Thread by @bbourque

Over 4,271 people re-shared my tweet on startups

4.2K Retweets | 13.6k ♥️

I went from <100 followers to over 2,500.

Here are 9 secrets to writing a viral tweet:

1) Find "Product-Market Fit" (PMF)

A tweet is a product in search of an audience.

PMF Formula = Audience + Problem + Solution

Audience: entrepreneurs and startup employees

Problem: how to grow their businesses

Solution: 22 actionable insights

2) Resonate emotionally

Startups aren't just valuations.

You confront self-doubt, uncertainty, wanting to give up, letting people down. Failure.

These are hard emotions people don't talk about.

People responded that they felt heard. Wow.

3) Be authentic.

I spent 10+ hours taking notes and thinking before publishing that tweet.

That produced conviction in the ideas because I knew they reflected my true experience.

I tried to avoid clichés.

4) Tell a Story

People love a great story.

The "Hook" (first tweet in thread) tells the reader what to expect:

I wanted to give up but I didn't.

Here's what I did, and you can do it too.

5) Create a Curiosity Gap

The hook introduced 3 elements of suspense:

Why didn't I quit?

What did we do that made the company successful?

What company was it?

6) Write Well

Punchy writing wins.

Use concise sentences that get your point across.

Don't waste words or time.

Speak bluntly.

Some great writers on Twitter to study:
@SahilBloom , @blakeaburge , @david_perell , @aaditsh , @Julian

7) Establish Credibility

Despite being a Twitter nobody, I had a few points of credibility to add to my bio to make people think my story was credible.

My title

My company name / unicorn status

My college

Header image that says "This is what I know" (Startups + Marketing)

8) Be Different

I was nervous that my thread had no images or videos.

So I created a "slide" image to summarize each point.

Some people thought it was cool, some said it looked like PowerPoint (ugh). What do you think?

Try new stuff and see what happens.

9) Plan Distribution (this is critical)

The best tweet goes nowhere without engagement from accounts that have followers.

I took a course by @GrowthTactics on how to build a Twitter audience.

The community has been amazing in supporting each other's threads. Thank you!

Bonus: Why I'm sharing this with you

Three weeks ago I had no idea how Twitter worked.

Now I'm excited by the people I'm meeting, the things I'm learning, and the community I'm building.

If I can do it, you can do it too.

If you found this helpful, please share:

•Retweet the first tweet and help others find this thread

•Join my 2,780 followers & follow me: @bbourque

If you're a digital marketer, please reach out:

DMs open

I want to meet amazing digital marketers from across the world.

Be well my friends.

Please retweet if you found this helpful!