87+ Expert Tips to grow Twitter Followers for SaaS Founders (2023)
📈

87+ Expert Tips to grow Twitter Followers for SaaS Founders (2023)

We curated the best tips to grow Twitter followers for SaaS founders. Let’s GO!
💡
Note: SaaSwrites is a curated growth marketing hub and resource built to help SaaS founders grow their products. We sincerely thank all our experts for their constant value addition to this world.
Updated: 05/25/2022

Stop buying growth guides. Surface-level advice is killing your brand. Gurus repeat the same ideas over and over. You get shiny-object syndrome, change your bio, your profile 1000s of times.
You buy new e-books but it doesn't help. If it sounds familiar, you got stuck in echo chamber. You need to sit down and rethink what you're doing.

1. If you can talk yourself out of it, do it

Twitter is easy. Growing an audience is hard. If you're not sure,If you're in doubt,If you can talk yourself out of it. Just. Do. It.

2. Have systems

Your need to do EVERYTHING to make your twitter game sustainable. Develop systems. Write tweets in bulk. Use tools to schedule tweets. Don't let yourself burn out. Play the long game

3. Aim high

Think big. The game doesn't end at 10k, 20k, 30k. Aspire for more. Everything is possible

4. Experiment

We're here for the long game. Experiment. Try new things for 10 days. 7-10 days of bad results won't hurt. 2 months of not changing bad posting time will. Try new things. Experiment with content. Experiment with your voice. See how the market will respond

5. Study threads

Why threads are important? Because they establish a connection. People see the person behind your profile. I had two threads that gave me 500+ followers each in one week. Study @dickiebush, @alexgarcia_atx , and @The_MMW threads. They are your ultimate weapon.

6. Go outside

Twitter is an echo chamber, hands down. Be open to perspectives. Consume ideas outside of the platform. You never know how your twitter game will end. Don't get me wrong. You should have an idea of what you're doing now.
But to traverse from East Coast to West Coast at night, you need to see only the first 1 mile. Be open-minded. Let life show you your destiny.

7. Do what you love

With all your experiences. There are million paths you can go after. Focus on what you enjoy. Inspire, teach, and tell YOUR story. The right people will follow

8. Audience comes first

You can make a couple of bucks with affiliate marketing when you're 0 - 1000 account. But, would you follow a 200-1000 account promoting all day long? Big fat NO.
Advertising screams at us from every corner. And we seek oases, not promo boards. Grow your audience first. Give them what they want. The money will follow.

9. Show the true you

I didn't want people to know that I'm from Russia. Till George said this was the reason he wanted to talk. Tell your story. It matters. Imagine:
Person A: posts tips all day long
Person B: gives value AND you know their story
From whom would you buy?

10. Take gurus with a grain of salt

They're not always right. They're breaking their rules. And you don't know if their advice is right for you. Study what they do. Study how they do it. And think, think, think. Walk your own path.
 
Ever shared a blog post & then realized you've used the wrong image or not filled out the meta title? Well you can use the Twitter Card Validator to instantly update any URL to it's most recent version -

12. Use Twitter Search Operators

Twitter Search has a variety of advanced search operators you can use to filter by an array of useful things to be able to find or sort content that you can build your niche research upon.
Use Twitter Search Operators to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Twitter Search Operators to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

13. Get Your Best Times To Tweet

Sign up for a free trial of FollowerWonk, and have them generate the best times for you to Tweet based on your users most engaged hours.
Tweet during the best times to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Tweet during the best times to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

14. Twitter Keyboard Shortcuts

Much like Word or Google Docs, Twitter has shortcuts on your keyboard you can utilize to speed up activities on a page, just takes a little bit of time to get used to them.
Use Twitter keyboard shortcuts to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Twitter keyboard shortcuts to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

15. Use LinkTree or Cardd

The maximum amount of links you're going to get out of a profile without making it extremely cluttered and disorganized is 3, realistically 2 in most cases. Having either of these tools allows you to list multiple 10s of links if you need to.

