Twitter is great for blog traffic. But bloggers sometimes get too enthusiastic with it. A common error is when, out of the blue, one replies to another tweep with a link to his blog.
Some tweeps do this to those who've just followed them back. They include a link to their home page or latest post. You can see it in their "tweets and replies". It's a bad look, it annoys people, and you shouldn't do it. It's a kind of spam, let's face it.
Context and relevance matter
That said, there is an effective, non-spammy way to share posts in replies. You just have to do it in context.
Let's say you've blogged about a specific topic and you've already tweeted the link out to your own followers. You can draw still more traffic to it by finding tweets (and ideally actual Twitter conversations) about the same subject.
Then you can add to the conversation, sharing the link. You could say something like, "I see your point. But here's another way of looking at it." Or maybe: "Good list of tips. Here are a couple more."
Doing this isn't spam because it's relevant, in context and adding to the conversation.
Be selective and don't overdo it
I wouldn't do this to people you don't already follow, however. And I would only use this tactic with other tweeps -- preferably influencers -- with whom you've engaged before. Make sure to make other link-free contributions as well.
Also, don't do it over and over again with the same people. That way they won't resent it and neither will their followers. If it's a good post, and relevant, they'll appreciate it. You never know, they might even retweet it. If an influencer does this it can bring a torrent of hits as well as new followers.
I have used this method from time to time, particularly with my political blogs, and I know it works. It's particularly good for topical posts. This is because they're very specific by definition. Tweeps who are intensely focused on some particular issue are much more likely to click on a post that deals with it. So if you "strike while the iron is hot" you can sometimes pick up a surprising number of extra clicks this way.
(Image courtesy of and copyright Free Range Stock, www.freerangestock.com.)
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