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Do you need help with Twitter? Try #Tweet-Jukebox. And come and share some Tweets!

Hi all:

I know we’ve all been told we should use social media to promote ourselves, our businesses, blogs, books, painting, whatever we do. And I know we all have our preferences, or sites that we understand better, or we find more useful, or that don’t give us a headache.

I must confess I quite liked Twitter to begin with, when I joined a few months before I published my first book. I would follow people I found interesting, read their Tweets, and be excited if somebody decided to follow me. I read about the subject, I tweeted quotations, ideas, suggestions, retweeted interesting things…

I’ve met many interesting people through Twitter, especially many authors, and we tend to share content and RT. Then I had problems with hackers, suspensions and got tired of it.

I’ve tried a variety of things to manage Twitter. I still use Hootsuite, as it allows me to see several streams at the same time, but although I tried the paid version that allows to upload big lists of Tweets, I didn’t find it flexible or varied enough, and it still required me to upload a new list every day, and that is not always possible.

I’ve tried automated follows, but that risks following porn sites, some of those fake sites that only promote sales of followers, and eggs (some eggs might be genuine people who don’t know or care about having a picture, but some, many, are fake accounts). Although when the followers start rolling in (when you have a certain number of followers it seems to work by inertia and people follow you no matter what) it’s difficult to keep up and I suspect I’ll have to go back to one of the automated systems soon.

Following people who follow you takes time (if you check who they are and share some of their content). And then there’s the social aspect of it. Interacting with people, etc., that’s the interesting bit, but some days we might not be able to dedicate it as long as we’d like. Yes, it all takes time.

Unfollow the unfollowers… I usually do a run with Tweepi every so often (you’re not limited in the numbers you can unfollow).

But then, what about advertising and sharing interesting content that will make other people follow and spread your message?

That’s where Tweet Jukebox might be of interest to you.

Tweet Jukebox
Tweet Jukebox

I discovered it through one of the author groups (actually, a Twitter group where we share our Tweets). Thanks Regina Puckett!

http://www.tweetjukebox.com/

This is Tim Fargo‘s baby. The idea is that you can have several boxes, that send Tweets you have pre-programmed before, and they send them out randomly. You can adjust the days of the week and the intervals for each one of these boxes. But once they are on (you can use CVS or txt only document to upload tweets, although I haven’t been very lucky with that, or you can insert individual Tweets, and pictures too), if you turn that box on, they keep going day in and day out. So you can try, there are a couple of boxes pre-set, one with quotations and one with pictures, that allow you to see how it works.

You can sign in just using Twitter,and if you have any problems, you can contact them and they kindly reply very quickly.

Ah, yes, it is FREE. It’s still in beta stage and the likelihood is that there will be a paid version, but he’s very insistent that it will not affect the free settings.

There are also a number of videos sharing the process and how it works. I share a few here, but if you decide to give it a go, you can watch them all:
What is Tweet Jukebox

Why use Tweet Jukebox?

Best Practices for Tweet Jukebox by Tim Fargo

And now, I have a few boxes going (oh, there is a limit to the number although I hadn’t realised, but when I queried that I was granted more boxes so…), including one where I’m sharing other people’s contents, books, blogposts, whatever I find interesting. So, I’m happy to add more Tweets to this box. Who knows? It might help! So, if you have any favourite Tweets you’d like me to add to my repertoire, please, do add them here in the comments or send them to me. And if other people want to share them too, why not? Let’s share!

Thanks to Regina for pointing it out, to Tim Fargo for the creation, and thanks to all of you for reading. And you know, like, share, watch, CLICK and leave your Tweets!

Ah! And if you’re reading this post on the 30th, Regina Puckett has a give away of one of her horror stories, FREE until the 30th, inclusive, so go get it!

Silent Baby Screams

Gwen doesn’t understand why her husband resents their newborn baby so much, but she never suspects that one day she’ll return home from work to discover their baby boy has simply vanished. What happens next is the stuff of nightmares.

Universal link – smarturl.it/SilentBaby

 

By olganm

I am a language teacher, writer, bookworm, and collaborator at Sants 3 Ràdio (a local radio station in Barcelona, where I returned in 2018), who lived in the UK for 25 years and worked for many years as a forensic psychiatrist there. I also have a Ph.D. in American Literature and an MSc in Criminology. I started publishing my stories, in English and Spanish, in 2012 and now have over twenty books available in a variety of genres, a blog (in English and Spanish), and translate books for other authors (English-Spanish and vice versa). In 2020 obtained the CELTA certificate as a language teacher, and offer Spanish and English classes. Writers and readers both in English and Spanish are my friends, colleagues, and allies, and after living in the UK for over twenty-five years, have returned home, to Barcelona, Spain, searching for inspiration for my stories. I also love owls and try to keep fit following fitness YouTube videos.
Do feel free to connect with me. Here are:
My website/blog:
http://OlgaNM.wordpress.com

55 replies on “Do you need help with Twitter? Try #Tweet-Jukebox. And come and share some Tweets!”