16. Re Use Old Top Tweets From Twitter Analytics

I can review my Twitter Analytics (https://analytics.twitter.com) and sort my Top Tweets from each months - Either Re-using, quoting to follow up on or ReTweeting to further get additional engagement from new followers.
Re use best performing older tweets from analytics to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Re use best performing older tweets from analytics to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

17. Use Google Operators To Find Niche Twitter Lists

You can actually use a Google site search operator to find publicly available lists people have created for all sorts of niches. Google found over 30,000 different lists just for SEO alone.
Use Google Operators to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Google Operators to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
You can use Twitter's advanced search fields to try and find people that are tweeting about your subject within a specific area.
Use Advanced Twitter search to find local people and companies to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Advanced Twitter search to find local people and companies to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
 

19. Tweet like a Human

Your Tweets shouldn’t only be about your work. You can talk about what you do outside of work, and maybe even procrastinate a little.

20. Celebrate small wins

Celebrate every milestones or achievements you are proud of no matter how small they are. It can just be 10 followers, 10 upvotes, or 10 likes.

21. Celebrate with others

Celebrate your friends success, cheer them on, and shower them with words of encouragement. Be authentic, I’m sure they be happy to do the same for you.

22. Use Twitter DMs

Connect with your audience on a more personal level through the use of DMs. Just remember not to put the focus on yourself, but focus on them.

23. Ask questions

Engage your audience by asking them questions. This can easily create a stack of useful ideas, resources and perspectives where everyone can learn something from.

24. Retweet other’s tweets

This is something I admittedly haven’t been actively doing since I prefer to inject my responses under replies. Just remember to retweet tweets that’s in your niche.

25. Create excitements

Before you celebrate your small wins, you can create this little excitements and expectations for your audience. Who knows they may give you a boost and bring you closer to that milestone.

26. Quantity leads to quality

Tweet an obscene amount when you start. You will never know what great content actually looks like until you make enough bad content to find out.
Who does this well? @APompliano

29. Engage with "Notch Above" accounts

Don't flock to Naval's tweets. Find someone a step ahead of you (e.g. if you're at 500, target an account with 2,000.) They just did what your next step is. Build that relationship.
Who does this well? @Aprilynne

30. Analyze formats and patterns

Content is king, but format is queen. Find different styles to format your posts and unique ways of saying things. Notice the patterns that successful accounts follow. Who does this well? @AlexLlullTW

31. Study the writing of great accounts

Compile a list of accounts you personally like. What is it about their writing that sticks with you? What frameworks do they use for writing? Twitter is all about interesting writing. Who does this well? @adelinethewong
Use these tools to search for the best content by certain accounts, identify good topics to post about, etc. If you master advanced search, you can reverse engineer your content strategy. Who does this well? @dickiebush

33. Document your learnings

You don't have to be an expert on something to post about it. Sharing your learnings along the way is powerful. Document the processes you're making for your work & what you're learning. Who does this well? @damengchen

34. Play games with your online friends

This comes in many forms. Offer free work to your audience, do an AMA, give away knowledge, etc. Always be offering value. Who does this well? @heyblake

35. Double down on the content you like creating

Don't go after the topic with the most potential. Pick the one you could talk about for hours on end. You'll stick with it, and consistency beats potential every time. Who does this well?@anafabrega11

36. Find a group of 5 supportive friend accounts

Making friends is the best way to grow because it makes it more enjoyable. Don't do this alone. Find people at a similar stage and have common goals. Push each other to do more. Who does this well? @ThatChristinaG

37. Don't ask for anything from anyone

Stop asking people to do you favors. In the beginning, you have no leverage. Later, you should rarely use it. This is a community you're building, not a group you should manipulate. Who does this well? @vincenzolandino

38. Give away free stuff all the time

This can be products, services, knowledge, advice, humor, or smiles. Give give give at every turn. If you consistently give without expectation, your audience will adore you. Who does this well? @fabianarbor

