How to turn one blog post into a week of tweets

Split your post into its key points and write each tweet as if it starts a conversation about one point.

That one rule will get you far, because it makes you treat every tweet as a standalone post. Most repurposed tweets read like excerpts. A good one makes sense in a feed, next to a dozen unrelated posts, for someone who never saw your article.

Why bother repurposing a blog post?

The thinking is already done, and most of your followers never saw the post.

You spent hours writing it. A single tweet linking to the article lets most of that work go to waste, because it reaches a small slice of your audience once. Separate tweets give each of your best points its own chance to land, and the ones that do well tell you what to write about next.

Where are the tweets inside a post?

Read the post once and list every separate idea it contains.

Most posts contain more than one idea. Look for:

• the main argument of the article
• a surprising number or fact
• a short story or example
• a mistake people make
• each step of a process, if there is one
• a quotable line you wrote halfway through

Each of these can be one tweet. Write them down in plain words first; polish comes later.

How do I write a tweet that works without the article?

Lead with the point and give it enough context to make sense to a stranger.

“This is why step three matters” means nothing in a feed. “Most onboarding emails fail because they ask for two things at once” works without any setup. Keep it simple. Don’t try to write a billboard; try to spark interest and conversation.

When is a thread better?

When the ideas build on each other and work best in the order you wrote them.

A how-to with a series of steps, a story with a turn in it, or an argument with several stages reads better as a thread. Open with your most interesting claim, keep it to four to eight parts, and put the link to your post in the last part.

Content to tweets reads a blog post and drafts single tweets from its own facts. With the thread option switched on, as on the blog post to thread page, it also arranges a thread for you.

How should I spread the tweets over a week?

Post one idea a day, and save the thread for a day when you have time to reply.

A simple week: the main argument on Monday, the surprising fact on Tuesday, the thread on Wednesday, a mistake to avoid on Thursday and the quotable line on Friday. Reply to people who respond. Conversations with your followers around your content do more for reach than another post.

What should I avoid?

Teasers, link-only posts and sentences copied straight from the article.

“You won’t believe what we found” makes people scroll past, and a bare link with the post title gets ignored. Sentences lifted from an article often depend on the paragraph before them. Rewrite each idea in your own words, as you’d explain it to a friend.

Next time you finish a blog post, don’t just tweet the link. Turn it into a week-long conversation and get the most out of your work.