7 ms·

But how do I get visitors in the first place, this is the first challenge. Twitter is pretty good at hiding my promotion tweets from other users...

onion2k 7y ago
No idea if this is common practise, but I block any account that promotes a tweet in to my timeline so I don't see it again. If it is, and you're serving a niche market with few people who'll buy from you, promoting tweets could be a really bad idea.
- dhimes 7y ago
  So how do people reach you to sell to you? Or, to turn it around, how do you find out about new products/solutions?
  - userbinator 7y ago
    I don't use Twitter, but if I'm specifically looking for something, I will actively seek out and do the research. I suspect many others who block ads and such are the same. "They don't reach me, I reach them."
    - dhimes 7y ago
      What about when you are not specifically looking for something? How do you find out about new shirts, or cars, or coffees or trips or whatever? Do you stumble across them on web sites, like in articles? On TV? If you usually find out things word-of-mouth, then how do your influencers find out about them?
      - dotancohen 7y ago
        I'm not the OP, but I'll answer the question anyway. When I'm not specifically looking for something, then I don't find out about them. My attention is limited, I don't have enough to give to every little outfit interested in taking my money. I don't need a new shirt, or car, or coffee or trip. And when I do, then I'll google it and I'll happily see all the ads that Google will show me. The ads are blocked until then.
        dhimes 7y ago
        OK- so ads, then. At your convenience, to be sure, but ads nonetheless.
      - jawilson2 7y ago
        I am experiencing an almost 100% disconnect with almost everything you wrote. I don't find out about them then, and my savings and 401K continue to grow unabated. Maybe I'm missing out on cool stuff, but assuming I never found out I was missing out, then my life isn't impacted negatively regardless. I don't really know what an "influencer" is; is it the internet equivalent to the ShamWow or OxiClean guys? I have 0 tolerance for people or companies actively telling me what I should buy or like, and distrust anyone who does so.
        Frondo 7y ago
        I'm going to present an alternate take on "how to live" from you and several other people who replied, not to say your way is wrong, but to say that others live other ways. I like hearing about cool stuff, I like sharing it with friends. I like style, looking fashionable, and being apprised of trends. I don't plan to die with savings. You wouldn't trust me, because I often tell my friends about things they should know about; not because I have anything to gain, but because we all do this in all of my social circles. If I hear about a nootropic they might like, I tell them. If they know of a bar I should try, they tell me. I like a lot of ads because I like knowing what's going on in the world. Even in a post-capitalist Star Trek world, I'd want people who made stuff to tell me. Neither way of living is wrong.
        dhimes 7y ago
        Don't take me the wrong way: I hate ads too. I usually find out about things from other people, or ads in non-online media, or when I am physically at a store or on Amazon searching for something. I tend to by generic/commodity items over brands, but there are some notable exceptions. I pick my groceries by checking the grocery ads and seeing what's on sale. I don't think I've ever clicked on a search ad or a mobile ad except accidentally. Concerts and stuff I learn about through ads. It's kind of an eclectic list, I guess, but ads do seem to serve some purpose. I'm just hard to reach via them unless I'm going looking for something.
      - gbear605 7y ago