39. Focus 80% on the hook, 20% on the rest

Tweeting is writing. Writing is captivating attention from line to line. The first line matters most. Rework the first lines of your posts multiple times. Keep them engaging and bold. Who does this well? @davegerhardt

40. Zoggle when others zig

If you're looking at what other people are doing, you're already far behind. Blaze your own trail forward. Do things that may seem weird to others in your content strategy. Who does this well? @AmandaMGoetz

41. Pick the right metrics to measure

Don't go into this blindly. Building an audience? Cool. Answer me this: why? And what metrics determine your success after 1 month? 6 months? 3 years? Follows, likes, and retweets are not good goals.
Who does this well? @dr

42. DM 10 new people every day

The name of the growth game is relationships. Do things that don't scale, and over time your growth will scale. Pick 10 random people to message that day, and just start a convo. No CTA, no ask. Who does this well? @aaditsh

43. DM all new followers with a unique message

This is possible early on, so take advantage of it. When you see new followers come in, DM them right away. Intro yourself and ask what content you can create for them. Who does this well? @mkhundmiri

44. Grow your swipe file religiously

Collect snippets of text, imagery, video, etc. in a Notion doc. Dump all new items in, organize them second. Bonus points if you share this publicly. Revisit your swipes on a weekly cadence.
Who does this well? @harrydry

45. Make your bio about them

Most bios are all like "I'm Brian and I founded 3800 startups and blah blah..." NOOOOO. Do this instead: "Dog enthusiast & serial entrepreneur. Follow me and I'll give you a free startup idea." Who does this well? @alexgarcia_atx

46. Use your location slot creatively

Locations are cool. What you're building is cooler. Set a pre-cursor to your link CTA by using the location field. Who does this well? @jmoserr

47. Give context with your profile banner

Don't make it hard for me to know what you do and why I should follow you. Your banner is a chance to visualize the value you'll bring to me. Capitalize on it. Who does this well? @GraemeCrawley_

48. Follow "Topics" and post content that fits in these buckets

Lemme hear you say "Underrated!" Click "Topics" in the sidebar and identify 3-5 of them to use as core keywords for your content. Then post using the keywords. Who does this well? @PaulYacoubian

49. Install Twemex to see everyone's best content instantly

This tool lets you see any user's top content instantly, and do some search wizardry. You can also sort by "Recent Hits" for ideas. Who does this well? @thisiskp_

50. Find viral content from other industries

Marketer? Look at what "Design Twitter" is talking about. Find posts that take off and figure out why. Use the patterns in formatting, writing, and sentiment in your own content. Who does this well? @brianne2k

51. Don't post links

Twitter doesn't want you helping people leave their site. Don't post too many links (or any.) You can always put links in a reply or DM them to people.
Who does this well? Most people. Make sure you do, too.

52. Build or learn in public

Sharing what you're going through and giving actionable step-by-steps is highly valuable. You'll get followers by following this consistently. Who does this well? @d__raptis

53. Start a product and grow alongside it

The biggest hack in this list. Build a product. Share the process of building it, designing it, promoting it, etc. Get people excited about a common solution. Who does this well? @JanelSGM

54. Find your format and go all in

After you've posted for several months at an obscene rate, you'll start noticing patterns. You'll see what works, what doesn't. Once you find what quality content is for you, do way more of it. Who does this well? @jackbutcher

55. Optimize for retweets, not likes

While retweets aren't a goal for being on Twitter, you should optimize your writing for them. Likes don't move the needle. Retweets are what cause virality. Make posts shareable & relatable. Who does this well? @eade_bengard

56. Make it a no-brainer to follow you

Finally, give away so much valuable info and free stuff that people would be out of their minds NOT to follow you. Make the choice for them by being THAT account. Who does this well? @anthilemoon
 

57. Decide to commit

The first step is to commit to it. If you want to build an audience, you'll have to show up consistently. Why? Because it builds trust with those who follow you. And you know how important trust is when building a business.