Holly Hannah… I had no idea Twitter could require so much management. I guess it is a good thing I’m not so popular — I’d never have time to deal with it.
Thanks for the tips! Hugs. 😀

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Thanks Teagan! Any Tweet for your Atonement Tennessee you’d like me to add to my list? I’m close to 20000 followers and it’s gone past the point where I see anything. If I breathe there’re a ton of new Tweets arrived while I was taking a breath. I can’t imagine what it must be for people who have millions. Well, yes, I do. They don’t read anybody else’s Tweets, and don’t follow anybody or hardly anybody back.

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Thanks John. I belong to several Twitter groups and there are discussions about what to use. Some I’ve tried briefly but didn’t seem to work for my mind set. Some seem more geared towards multiple accounts or business accounts (and I’m sure are very effective but you need a dedicated person to run all the social media for you, I suspect). This one seems fairly flexible and the instructions are clear, that is a bonus.

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I will definitely investigate this, Olga, so thanks for sharing the info. I currently use a paid version of RoundTeam which I find excellent for freeing up my time, even though the retweets are sometimes not what I would have chosen!

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Thanks Sarah. I’ve looked at RoundTeam a few times and it worried me the fact that it seems to randomly pick tweets (although I understand you choose the people in your team). It’s one of the options I’m curious about but I’ve hesitated every time I’ve checked it. This one seems different to all the others I’ve seen so far, but I can’t say I’ve tried to test everything. See what you think. No harm in having a look.

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Thanks Pete. I suspect Twitter, like many of these social media options, are OK if you just use them as a way of interacting for others. Once you try to use it as a marketing tool, they become a nightmare because the fun it’s squeezed out of it. Although you’re right that the rhythm of Twitter is much faster and frantic than other things. I’ll go and check your article…:)

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Good point. The idea behind this is that if you’re using Twitter to promote something, you can have those Tweets set up and let them go and whatever will be will be, and instead you can spend whatever time you decide in Twitter, actually interacting or checking what’s going on, but of course, if you don’t like it and don’t think it’s useful, there’s life without Twitter, for sure. All the best.

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Oh, I see. Sorry, I didn’t think of that.
I actually prefer Twitter to Facebook, but mostly I like having long conversations with people here on the blog. Once a wallflower always a wallflower. 🙂

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Thanks for this, Olga. I still don’t quite “get” Twitter. Perhaps when I have more time, I will investigate some of your options. Right now I’m totally overwhelmed with projects and family events. 🙂

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Thanks for sharing this Olga. Yes twitter is overwhelming if we want to use it effectively. Everyday I go through my notifications and new followers. I click on every new follower to see what they’re about before I follow back. I wish I had time to tweet/chat with so many wonderful connections I’ve made there, but there is just not enough time I can spend on social media, as many writers. I tried hootsuite and buffer, and didn’t grasp the ropes too well and found it was taking up too much time to figure out. Perhaps I’ll look into Jukebox. 🙂

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I understand you perfectly, D.G. I was checking the other day and some days I get around 50 new followers. Checking and reading a bit about them and RT some content takes time (even if some I ignore, like the ones with private profiles, as there’s no way of knowing what they’re about. I don’t see much point in being secretive somewhere like Twitter. If you want to share messages only with your friends, there are other ways. And the ones that are selling followers). And yes, replying to interactions… I only use Hootsuite to reply to interactions and share some content (for me it’s faster than using Twitter itself) but no, I don’t quite get some of its other uses. See what you think.

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Thanks Olga. I’ll let you know when I get the chance to check it out. Probably not for a few weeks. And yes, as time goes by, we at least learn the ropes a bit more on twitter. When I check my new followers and their little bio shows up underneath, beginning with ‘buy twitter follewers’ that’s an automatic no follow, no checking any further required. 🙂

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Yes. And people with no Tweets or who haven’t Tweeted for years. I realised that Tweepi actually gives you a percentage of following for the different accounts. I guess those with very low percentage just follow people and then unfollow.

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I think I have several, Tess. I think it’s a lost battle. Like Facebook and Amazon, when you think you understand it, they change how it works… Good luck!

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I’m still sticking to the old Admin page rather than the Bee bop thing. I need to try and dedicate some time to organising the blog, but worry that I’ll do and then they’ll change something and it won’t work. Not that I think I’ll have time this summer.

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I know what you mean. I’m going to have some enforced time away from the net (no health problems, fingers crossed!, just but will be somewhere with no regular access to internet) in August/September so I hope to recover a bit and have time to think (at the moment to keep going seems the best option). Perhaps you need another trip or some down time, Tess.

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Who knew! I interact with people on Twitter and also promote my blogs and books there. Are you saying I should not be promoting my blogs and books on twitter? Suddenly, I feel very dumb, or, dumber than usual!