        I don’t want to find out about any of those things. They don’t, as the saying goes, spark joy in my life. Sure, trips might be the exception from your list, but also any trips I go on I can plan for myself in a way that is both cheaper and more enjoyable.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - miguelmota 7y ago
      That’s why paid ads on google search exist; so people can reach them easier
  - RobertKerans 7y ago
    That's what Twitter is really good at already, it's literally just people chatting and shouting about stuff that other people are chatting and shouting about.
    - dhimes 7y ago
      I can't imagine Twitter being good at reaching a market unless you've gone viral. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like it's like pouring a taste of wine into a fire hose. I don't think I've ever learned about a product on Twitter (but I block ads and don't do much on there). I hear about news and stuff from Twitter.
      - arkitaip 7y ago
        You have to have a following and be careful with how your market your stuff but yes, I've discovered many products via Twitter BUT they are almost always aligned with my interests and hobbies. Those that aren't, typically promoted tweet, get blocked.
        RobertKerans 7y ago
        Yep, same. And it's word of mouth from people/entities I trust. And that trust has been built up over time. I have zero attachment to Acmecorp or Joe Random, and generally zero trust in them.
- michaelbuckbee 7y ago
  I've heard others do this as well and I don't quite understand it. If you don't want to see ads, sure maybe use AdBlock or PiHole, but why block the company? Not trying to put words in your mouth, but are you offended that the company spent money on a promoted tweet? That it was an overreach on their part?
  - onion2k 7y ago
    If you don't want to see ads, sure maybe use AdBlock or PiHole, but why block the company? Blocking the company stops the tweet appearing everywhere I see tweets. That's on my home computer, laptop, Chromebook, office computer, my phone, etc. It continues to block the ads from that company if/when Twitter work out ways around ad-blockers. And it makes me feel like I'm proactively looking after my account. I use ad blockers as well. are you offended that the company spent money on a promoted tweet? I just find that Twitter promotes the same tweets over and over again, so if you don't block them it gets very repetitive. If I was actually offended I'd reply first so they had to pay for an engagement as well as the promotion.
    - jordanpg 7y ago
      I don't want to see ads, ever. I hope a growing number of people feel the same way. I don't care about the business model of the whole internet. It is obviously a house of cards. A business model based on bad UX? I hope it collapses. No, I don't know what will replace it. I don't care, as long as it doesn't involve ads. I really don't care if the ads are innocuous or labeled or relevant. I don't ever want to see an unsolicited nudge to spend money on something. Ever. I can't be any more clear than this. I hope there are more like me every day.
      - Intermernet 7y ago
        We're out here. You're not alone.
      - enlyth 7y ago
        I completely agree. I don't care if your ad is clever, relevant, organically sourced, environmentally friendly, necessary for financing your product, something I actually want, need, or didn't know I wanted yet. The internet is plagued with this cancer everywhere you go, no matter what you do. Somehow it's become acceptable that every second of our attention and time is competed for by corporations trying to sell us things. I simply do not want to see ads, ever.
kowdermeister 7y ago
A lucky HN or PH campaign might help for a while, but the traffic spike will calm down soon. I'll pay for them on the long run. For me, the CPC cost will make it worth. There are also other ideas, like launching an affiliate program, app marketplaces. Look at where the traffic is in your niche.