58. Set up your Profile

Your Profile is your Landing page, make sure it converts:
  • Polish your Bio
  • Have a clear Banner
  • Pin a valuable Tweet
  • Have a good Profile picture
For example, people who follow me know what to expect: threads on Marketing written by professionals....
Set up a good profile and Twitter bio to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Set up a good profile and Twitter bio to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

59. Curate your following

Most users follow real-time News, Politicians, or Celebrities on Twitter. That's ok, but not the best use of this platform. Instead, focus on following like-minded people. Follow other Founders, Creators, Investors in your niche.

60. Leverage your analytics

Start using your Twitter Analytics or tools like ilo.so to get insights on your Tweets performance. Maximize for growth:
  • Conversion
  • Followers Growth
  • Engagement Per Impression
Find what works and double down on that...

61. Start a Revenue Newsletter

Twitter allows you to integrate a Revue Newsletter right on your Profile. Why is this useful? Because you'll convert part of your audience into newsletter subscribers. This way you'll be able to provide more in-depth content about your product...
Use Twitter Revue Newsletter to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Twitter Revue Newsletter to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
 

62. Automate tasks

Automation plays an important role in growing your audience. Learn how to use tools like @typefullyapp , @hypefury , or @blackmagic_so to schedule your Tweets. This way you can reach people in other time zones with your content, even while you sleep.

63. Write threads

Twitter threads are a superpower you must start using the moment you reach 150 to 250 followers. Why? Because you'll be able to:
  • expand on topics you wouldn't otherwise.
  • build deeper relations with your audience.
Turn your Audience into Superfans.

64. Engage with your Audience

Most people don't want to follow broadcasters. Instead, they want to follow real people with whom they can interact. Make sure you reply to your Audience comments and DMs. This is a game-changer approach that most Founders ignore.

65. Create value

How?
  • Reach goals in public
  • Document your journey
  • Share advice to your past-self
  • Curate the best resources in your niche
  • Share what you learn while you're learning
Helping people figure out things is the best way to create value.

66. Mindset of tweeting

Twitter is the starting point of your sales funnel. Even if you're not selling products, you're still selling yourself. You're selling your ideas, insights, values.

67. Who not to follow

Your Twitter Timeline molds your thinking. Everything you read here changes you in some way. For their reason unfollow-
  • Negative people
  • Political pundits
  • Activists with an agenda
  • Victim mentality individuals
Curate your feed.

68. Who to follow

Let your feed program you in a positive way. Follow these 4 types of people:
  1. Uplift wizards
  1. Akin Specialists
  1. Silent Mentors
  1. Pioneers
Let's talk about each of them.

Uplift wizards

They are the ones who will motivate the fuck out of you. They'll provide you with deep insights on how to win in life, be happier, and find freedom. Their tweets will find you when you most need them.

Akin Specialists

What are you good at? What are you trying to get better at?Follow the specialist who regularly posts tips on how to get better at what you do. Aspire to become friends with them.

Pioneers

What they say becomes the norm 6 months from now. They're ahead of the curve. Some might even think they're a bit crazy. But a genius is just a different kind of crazy.

69. Silent Mentors

These people are a couple of steps ahead of you. They don't know who you are. But you follow their advice to the T. You buy their products. And you strive to meet them one day.

70. Pimp your profile

  1. Use a good profile photo
  1. Write a great bio (your bio sets expectations)
  1. Add a link to your website/newsletter
You want the RIGHT people to follow you. Optimize your profile for them.

