The ULTIMATE Twitter DM playbook.
Let’s get real. Most of you are bad at sending DMs.
● You don’t know why DMs are so powerful
● You don’t know how to D
● You don’t know who to DM
Today I’m going to change that for you.
Why listen to me?
Only 35 days ago, I had 100 followers and 0 big accounts following me.
Fast forward to today, I have 1.1k followers and dozens of big accounts
following me. I’ve gotten anywhere from 5-10 followers daily from DMs
alone. I would say that DMs are one of the most underrated growth
tactics on Twitter.
Let’s dive in!
Why send DMs?
If you don’t understand the power of DMs, you won’t want to send them.
In a nutshell, here’s why you need to send DMs:
Networking: Everyone says networking, but no one explains what it is.
Networking means getting to know other creators. Twitter is a SOCIAL
MEDIA platform. This means you cannot go it alone. Lone wolves will die
on Twitter. You need friends and connections to give you support, advice
and favours when life gets tough (it will).
Private Communications: It’s hard to make friends when everyone can
see and hear everything you say. DMs give you a chance to take your
conversations into a private setting. You’ll never have a meaningful
conversation in a comment section if you stay in “brand mode”. DMs are
where real friendships and networks are built.
Selling: People are making an absolute killing selling in the DMs.
People sell their own products and services, affiliate products, and
appointments. The list is almost endless. Twitter lets you send up to 500
DMs a day. Use them wisely.
Ok, we know that DMs are awesome.
I have a unique perspective on DMs, and we will get into how you can
use them shortly. First, I want to cover the top DOS and DON’T of the
DM game.
DM Mistakes:
Rule 1. Never say “let's connect” or “grow together”.
These are super lame, and everyone knows why you’re in their inbox.
You don’t give a crap about them. You just want a follow back. These
phrases are code words for “follow for follow”, not what we want for our
personal brands.
How about not?
Go away!
Rule 2. Don’t send dumb one-liners like “Hi” or “how are you?”
People are BUSY. If someone has 10 DMs unopened, will they respond
to the guy saying “hi”? I wouldn’t.
Sorry, too busy.
Rule 3. Don’t open with personal questions
If I get a DM and it says, “Hi Glenn, how much money are you making?”
It’s not getting a response. Don’t go straight into weird personal
questions. People will get freaked out, and it can look creepy.
Rule 4. Don’t talk about yourself
One of the quickest ways to get ignored is to send a long DM about how
great you are to someone. Look, no one cares about you. People care
about THEMSELVES, not you. Always ask, “what’s in it for them?” Does
it make them smarter or more money?
No thanks.
Rule 5. Don’t beg
This goes without saying. Asking for advice is perfectly fine. But do not
beg people for anything. It looks needy and weird. Your message will get
ignored.
This is not the best way to ask for advice…
Ok, we’ve covered the most common mistakes. I haven’t included
unsolicited cold DM pitches - they are part of the game and will never
disappear.
Here are some rules you SHOULD follow.
Twitter DM do’s:
Rule 1. Ask Questions
Don’t be fooled into thinking you have to always give before taking. Most
creators are more than happy to oblige a polite request for advice. I’ve
had lots of luck with bigger creators by being straight up and asking for
help.
I always respond to requests for advice. The only time I don’t is if the
sender completely forgets their manners or wants something big
immediately.
Rule 2. Read their bio
Always personalise your DMs, especially your networking DMs. The
quickest way to make someone feel valued is to send a personalized
DM. People feel like cattle if you send the same mass DM to everyone.
Personalisation goes a long way.
Rule 3. Be genuine
You will get amazing results if you send genuine DMs that you actually
WANT to send. The worst DMs are usually those that are forced to get a
desired outcome. Talk to people like you would take to a friend in the
street or at a bar.
Rule 4. Always be friendly and respectful
Always be friendly and respectful when interacting in DMs. Any weird
personas or tough guy attitude won’t make you any friends. You’d be
surprised how many people on Twitter have terrible social skills.
Rule 5. Dm like a bro
This means dropping professionalism. We spend all day trying to write
serious tweets with perfect spelling and grammar. We don’t need to do
this in the DMs (unless it’s with potential clients). Let your guard drop
and act naturally. People usually respond positively to this.
