One of the most important aspects of being an affiliate is the ability to deliver high-quality content. While Twitter is seen as a great communication tool by some and a time-waster by others, one thing is clear: using Twitter can teach you to become a better writer. Here are four fun ways that you can learn from Twitter and apply the lessons to your online copy.
Twitter can improve your editing skills
I often look back with fondness on the first time I was published in a major newspaper. A Western Canadian paper had requested a two-part series that would run over the weekend. I had a maximum of 800 words for each part of the series, but found myself unable to get my message across in less than 1,200 words. So, I enlisted the help of a friend who is a playwright, and he sat down with me and, sentence by sentence, word by word, we edited each of those pieces down by 400 words. It was an amazing process, and my friend’s advice sticks with me to this day, like the voice of Obi-Wan in Luke Skywalker’s head, telling me to use the Force and discard all unnecessary words.
Twitter’s maximum of 140 characters forces us to trim our copy, and to find a way to express our point in very few words. This is a great exercise in editing, especially when adding a link to a tweet, or wanting to leave enough space for people to re-tweet your message to their followers.
Analyze your copy, look at each sentence and ask yourself what you can dispense with while still relaying your core message.
It encourages creativity
My colleague Janice and I often have heated discussions about grammar. For example, while Janice is against the serial comma, I am for it. Even the web programmers here accuse us of being geeks. Neither of us has a problem with that. We love the written word and we don’t mind arguing for or against a rule in the interest of relaying messages in the clearest way possible.
On a forum like Twitter, however, the rules of grammar are not always followed. And, in an effort to send messages within a limited character count, words like “check” become “chk.” Obviously this is nothing new and has been happening for as long as the Internet has existed.
While this is shocking and horrifying to some, and there are those who would argue that it is ruining an entire generation’s ability to use proper grammar and punctuation, I’m of a mind that the best writing delivers its message regardless of where the comma did, or didn’t go. The message must fit the medium.
Stick to the general rules of grammar, but be creative in conveying your message, especially in headlines, or short copy that requires a big impact. One word of warning, however: It is not until you fully understand the rules of grammar that you can begin to effectively break them to your advantage. In the same way that Dali understood the rudimentary concepts of form and illustration before he could start to manipulate them, make sure that you are a competent writer before you start to color too far outside of the lines.
Your audience is everything
Jimi Hendrix is one of the most famous musicians ever, and is considered to be a major influence on modern music. As popular as he was in the late 60s with a certain audience, this wasn’t true everywhere. In one of the greatest musical mismatches in history, Jimi Hendrix opened up for the Monkees for a few shows in 1967. The now legendary Hendrix was booed off the stage and his groundbreaking guitar work was all but drowned out by thousands of teeny boppers screaming for Davy Jones, the mop-topped, fresh-faced singer of the Monkees.
What’s the point of this incredible story? With social media venues like Twitter, it is imperative that you reach your target audience. Reaching out to the 
wrong group of people will see your message falling on deaf ears. This is as true for other writing as it is for Twitter. Finding ways to access your audience in a venue like Twitter will help you to shape your copy for the people you are trying to reach. Writing for a group of top-level executives will take on a different form than copy for gardeners seeking the best fertilizer. It doesn’t matter how good your copy is, if you’re not reaching the right people, you run the risk of being booed off the proverbial stage.
Twitter teaches the importance of headlines
Writers will often be shown an upside-down pyramid when learning how to create press releases. This pyramid is intended to represent how the most important copy is meant to be at the top of the page, with less-important details to follow. This evolved from military communications that would often get cut off in mid-transmission, hence the need for the most important details at the very beginning.
Twitter is most often used as a means of encouraging someone to click on a link, and is not unlike a headline. The most important details of any writing must be contained in the headline. It’s what tells the reader what value they are going to get out of reading a story.
Let’s look at an example. Let’s say that an earthquake has struck Capital City, and all the lights have gone out due to a power failure. As a result of this, residents are unable to watch television. If the headline were to read, “Area Residents Unable to Watch 6 o’clock News,” it has not only failed to relay the most important message of the story, but does not seem like a story worth reading. Who cares if some people can’t watch TV? However, a headline that read, “Earthquake Hits Capital City, Disrupts Power to Thousands,” not only delivers the most important message, but it also generates interest in the story. It entices readers to carry on, which is your ultimate goal.
If you can’t get your readers past your headline, you might as well not write the story. Make sure your headlines, like your Tweets, give readers a good reason to continue on.
What has Twitter taught you? Let us know in the comments section below.