71. Networking that works

Twitter is fun for the memes, the shitposting, and the crazy stuff people post But few people understand that Twitter is more than a shitposting site. Twitter is the ultimate Networking platform
Use this platform correctly, and it can change the course of your career forever.
You can network:
  1. Upward
  1. Downward
  1. Laterally
Use Twitter networking to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Use Twitter networking to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

Networking Upward

Interact with larger accounts and people who are years ahead of you. Reply to their tweets in a smart way – don't paraphrase their ideas. Try to get their attention on the DMs. Maybe they'll follow you. Maybe they won't. But you won't know unless you try.
Smart Ways To Network Upward
  1. Write a thread about things you've learned from the person.
  1. Summarize a recent podcast.
  1. Post a thread with your favorite tweets and say why you liked it.
  1. Send a DM saying thanks and expressing how their content has improved your life

Network Downward

Engage and interact with smaller accounts. They're usually your followers. Connect with them. And treat them well. I mean, they're the ones retweeting you and sharing your ideas with others. Pay it forward.
Smart Ways To Network Downward
  1. DM your most engaged followers to say thanks.
  1. Retweet their tweets (even if you don't follow them).
  1. Like and reply to their replies.
  1. Ask them what they would love to learn from you on the DMs.

Network Laterally

Build relationships with accounts of similar. Connect with people in your industry. Build a network of like-minded individuals. They're the ones who will help you throughout your journey.
Smart Ways To Network Laterally
  1. Take the relationship outside of Twitter (Telegram, Whatsapp, Real Life, Zoom Calls).
  1. Build products together.
  1. Have weekly, bi-weekly, or month mastermind calls.
  1. Connect over direct message more than in the timeline.

72. Painless content creation

There are 4 rules to create content to grow your account:
  1. Have a general theme
  1. Provide upfront value
  1. Be consistent
  1. Always be researching
Let's talk about each of them.

Have a general theme

People like to follow accounts they can learn from or they perceive some type of benefit from following. Choose the themes for your account. And pay attention to the content you get the best engagement. Double down on it. Start with 3 main topics.

Provide upfront value

The three pillars of providing value online are to:
  • Educate
  • Entertain
  • Inspire
 
Educate, entertain, or inspire to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Educate, entertain, or inspire to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
  • Educate
Provide an exact solution to a problem. Write threads (like this one) showing how to face a specific challenge. Be thorough, provide examples, and showcase your expertise.
  • Entertain
Make your audience laugh, make them think, make them wonder. Shitpost, troll, and tell stories. In other words, don't be boring.
  • Inspire
Make people feel good about themselves. Congratulate people for winning. Share your wins. And, from time to time, tweet out something motivational.

Be consistent

When you're starting out, you must develop the habit of posting every day. This is non-negotiable. Post 5-10 tweets a day about your area of expertise. If you aren't an expert, post about what you're learning and build dope shyt in public.

73. Always be researching

I'm constantly researching my clients. I want to know their dreams, their pains, their favorite books, their favorite creators. Knowing more about my audience gives me unlimited ideas for content.
Research to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Research to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Research to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Research to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
 

74. Twitter secrets to find what gets engagement

Learn how to use the Twitter search. Find high-performing tweets for inspiration.
  • Find with a minimum like count (from:joserosado) min_faves:100
  • Find with a minimum number of retweets (from:joserosado) min_retweets:10
  • Find all tweets within a date range: (from:joserosado) since:2021-01-01 until:2021-01-10
  • Find tweets that aren't replies (from:joserosado) -filter:replies
  • Find tweets from one account to the other (from:joserosado) (to:edlatimore)

75. Apps to make your life better

Make your life easier with these apps
  1. @Hypefury - Schedule tweets
  1. @Pikaso_me - Screenshot tweets
  1. @Readwiseio - Curate tweets
  1. @NotionHQ - Manage content creation
Chrome Minimal Twitter Extension - Make the desktop UI cleaner.

76. A word about going viral

Going viral with shitposting, memes, and ideas that aren't related to your themes, will not get you new followers. What going viral usually does is attract the dumbest people into your notifications. Viral content is mostly useless.