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Hi, sweet Olga,
Basically, I’m a one-man publishing house: I write the books – I rewrite and edit – I publish on CreateSpace – I promote the books (and do a lousy job, I suspect!) – I try to stay on top of social media (I’m lousy on Facebook and do mostly Twitter, Goodreads (blogs), Linkedin, and WordPress (blogs). I do hootsuite occasionally and it’s also a bit cumbersome for me. My problem (and everyone’s problem) is that I’m so spent by the time I finish with the social media and promoting, I’m too mentally wasted to write my books (it doesn’t take much!). Add to that, I’m old, too frugal and stubborn to have someone do it for me… At some point I need to find someone to do all the social media for me so I can simply write.
Hey, most of it is fun, and I stay very active during the day, but I do have a book I want to finish – and others to write.
I know, I know, I’m quite a study and suitable for the Psychiatrist’s sofa – hey, how about yours??? 🙂 ♥♥♥
Billy Ray

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Thanks Vashti. So far I find it useful and keep adding Tweets. I still need to decide what I’m going to do about following people as when I’m away I won’t be able to do it manually.

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Olga, you will have to report back just how long it takes for the TwitRNazis to shut down Tweet Jukebox. When I first got on Twitter, I came across a great app that offered the same sort of service — random tweets from your list, and paid subscribers (for a modest $20.00/year) could keep a list of an unlimited number of tweets organized by “campaigns” (analogous to “jukeboxes,” but only one campaign could be active at any one time). The app also offered random retweeting of content by folks who had retweeted you, which was fantastic for expanding my follower base. However, I cannot tell you how many times that poor developer got his great app shut down by the TwitRNazis before he finally gave up. Hootsuite doesn’t get shut down because — surprise, surprise — it’s owned by Twitter. Roundteam (another tweet-management app that I look at from time to time but haven’t tried yet, mainly because I don’t want the free version sending out its advertising to my followers) may also be owned by Twitter, though I won’t swear to that.

Yes, running Twitter campaigns is a huge time sink manually via Hootsuite, I still use the free version, and have honed it to a science from my “Drafts” list of nearly a thousand unique tweets by having the Drafts pane and the Schedule pane active simultaneously in two separate tabs. It’s an even huger time sink when Hootsuite up and changes their software without warning, and wipe out all my stored drafts!! 😛 (I have since gotten smart, and I now keep them all in an Excel spreadsheet–stored to Dropbox–as a backup.)

A thousand stored tweets, BTW? Oh yes, easily. Seven books (plus Spanish and German translations of one of them, making it 9 technically), times at least 20 reviews per book, times all those tweetable bits from all those reviews, plus all the Twitter author-promotion accounts that will retweet your tweet if you mention them, and my general tweets promoting my Amazon author site, blog site, and whatnot… but the effort is worth it to me, because I definitely notice a drop in sales whenever I don’t have tweets going out (I aim for approx. 1 per hour).

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I’ll keep you posted, Kim. Tim Fargo is pretty well known and seems to have been trying the system for over a year now, but who knows. By the time I finish publishing the other two books in the series (by the 30th) I’ll have 18 out. Your method is impressive. In my case I don’t think I’ve ever been that organised, or at least not for lengthy periods of time (it comes a point when I look at things from an outsider perspective and find it all tedious and decide to try something different). I’ve looked at Roundteam but it’s also the idea that you’ll be RT everything somebody else tweets. I guess if you have a real team that doesn’t matter, but that’s not my case. Thanks for the tip on Hootsuite. Might come handy. I think it’s difficult to keep a balance between promoting your own stuff at some level (that’s what many of us joined some of these platforms in the first instance) and scaring people off. I can say, with hand in heart, that in my case, other than increasing the number of followers, how active or not I am in Twitter seems to have no impact whatsoever on my sales.
I saw you’re having a new book out. It coincided I think within a day of the publication of the second book in my trilogy, but I’ll try and feature it later on. Best of luck, Kim and thanks!

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Thanks Kim. I’m going to be away from early August for a few weeks with little access to internet and I hope I’ll catch up on some reading (and writing) so I’m hoping to get my reading list a bit more under control. I’ll go and look at the new cover. I’m intrigued.

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Thanks Kim. The new cover looks great. I’m going to be away from early August in a place where I won’t have much access to internet so I’m hoping to get my reading list under control while I’m away. It looks like a great read. 🙂

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Super cool. Learning it now. Although having some difficulty in scheduling. Several are coming up as “over the daily limit for tweets.” Hhhmmm. Only used about half the limit on the free account & am scheduling for an hour plus part plus not to repeat for at least a week plus. Any thoughts or suggestions ? BTW. Cool blog here. Thank you all & Olga. Twitter @calicore3. P.s. also have a historical Memoir that I could use some help with. Have a great day everyone !

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Thanks, Calicore. I’ve moved to a new blog so I don’t really visit this one often. I’m at http://www.authortranslatorolga.com
I have all but abandoned TweetJukeBox. I started having problems with it before it went into paid option so I never upgraded. I know quite a few authors who had similar difficulties and got very poor service (that’s after upgrading). It seems that Twitter now don’t allow to have the same tweet in a period of three days. I still have my free account but it only seems to send a Tweet whenever it feels like. I’m trying Feed140 now, although I have only tried the free version so far. I use Tweetdeck for another account I manage, but that is pretty similar to Hootsuite and implies uploading and programming tweets all the time. I’m not really sure what type of help you need… (I’m not an editor although I know quite a few but…)

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