Do You Want Users to Pay With a Tweet? Learn How to Add Tweet-to-Download Buttons in WordPress

As a WordPress site owner, would you like to grow your Twitter following while incentivizing social shares? What if visitors tweeted your content in exchange for exclusive downloads?

This conversion tactic is called pay with a tweet and it can skyrocket your site traffic.

For example, an educational blog saw 200% more organic traffic after adding tweet-to-unlock on their most popular templates. Their Twitter following also doubled in size.

In this complete guide, I‘ll show you how to add pay with tweet buttons for file downloads on WordPress using a popular tweet-locking plugin.

Why Incentivize Downloads with Tweets? 3 Compelling Benefits

Before we dive into the step-by-step setup, let me share data that will convince you to start tweet-locking your exclusive content and templates.

1. Adds Viral Potential and Exposure

When visitors share your tweets, it places your content, products, and branded hashtags in front of an exponentially larger new audience.

This sparks a positive feedback look where more social engagement leads to increased website visitors.

2. Skyrockets Twitter Follower Count

Pay with tweet buttons require users to follow you before downloading the file.

According to 2018 research by Buffer, tweet-to-unlock conversions had above a 60% success rate.

That‘s 6 out of 10 visitors choosing to follow on Twitter in exchange for your free resource.

3. Boosts Brand Awareness

With each new re-tweet of your locked content, dozens of new users learn about your business. This rapidly raises brand visibility especially if tweets use your company name or product hashtags.

Now that you see the incredible marketing potential of tweet locking, let‘s set it up on WordPress.

Step 1: Install the Download Monitor Plugin for File Management

Download Monitor is the most popular file management plugin with over 100,000 active installs.

I‘ve used it on client sites for years and highly recommend it. The features include:

• One-click file uploads
• Custom download pages
• Detailed analytics
• User access restrictions
• Integrations with payment solutions

First install and activate the free version of Download Monitor. Then we‘ll set up the Twitter Lock extension.

Step 2: Get API Access from Twitter Developers Site

To enable tweet-to-unlock on your files, the plugin needs access to the Twitter API.

You have to register as a Twitter developer and create an app. This will unlock the required API keys.

1. Apply for a free Twitter developer account
2. Create an app with read/write permissions at the bottom of the Dashboard
3. Copy your Consumer API key and API secret key

Later we will enter those credentials into Download Manager to authorize tweet locking.

Step 3: Install the Twitter Lock Extension

While Download Monitor handles file uploads and management, the tweet-to-unlock functionality comes from a premium extension called Twitter Lock.

There are three pricing options available:

• Personal: $39 per year
• Business: $99 per year
• Agency: $199 per year for up to 50 sites

I recommend the Business plan. It‘s what I currently use for client sites.

Once purchased, install the extension and enter your license key on the Downloads > Extensions page.

Finally, paste the API credentials you generated in Step 2 to connect your WordPress site to Twitter.

Step 4: Add Tweet-to-Unlock to Your Download Files

We are now ready to upload files and place them behind tweet-locking paywalls.

Creating a new locked download takes seconds:

1. Go to Downloads > Add New
2. Upload your file on the right side
3. Check the box to Lock Download with Tweet
4. Customize the tweet text

Let‘s look at an example tweet text for an ebook:

Check out this free ebook with 10 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Following [#myhashtags] via @myhandle

Visitors would need to tweet that and follow you before accessing the download.

Display Tweet-to-Unlock Buttons Anywhere

Use the following shortcode to embed tweet-for-download buttons in posts, pages, sidebars, etc:

[dlm_tl_tweet_button id="15"] 

Simply swap 15 with the ID of the download you want to unlock.

This adds a stylish "Tweet to Unlock" call-to-action button that opens a pop-up for visitors to share.

So give your users an incentive to tweet your content! This tactic can explode your Twitter presence and website traffic.

Let me know if you have any other questions about setting up tweet-locking in the comments section below!