Twitter Party Tips on Mutt Monday

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly each week's Mutt Monday arrives. Wasn't it just yesterday that I wrote last week's edition? Like they say, time flies when you're having fun!

Event Barkers has another Twitter Party coming up on October 1, so we're eager to share our Twitter Party tips and tricks for enjoying the party. Hopefully we'll have some other tipsters join in. DogTipper, maybe?

So, to make sure you're ready to glide right through #Coupaween, we hope you'll enjoy the posts that are linked up below. Give us a little help with getting the word out, will ya? I'm embedding two Tweets about next week's party to reach all your Twitter friends:

I'm reading up on how to follow the #Coupaween Twitter Party. U can learn more here: http://t.co/KT5Qtyls56
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) September 22, 2013

You can save big bucks @Coupaw on Halloween Costumes + more. Sign up 4 Daily Deals when you visit http://t.co/NI5bxr65iV
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) September 22, 2013

After you've signed up to receive Coupaw's daily deals, don't forget to RSVP and mark your calendar! Watch for more info at next week's Mutt Monday when I'll be sharing assorted posts on deals and... 

Halloween Savings + Deals 

This could be really fun if we get more bloggers involved. Care to give me another click:

#Pet Bloggers link up Halloween #giveaways, savings & tips at #MuttMonday Sept. 30-Oct. 6: http://t.co/aRLYLJduI4
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) September 22, 2013

Mutt Monday Fall Fun with Dogs

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

With October in sight, my family is beginning to think about more outdoor activities.  The Summer months are brutal here in Florida, but we're almost out of the worst of it. Winter is glorious here, and that's the time when me and the boys do more of our favorite Fall activities. 

In the planning process are a number of camping trips to cooler locations where plenty of natural areas will provide great hiking and dog-friendly outings. I can't wait to find some nice cool spots to enjoy a picnic and let the boys explore...on leash of course!

Today's theme is obviously Fall Fun for Dogs. I hope that some of our blogging friends will join in and link up their similarly-themed posts from their archives. You can help me locate more bloggers to join in by sharing this Tweet like a "Come" command:

#Pet bloggers can join in #MuttMonday Blog Hop w/their archived posts on Fall Fun 4 Dogs: http://t.co/rejq8TyrzS
— Carrie Boyko (@AllThingsDog) September 16, 2013

Now let's move on to next week's plan. With another big Twitter Party in the planning, I'd like to share some Twitter and Twitter Party tips next week. I get lots of questions about how to best follow along and these will be my most helpful posts.  So stop in again next week to see what you can learn that will help you enjoy these events even more:

Twitter and Twitter Party Tips

September 23-29

Doggie DMs and RTs at the #SafeHowlOween Twitter Party

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
Twitter Class Continues

I am incredibly impressed with how many of you are coming outside your comfort zone to try out a Twitter Party. This is a newer way to have fun and win prizes in the pet blogging arena, so Twitter classes continue today with a couple of new ways to get your Twitter messages across in the best possible way.


DMs, or Direct Messages, aka Messages are like Twitter email. This method of communication is private. Here's what you need to know about DMs:

• You can only send a DM to a Twitter user that follows you.
• A DM is for messages you prefer to send, without other followers viewing them.
• DMs are still limited to 140 characters, just like regular tweets.
• Many Twitter parties use DMs for answering right/wrong questions (so that others don't see your right answer in a contest) or for communicating shipping information for prizes won. This is one reason you must follow your hosts during a Twitter party, as you may need to DM an answer or an address.
• Following the Twitter party sponsors is important as well. They often have special offers or may contact party attendees afterwards to ask questions or collect information for shipping a prize. In order to DM them, you must follow them.
• To send a DM, click the Messages link at the top of your Home Page, or click the envelope icon on the recipient's Twitter Profile Page. You'll get a pop up window to type your message in. Some Twitter users may have DMs disabled. Others may have DMs in a drop down menu on their profile page.
• For more details and FAQs about Messages, visit Twitter's Help Page for Messages.

RTs or ReTweets are simply tweets sent by another Twitter user, and then repeated by you. Here's how it works:

• You read a tweet that you like, and would like more users to see it.
• From your Home page, hover your mouse over the tweet. A few options will appear just under the tweet itself. These options are : favorite, retweet, and reply. You'll also find a time stamp on this same line.
• To Retweet this same tweet, simply hit the retweet link. Twitter will pop it out and ask if you want to Retweet it. If yes, hit Retweet, and off it goes to all your followers Twitter feeds.
• In the announcement post for All Things Dog Blog's #SafeHowlOween #Twitterparty, we offered a prize to RSVPs for Retweeting a message. This is a great way to help other Twitter users get their tweet seen by others in the Twitterverse. In this case, simply copy the tweet from the post and go back to your Twitter Home page.
• Paste the tweet into your "What's Happening" box and send it out as a tweet. Done!
• You can test this out right now. Here's the message we asked our party attendees to tweet: Join me 4 #SafeHowloween #TwitterParty w/Vet @balancedcanine, great prizes, and @Terrapaws #dog treats. Details: http://ow.ly/6LRnd  Copy and paste this message, making sure you get all the characters at the end, and ship it out to your followers right now. 
• You can verify that it worked by watching for it to appear in the top line of your feed momentarily.

Stay tuned for more Twitter class coming soon, when I'll be covering Mentions, Replies, Twitter links, following other users, and sponsor highlights. Until then, watch for me at @AllThingsDog. My #SafeHowlOween #Twitterparty co-hosts are @Dogtipper and @FidoseofReality, and our sponsors are @Terrapaws and @BalancedCanine.

Twitter Parties 101: RSVP to Join in the Fun

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
No More Treading Water
Twitter Party Signup Made Easy

We are already hearing from our readers that Twitter parties are an exciting new adventure. The tweets have begun and the guest list is growing. Some have asked how to RSVP. This post is designed to walk you through the steps of letting us know you'll be attending. I promise it is quick and painless.


If you don't already have a Twitter account, you'll need to start there. Sign up at http://Twitter.com. When you return here, follow these instructions for adding your name to our guest list by using the linky list at the announcement post. 

Steps to RSVP for the Twitter Party: 

1. Click over to the current Twitter party post at this link.
2. Scroll to the bottom and find the  blue lettering that says "Click here to enter" 
3. Click the blue link and a new screen will open. 
4. Type your Twitter handle in the first box that says "Link Title or Blog Title". It will look like this: @(MyTwitterHandle). Be sure to include the @ sign connected to your handle. This is a link to your page on twitter. Mine is @AllThingsDog.
5. Type your Twitter url in the next box that is labeled "Link". It will start with "http://twitter.com/" and you include your handle after the slash, without the @symbol. Mine looks like this: http://twitter.com/allthingsdog/
6. Scroll down to hit "Enter your link" and you're done.

Need help with following a Twitter party? Feel free to ask questions. I'll also be writing more posts about managing your twitter party experience. Watch for these and feel free to drop me your Twitter Party questions at EventBarkers@gmail.com. See you at the party!