What I've Learned From My First Thousand Twitter Followers - Plus Three Giveaways!

Sometime late last week, I crossed the line to go beyond one thousand Twitter followers, and I thought I'd celebrate a little by sending some music out into the Twitterverse. But before I give out the details of the giveaway, I decided to share a few of the lessons I've learned over the course of gaining those first thousand followers and some tips out there from other sources:

1. Twitter works best for musicians when they interact -- don't just automate your calendar and sit back, waiting for people to follow you. Just like in forums or blogs, results come from activity -- and in this case, interactivity.
2. Don't waste your time with auto-follow services -- you'll just end up with a bunch of worthless followers you'll have to sift through and delete later. Rather, subscribe to keyword search results and go through the list once a day or week. You'll be much happier with your list of followers.
3. Keep an open mind regarding who might follow you and who you might follow. Just because you see an affiliate site following you doesn't mean that they aren't a fan of your music. Feel each and every follower out -- I put possible fans in a list called "potential something" so I can see where they are coming from.
4. Read these lists of suggestions: Twitter 101 for Jazz Musicians posted on TwitJazzNet,  Musicians Twitter Roadmap on Ariel Publicity, and Top Twitter Tips for Musicians by Steve Lawson -- these basics to using the service will keep you on the right path.

Now for the giveaway! For any of my followers, I will be giving out three packages I've named in honor of our recent Olympics here in the Northwest...

BRONZE AWARD PACKAGE

• CD copy of Marriott Brothers Band, "The High Country" - autographed by me to the winner
• MP3 copy of David Marriott, Jr., "Septology: In the Beginning"

SILVER AWARD PACKAGE

• CD copy of Marriott Brothers Band, "The High Country" - autographed by me to the winner
• CD copy of Emerald City Jazz Orchestra, "Alive and Swingin'" - autographed by me and the bandleader to the winner
• MP3 copy of David Marriott, Jr., "Septology: In the Beginning"

GOLD AWARD PACKAGE

• CD copy of Marriott Brothers Band, "The High Country" - autographed by me to the winner
• CD copy of Emerald City Jazz Orchestra, "Alive and Swingin'" - autographed by me and the bandleader to the winner
• MP3 copy of David Marriott, Jr., "Septology: In the Beginning"
• MP3 copy of David Marriott, Jr., "Early Originals 1995-2000"
• Custom video greeting, announcement and "thank you" on our blog and YouTube channel, with link of your choice included (your band, website, blog, Twitter -- whatever within reason)
• UPDATED!! $50 iTunes Gift Card!!

Winners will be drawn from random live on my uStream channel on March 30th at 4:00pm (moved up from 5:00pm) Seattle time. I'll be using some software to draw the winners from the list of contestants (at least, that's the plan).

So what do you have to do to enter the 1KTF Giveaway? It's simple:

1. Compose an email to david.marriott@gmail.com.
2. Type "1KTF Giveaway" in the Subject field.
3. Include your Twitter name (@redraspus, for example) in the Body of the e-mail.
4. Send it!

That's it! You only need to enter once and you are good to go for the drawing. As long as I can verify you as a follower at the time of the drawing on March 30th, you are elligible for one of the three prize packages. Winners will be contacted regarding shipping details for physical goods, and download codes will be e-mailed immediately for digital goods. Thanks for entering, thanks for following, and thanks for your support!

Update on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 03:52AM by David Marriott, Jr.

UPDATE ON DRAWING TIME: I'll be moving up the drawing an hour, so the drawing will happen at 4pm Pacific Daylight Time. The stream address is http://www.ustream.tv/channel/red-raspus-music so be ready for the drawing!

Comments

[Neal - Sax Station]

Hey David,
Thanks for the post. Those suggestions for twitter are helpful!
-Neal

[Shaun Music]

Oh, you picked the winners by random (I asked how you did in your post at the top but have found the answer).

[sun agee]

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