How to make it easy for people to RT your tweets
February 3, 2009 //
This post won’t mean anything if you don’t already use Twitter. So, either join and follow me, or ignore this post 
This is a fantatsic tip given to me by Louise Doherty. First I’ll explain what RT means - it’s short for Retweet and it’s something you do when you wish to promote someone elses twitter message to your own followers. All you do is type RT followed by the message you wish quote and where appropriate, include your own thoughts.
When someone retweets your message, they include your screen name, the letters RT and a space. So, it’s difficult or time consuming for others to RT your message if it’s almost 140 characters long and they’re forced to edit your message. My screen name is @PaulWalsh which means I must keep my messages to 127 characters or less to make it easy for others to retweet without the need to edit. Below is Louise’s formula which I think is pretty cool - it sums up what I’ve just said in less than 140 characters.
RT formula: <140 - (username + 4) x interestingness = probability of RT
If you find this post useful, why not retweet it 
Gerald Wiggins says 
marco goldschmied says 
Sharon Crossley says 
I too have been practicing this technique. It works quite well.
It also helps to think about what happens if your tweet gets RT'd more than once. Think like a print journalist. Create obvious editing points where someone can chop your tweet without losing the interestingness.
To better understand “interestingness”, study the tweets that get RT'd a lot — check out http://www.retweetradar.com/
February 3rd, 2009
Like the top people who are retweeted Jay.
February 3rd, 2009
Great post - I know in the past I've had to do some real “work” to RT something because it was too long. Either that or if it was way too long I didn't retweet - lost opportunities! Makes me think about how I tweet as well, so all good practice!
February 3rd, 2009
Whenever I try to RT interesting posts, they turn out to end up with +140
Kewl post
February 4th, 2009
Genuinely been practicing this over the past 24hrs and have definitely noticed an upswing in my RTs.
Nice work.
February 4th, 2009
I'm delighted you like it guys - remember, @LouiseDoherty is the brains behind this - I love it too. Please feel free to @ her to say that you like it
February 4th, 2009
[...] means another user re-broadcasting your message using Twitter. See Paul Walsh’s tips on How to get RT. If you are getting a retweet you are almost guaranteed to get more people listening to you i.e. [...]
February 5th, 2009
Apparently, the latest technique is to use ♺ instead of RT, saving you one character.
Find the symbol on copypastecharacter and slot it in.
At least that's according to Stowe Boyd.
February 11th, 2009
I find it annoying tbh. Chances are I might be following that person who tweeted in the first place then I get the RT, and then RT of the RT…..
February 16th, 2009
I appreciate RTs because it’s evidence that something hit a nerve. I follow more RT links than I do the others, so there’s a certain “pull” to them.
Good post!
May 10th, 2009