How it’s done.
Now that we’ve covered the major dos and don’ts of sending DMs, it’s
time for some sauce: How to get followers using DMs.
How to get followers using DMs
You can use DMs to gain many followers, believe it or not. I’ve done it
with great success. Your approach will change based on the “power
dynamic” of your follower counts.
The DM power dynamic comes from larger accounts having a more
“valuable” follow than a smaller account. A bigger account won’t simply
follow you back because you followed them. We build our DM strategy
around this law of nature.
There are 3 scenarios when DMing.
1. You DM an account bigger than you.
2. You DM an account the same size as you.
3. You DM an account smaller than you.
I’ll explain how to proceed with each scenario:
DMing a larger account
This one is what you should spend the most time on. Becoming friends
with larger accounts gives you MASSIVE VALUE. You can ask them
questions and learn from their mistakes.
We don’t approach a bigger account like a similar-sized or smaller one.
Here’s what you must do:
Before the DM - Don’t go straight to the DMs; it will help if you appear on
their content for a few days first. Drop some likes and leave a few cool
comments so they see your face. Doing this first will make your future
DM more powerful.
Follow first - This signifies “respect” and good nature. Most big accounts
are happy to talk to their followers. If you aren’t following them, it looks
like you want something for nothing. Remember, follows are free…
The opener - You need to get noticed. Lead with a personalised
compliment, joke, and good-natured statement. Just be friendly and
genuine. Remember what we said earlier, don’t just say “hi”
The conversation - Simply have a normal, friendly conversation and see
where things go. NEVER ASK FOR A FOLLOW - EVER. Most people
are happy to follow someone they have shared a friendly conversation
with. You can’t force it. Remember, you are networking, and you need to
be genuine. DMing larger accounts is about making contacts, not gaining
followers.
DMing a similar-sized account
Ok, now things are slightly different. You both want the mutual follow.
The power dynamic has shifted.
In this situation, you don’t need to pre-engage with their content, but it
helps. A good tactic is to DM right after engaging in a post. It’s a small
offering that could help grease the wheels of communication.
The DM - same as for larger accounts, be genuine and friendly. Drop a
personalised compliment and try to get a conversation going.
The Follow - You don’t have to pre-follow when DMing accounts your
size. Remember that your follow is your biggest weapon; you want to
drop it when the conversation has peaked.
The Conversation - If you’ve exchanged a few nice messages, it’s time
to drop the follow. Some people have a huge ego problem and refuse to
follow first. This will ruin your growth. Drop them a follow first, most of
the time, it will be reciprocated
DMing a smaller account
Once again, the power dynamic has shifted. Remember what we said
earlier, the larger account has a more “valuable” follow. They are unlikely
to exchange it for a follow from a smaller account.
If you want to get smaller accounts to follow you using DMs - give them
something for free. I’ve used this tactic with great success. You can craft
a nice personalized message and send them one of your free products
(if you have one).
People are usually very pleased when they receive something like this
for free. Most of the time, they will say cool, thanks, exchange a few
messages and drop you a follow.
Which accounts to DM?
Ok, you know how to DM like a pro.
The question is, who should you be sending DMs to? Here’s your priority
list for DMs. I recommend you follow this to avoid spending hours and
hours in your DMs.
1. Your favourite large creators
2. People who commented on your content
3. People who commented on your content but don’t follow you
4. People who liked your content but don’t follow you
5. Cold DM - reach out to other people in a big comment section in your
niche
Following this system will ensure you spend your DMs wisely. We want
to DM people who already engaged with us first because they are “warm
leads”. I don’t recommend cold DMs for getting followers because it’s
low ROI compared to simply creating better content.
Conclusion
You now know WHY, HOW and WHO to DM. I hope I’ve made the value
of DMs clear to you. You truly are missing out on a goldmine if you don’t
use them.
The main purpose of DMs is to build a network and make friends. But
YES, you can also use them simply to get followers. Getting followers
through DMs is not a sustainable long-term strategy, so I recommend
you use DMs to build a high-value network (followers will be a
by-product)
If you made it this far and want to take your account growth to the next
level - send me a DM.