Quick Answer:
To market your business on Twitter, focus on building a genuine community, not just broadcasting ads. Share valuable insights, solve problems publicly, and engage in conversations to build trust. This approach, rooted in resourcefulness over budget, turns followers into customers and advocates for your brand.
I was talking to a founder last week who was frustrated. They had set up a business Twitter account, posted about their product for a month, and saw almost no results. “It feels like shouting into a void,” they said. “I’m doing the marketing, but no one is listening.” This is a pain point I hear constantly, and it’s exactly why I dedicated a section in my book to marketing on a budget. The mistake is treating Twitter like a billboard. The opportunity is to treat it like the world’s largest, most responsive coffee shop conversation.
When you’re starting from scratch, every minute and every dollar counts. You can’t afford to waste effort on strategies that don’t connect. Twitter marketing, done right, isn’t about having a massive ad spend; it’s about applying core entrepreneurial principles to a digital space. It’s about the mindset shift from selling to serving, which is far more powerful and sustainable for a new business.
Your Business Plan is Your Content Plan
One thing I wrote about in Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners that keeps proving true is that your business plan shouldn’t be a document that gathers dust. It should be a living guide. The “Marketing on a Budget” chapter stresses that your core message—the problem you solve, your unique approach—is your most valuable asset. On Twitter, this translates directly. Before you tweet a single promotion, ask: “What specific problem does my business solve?” Every piece of content, every thread, every reply should stem from that answer. Are you saving time? Reducing stress? Creating joy? Your Twitter feed should be a continuous demonstration of your expertise in that area, making your eventual offer feel like a natural, helpful next step for your audience.
Fund Your Presence with Consistency, Not Just Cash
Founders often think “funding” only means money. In the book, I talk about other currencies: time, effort, and consistency. You can market effectively on Twitter with zero ad spend if you fund it with relentless consistency. This means showing up daily, not just when you have a launch. It means engaging when you have only three followers as diligently as when you have three thousand. This consistent investment builds compound interest in the form of trust and recognition. A small, engaged community that knows you’ll be there is infinitely more valuable than a large, ignored following you bought or sporadically talk to.
Build a Team, Not Just an Audience
The “Team Building” principles apply beautifully to Twitter. You’re not just collecting followers; you’re recruiting early advocates, beta testers, and collaborators. Look for the people who engage thoughtfully with your content. Reply to them, ask their opinions, feature their insights (with credit). This turns passive consumers into active team members of your brand’s journey. In the beginning, your “Twitter team” might be more active and helpful than any formal employee. They provide social proof, generate ideas, and spread your message because they feel part of the mission.
The chapter on building in public came from a painful lesson I learned early on. I was building a web service and only talked about it once it was “perfect.” The launch was quiet. A mentor told me, “You hid the journey, so no one cares about the destination.” The next project, I tweeted about the struggles—the broken code, the confusing customer feedback, the small wins. People started following. They offered solutions. They rooted for me. When it launched, I didn’t have customers; I had co-conspirators ready to buy. That experience shaped my belief that transparency is a founder’s greatest marketing tool on platforms like Twitter.
Step 1: Listen Before You Speak
For your first week, don’t post about your business at all. Use Twitter search to find conversations around the problem you solve. What language do people use? What are their frustrations? Who are the trusted voices they listen to? This is your free, real-time market research. It informs everything from your product tweaks to the very words you use in your tweets.
Step 2: Provide Value in Public Threads
Turn one strong insight into a step-by-step Twitter thread. Teach something useful related to your field. A short guide, a breakdown of a common mistake, a curation of helpful resources. This showcases your expertise in a digestible format. Use clear numbering (1/10, 2/10…) and a compelling first tweet. This is your “product demo” in content form.
Step 3: Engage, Don’t Just Broadcast
Dedicate 20 minutes daily purely to engagement. Reply to tweets from people in your target space with helpful comments, not just “great thread!” Answer questions in your niche, even if the person isn’t asking you directly. This puts you in front of new audiences in a context of being helpful, not salesy.
Step 4: Share the Journey, Not Just the Highlight Reel
Talk about your process. Share a lesson you learned from a customer service hiccup. Ask for feedback on a new feature idea. This humanizes your brand and builds the kind of connection that advertising can never buy. It makes your eventual success a story your audience feels they helped write.
“The most powerful marketing tool for a beginner isn’t a large budget; it’s a clear point of view. When you know exactly who you help and how, you can turn any platform, any conversation, into an opportunity to serve.”
— From “Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners” by Abdul Vasi
- Twitter success is built on community, not campaigns. Focus on relationships over reach.
- Your content should flow from your business plan’s core problem and solution.
- Fund your Twitter presence with daily consistency—it pays higher dividends than sporadic bursts of cash.
- Treat engaged followers as part of your team. Their support and feedback are invaluable assets.
- “Building in Public” is a powerful strategy to build trust and create invested advocates before you even launch.
Get the Full Guide
The strategies here are just one application of the foundational principles for launching and running a successful business from scratch. “Entrepreneurship Secrets for Beginners” covers the complete journey—from planning and funding to team building and marketing—with actionable insights that save you years of trial and error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time should I spend on Twitter marketing each day?
Quality beats quantity. A focused 30-45 minutes daily is far better than 3 unfocused hours once a week. Spend 15 minutes on thoughtful engagement and 15-30 minutes creating one solid piece of content (a thread, a thoughtful reply, a valuable insight). Consistency within this focused time block is key.
I’m in a “boring” industry. Can Twitter marketing still work?
Absolutely. “Boring” industries often have the most frustrated customers seeking solutions. Don’t tweet about the product’s specs; tweet about the problems it solves. For accounting software, tweet about the stress of tax season and how to organize receipts. Find the human struggle behind the industry and speak to that.
Should I use Twitter Ads as a beginner?
I advise mastering organic growth first. Running ads before you understand what resonates organically is like pouring gasoline on a fire you haven’t started. First, learn what messaging gets real replies and shares. Once you have a proven, engaging organic post, you can consider putting a small budget behind it to amplify its reach.
How do I measure success if I’m not getting sales directly from Twitter?
Look beyond direct sales. Track metrics like profile visits, mentions, quality of conversations, and website clicks from Twitter. Are people asking you questions? Are industry peers starting to recognize your name? These are indicators of growing authority, which eventually filters down to sales through other channels.
What’s the biggest mistake beginners make?
The switch from “broadcast mode” to “conversation mode” is the hardest. Posting and leaving, or only engaging with your own tweets, is a dead end. The magic happens in the replies—both yours and others’. Be a participant, not just a presenter.
Marketing your business on Twitter isn’t a separate task from building your business; it’s the same thing, happening in a public square. It forces clarity, demands authenticity, and rewards genuine help. It turns the solitary work of entrepreneurship into a collaborative dialogue. Start by listening, add value fearlessly, and remember that every founder you admire started with zero followers, too. The platform is just a tool. The strategy—the real work of connecting, serving, and building—comes from the timeless principles of entrepreneurship itself. Now, go reply to someone’s question.