onion2k 7y ago

No idea if this is common practise, but I block any account that promotes a tweet in to my timeline so I don't see it again. If it is, and you're serving a niche market with few people who'll buy from you, promoting tweets could be a really bad idea.

dhimes 7y ago
So how do people reach you to sell to you? Or, to turn it around, how do you find out about new products/solutions?
- userbinator 7y ago
  I don't use Twitter, but if I'm specifically looking for something, I will actively seek out and do the research. I suspect many others who block ads and such are the same. "They don't reach me, I reach them."
  - dhimes 7y ago
    What about when you are not specifically looking for something? How do you find out about new shirts, or cars, or coffees or trips or whatever? Do you stumble across them on web sites, like in articles? On TV? If you usually find out things word-of-mouth, then how do your influencers find out about them?
    - dotancohen 7y ago
      I'm not the OP, but I'll answer the question anyway. When I'm not specifically looking for something, then I don't find out about them. My attention is limited, I don't have enough to give to every little outfit interested in taking my money. I don't need a new shirt, or car, or coffee or trip. And when I do, then I'll google it and I'll happily see all the ads that Google will show me. The ads are blocked until then.
      - dhimes 7y ago
        OK- so ads, then. At your convenience, to be sure, but ads nonetheless.
    - jawilson2 7y ago
      I am experiencing an almost 100% disconnect with almost everything you wrote. I don't find out about them then, and my savings and 401K continue to grow unabated. Maybe I'm missing out on cool stuff, but assuming I never found out I was missing out, then my life isn't impacted negatively regardless. I don't really know what an "influencer" is; is it the internet equivalent to the ShamWow or OxiClean guys? I have 0 tolerance for people or companies actively telling me what I should buy or like, and distrust anyone who does so.
      - Frondo 7y ago
        I'm going to present an alternate take on "how to live" from you and several other people who replied, not to say your way is wrong, but to say that others live other ways. I like hearing about cool stuff, I like sharing it with friends. I like style, looking fashionable, and being apprised of trends. I don't plan to die with savings. You wouldn't trust me, because I often tell my friends about things they should know about; not because I have anything to gain, but because we all do this in all of my social circles. If I hear about a nootropic they might like, I tell them. If they know of a bar I should try, they tell me. I like a lot of ads because I like knowing what's going on in the world. Even in a post-capitalist Star Trek world, I'd want people who made stuff to tell me. Neither way of living is wrong.
      - dhimes 7y ago
        Don't take me the wrong way: I hate ads too. I usually find out about things from other people, or ads in non-online media, or when I am physically at a store or on Amazon searching for something. I tend to by generic/commodity items over brands, but there are some notable exceptions. I pick my groceries by checking the grocery ads and seeing what's on sale. I don't think I've ever clicked on a search ad or a mobile ad except accidentally. Concerts and stuff I learn about through ads. It's kind of an eclectic list, I guess, but ads do seem to serve some purpose. I'm just hard to reach via them unless I'm going looking for something.
    - gbear605 7y ago
      I don’t want to find out about any of those things. They don’t, as the saying goes, spark joy in my life. Sure, trips might be the exception from your list, but also any trips I go on I can plan for myself in a way that is both cheaper and more enjoyable.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - miguelmota 7y ago
    That’s why paid ads on google search exist; so people can reach them easier
- RobertKerans 7y ago
  That's what Twitter is really good at already, it's literally just people chatting and shouting about stuff that other people are chatting and shouting about.
  - dhimes 7y ago
    I can't imagine Twitter being good at reaching a market unless you've gone viral. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like it's like pouring a taste of wine into a fire hose. I don't think I've ever learned about a product on Twitter (but I block ads and don't do much on there). I hear about news and stuff from Twitter.
    - arkitaip 7y ago
      You have to have a following and be careful with how your market your stuff but yes, I've discovered many products via Twitter BUT they are almost always aligned with my interests and hobbies. Those that aren't, typically promoted tweet, get blocked.
      - RobertKerans 7y ago
        Yep, same. And it's word of mouth from people/entities I trust. And that trust has been built up over time. I have zero attachment to Acmecorp or Joe Random, and generally zero trust in them.
michaelbuckbee 7y ago
I've heard others do this as well and I don't quite understand it. If you don't want to see ads, sure maybe use AdBlock or PiHole, but why block the company? Not trying to put words in your mouth, but are you offended that the company spent money on a promoted tweet? That it was an overreach on their part?
- onion2k 7y ago
  If you don't want to see ads, sure maybe use AdBlock or PiHole, but why block the company? Blocking the company stops the tweet appearing everywhere I see tweets. That's on my home computer, laptop, Chromebook, office computer, my phone, etc. It continues to block the ads from that company if/when Twitter work out ways around ad-blockers. And it makes me feel like I'm proactively looking after my account. I use ad blockers as well. are you offended that the company spent money on a promoted tweet? I just find that Twitter promotes the same tweets over and over again, so if you don't block them it gets very repetitive. If I was actually offended I'd reply first so they had to pay for an engagement as well as the promotion.
  - jordanpg 7y ago
    I don't want to see ads, ever. I hope a growing number of people feel the same way. I don't care about the business model of the whole internet. It is obviously a house of cards. A business model based on bad UX? I hope it collapses. No, I don't know what will replace it. I don't care, as long as it doesn't involve ads. I really don't care if the ads are innocuous or labeled or relevant. I don't ever want to see an unsolicited nudge to spend money on something. Ever. I can't be any more clear than this. I hope there are more like me every day.
    - Intermernet 7y ago
      We're out here. You're not alone.
    - enlyth 7y ago
      I completely agree. I don't care if your ad is clever, relevant, organically sourced, environmentally friendly, necessary for financing your product, something I actually want, need, or didn't know I wanted yet. The internet is plagued with this cancer everywhere you go, no matter what you do. Somehow it's become acceptable that every second of our attention and time is competed for by corporations trying to sell us things. I simply do not want to see ads, ever.

kowdermeister 7y ago

A lucky HN or PH campaign might help for a while, but the traffic spike will calm down soon. I'll pay for them on the long run. For me, the CPC cost will make it worth. There are also other ideas, like launching an affiliate program, app marketplaces. Look at where the traffic is in your niche.