What Do I Write About On Twitter?!

OK, last week we talked about the three things you need to grow your audience on Twitter:

1. Have a clear purpose
2. Feed the algorithm (or Algo-Gods as I like to call it)
3. Be consistent ← Most important/hardest step

And last week, we talked about step one: your profile, feed, and content buckets.

Did you do it? Did you decide on the 1-3 core topics (or buckets) you’re going to write about?

Does your profile now reflect you being an “authority/expert” on said 1-3 topics?

And did you base your profile on Twitter accounts in your same space, those with at least 10,000+ followers?

But maybe you’re still struggling to decide on your 1-3 content buckets. That’s OK. I’m here to help.

Because this week is all about creating content. And by the end of this issue, you’ll have a clear idea of what your 1-3 buckets are.

(But before we start, credit where credit’s due… this issue is based on what I learned inside Ship 30 for 30, something I’ll tell you more about in part 4).

Seven Steps to Finding Your Three Content Buckets

Get out a piece of paper, or start a new document. We’re going to do some work here.

First. Let’s get into brainstorming mode. Shake your limbs out from tips to toes. Do twenty seconds of that. OK. Ready?

1. In the last 2-5 years, what are some problems you solved, or topics you learned? List them all out. Do this for ten minutes. Just list everything. Don’t read ahead. Do this first.
2. OK, next to each problem/topic, write out how you got good at it. 
   1. Was it experience (i.e. trial and error)? 
   2. Was it curation (i.e. you researched and read a lot)?
   3. Was it expertise (i.e. you already do it, but you got even better at it)?
3. Now the hard part. It’s time to cut. Start with choosing 20 topics/problems that you’re interested in writing about. Circle them. Stop reading. Do it.
4. Now set a timer for one minute. Cut those 20 to 10. Stop reading. Do it.
5. Guess what? Set the timer again. Cut it to five. Stop reading. Do it.
6. You know my game now. Timer. Cut to three.
7. Now, you have three problems/topics you’re going to focus on for your Twitter account. But what kind of content is it? You can think of it in three different ways. 
   1. “How-To” Content: You’re teaching your audience how to do something. It’s steps, tips, tricks, formulas, tools.
   2. Research Insights: You’re breaking down news for an industry. You might go into the “history” of it to help your readers understand how we got here. You might interpret (give your spin on) stats, data, breaking events.
   3. Inspiration & Philosophy: It’s related to “how-to” but more woo-woo “you can do it.” It’s words of encouragement, inspiring messages, putting a positive spin on things, etc.

The three problems/topics you picked could be any (or all) of the above.

For example, if you’re writing about stock investing… 

• You can teach how to read indicators and financial statements. 
• You can share your insights on what’s happening in the stock market. 
• And when the market’s down, you can remind them to not panic and quote Warren Buffett.

If you’ve decided to be a spiritual guru… 

• You can teach how to meditate. Or mistakes people make. Or steps. 
• You can share your thoughts on world events and how to manage your emotions about them. Or talk about the history of yogis and monks you admire. 
• And you definitely should share a lot of encouraging words about finding your peace in the chaos.

Point is – I’ve just given each of your content buckets three different ways to generate content.

But we can get even more granular.

Each of those types of content can be mixed and matched with how you approach that content:

• How-to
• Lessons learned
• Mistakes
• Quotes
• Ways
• Tools
• Trends
• Stats
• Reasons
• Examples
• Moments
• Stories

OK, so to reiterate:

You take one of your three buckets, pick one of three types, and one of twelve approaches.

3 x 3 x 12 = 108 potential pieces of content.

So. Wow. That should help you create enough content for six months. At least.

HOMEWORK: get a notebook, or start a blank doc where you have constant, easy access. (It can be a GoogleDoc, or Notes on iOS, or Obsidian/Roam/Notion/Evernote if you’re fancy.)

This is your dedicated place for your “idea dump.”

Throughout the day, if you come up with ideas based on your three buckets… put the idea in there IMMEDIATELY and add if it’s “how-to,” “research,” or “philosophy”… and maybe even a few ideas on how you’d like to write it.

OK – next week, we’ll talk about how to write threads… the most important thing you can do on Twitter.

Remember to follow me: https://twitter.com/colinyjchung