77. Easy growth

You have 2 major ways to grow your account:
  1. Be SUUUUPER interesting.
  1. Get retweeted by bigger accounts.
Twitter is experiencing a rebirth. Twitter knows it.
That's why they're being bulling with monetization, Revue (newsletter app), and Spaces (the clubhouse clone functionality).
Start tweeting more often.
And connect with other people in your industry.

78. Just write threads

I bought dozens of growth guides and paid thousands in coaching just to realize that to grow an audience you just need to write good stuff. And write it often. Here are some thread topics that might help:
Write threads to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Write threads to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

79. Give for free what others charge for

We focus on too much on tips and tricks and don't pause to wonder "is our stuff actually good?" If you give for free what others charge for they'll be thankful and glad to refer you to others. Word of mouth is the best salesman.

80. Get attention with open platforms, then capture it with closed platforms

Twitter followers are great but they don't belong to you. Write the best content, then ask them to join your email list or join your community. This will make it easier to monetize later on as well

81. Competence attracts luck

Everyone wants to be friends with the cool guy. And the easiest way to be the cool guy is prove that you're good at solving a problem over and over. So when people encounter that same problem they'll come looking for you. Ways to do this:
Solve problems over and over to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Solve problems over and over to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

82. Forget follower count.

Leverage and money are the real metrics. Followers and engagement are visible metrics. Leverage and money are invisible metrics. You want to optimize for the invisible and the visible takes care of itself.

83. Find signal, then double down on signal

When I started posting my drawings I noticed they had better engagement than most tweets. Then I just put it together in a thread and went nuts. Find what works, then market the hell out of it.

84. Overwhelm the algo

When Kanye said "5 beats a day for 3 summers. There shouldn't be a way for me to lose really" he gave you the best audience building advice ever. Just tweet more. Give Twitter no option but to put your content up. Then double down on what works.

85. Don't screw anyone over

You could ruin the brand that took you years to build with one unethical move. If you have to choose your reputation over money, choose your reputation. You can't get trust back. But you can always make more money.

86. Show personality in comments

Personal brands need personality. Show your personality and joke around in the comments. This will give your brand depth and relatability. Both great things to have.
 

87. Engagement is the key!

Treat Topics like Twitter SEO

How-to: Go through the list of Twitter Topics and treat it like keyword research. What do you want to be known for? What topic can you create valuable content around?
GO through twitter topics to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
GO through twitter topics to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

Identify 5 topics as your main keywords

How-to: Pick only 5 right now. You'll go all-in on creating daily content around these topics. You don't have to use the exact keyword of the topic every day, but the general topic needs to be in your wheelhouse.

Find patterns from topic trenders

How-to: Set aside 15-30 mins daily to study tweets in your selected topics. Identify formats and topics that garner great engagement. Try to find out why. Use this as fuel for your own content ideas. Do NOT post valueless tweets.
Find patterns to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Find patterns to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

Fill out the content calendar for 1 week

How-to: Using the data and patterns you've collected from research, write out enough content to fill a week. I recommend starting at 1 post per topic per day. Don't just tweet clickbait. Publish and begin collecting engagement data.
Fill out a content calendar for a weel to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Fill out a content calendar for a weel to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

Analyze results — what works, what flops

How-to: Conduct a weekly post mortem for your topic tweets. How many tweets trended for a topic? Was your engagement better or worse than usual? Make plans to improve writing and format for next week.

Double down on topics you trend in easily

How-to: Identify the topics where you seem to always be trending. Double down on these (while ensuring you can consistently make valuable content around them.) Tweet in them twice as often. Ditch non-performing topics.
Double down on topics you trend in easily to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Double down on topics you trend in easily to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.

Repeat steps 4 - 8 weekly

How-to: The goal is to always be improving your writing and formatting for topic tweets. If you can document your learnings, you can improve 5% per week. That compounds SO much over time.
Repeatability and consistency help you to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
Repeatability and consistency help you to grow your Twitter followers for SaaS.
 

88. Being nice is a competitive advantage

Send a DM to someone complimenting their work. Respond to comments to your posts.