easy to post something without thinking about the consequences. That said, it is possible to express a dissenting opinion without resorting to personal attacks or bullying tactics.

Twitter is a valuable platform for marketing purposes, but it’s not for everyone. Not everyone in your targeted demographic will be on Twitter either. As long as you play it smart and avoid the minefield of trolls and critics hiding in the Twitter-verse, Twitter can be an asset for your business.

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