14 Ways to Get Fantasy Football Answers on Twitter

You don't need to have anything in common with Justin Bieber's 51 million followers to find useful information on Twitter. After dodging scams, perusing celebrity selfies, and ignoring thousands of MyFantasyLeague mock draft picks, Twitter can be a powerful tool for getting a leg up on your fantasy football competition. The trick is figuring out how to get the advice that you need at the moment when you need it the most.

Tons of people ask for fantasy advice on Twitter. Unfortunately, many of their questions go unanswered. When fantasy analysts fail to respond, it doesn't mean that they're jerks. They just don't have time to respond to everyone. Here are 14 tips for increasing your chances of getting a response.

1. Avoid complicated, multi-tweet questions. Many fantasy football choices have involved, league-specific contexts and endless lists of possibilities. Do the legwork to boil this down to the two or three options you're wrestling with.
2. Make sure your question has the basic context to stand alone. Many analysts will recognize your avatar because of the pleasant chat you had last week, but they won't remember your roster.
3. Don't ask basic start/sit questions that the PFF Fantasy consensus rankings can answer for you. You don't need special Twitter help to pick two out of three receivers to start in standard scoring.
4. Don't include players' basic stats or matchups in your question. If you have a unique stat or trend that concerns you, fine. Just don't bother with things like “so-and-so has 20 more yards per game this year” or “what's-his-face has scored a touchdown in three straight.” If you ask a reputable source, they already breathe that stuff.
5. Follow someone before you ask them for advice.
6. Wait to ask your question 24 to 48 hours before your decision has to be made. Sometimes people ask start/sit questions on Monday for a player that was injured the previous day. Experts make predictions early and often, but they'll have more helpful recommendations later in the week.
7. Don't ask fantasty analysts to rate your team or evaluate a trade that you've already made. That's the fantasy football equivalent of “Does this shirt make me look fat?” You don't really want the answer.
8. Don't blast the same question to 100 experts in 100 different tweets. If you're looking for extra insight, lean on a handful of experts that you trust who are good about responding to your questions.
9. Ask for advice via tweets instead of direct messages. If your leaguemates are stalking you, sign up for a second, advice-asking account and block them.
10. Many trade-offer questions lead to 20-tweet threads with a ton of “he wouldn't take it” responses. Don't ask about a trade offer you're about to propose. Ask about an offer you're about to accept. If you're new to trading — or you're too nervous to pull the trigger — read my article, 30 Ways to Win a Fantasy Football Trade.
11. Don't hide behind anonymity or tweet things you wouldn't say to someone's face. Too many people threaten real-life athletes who didn't rescue their terrible fantasy teams. That's bad for fantasy sports and makes all of us look crazy. Athletes are people with feelings and families. They work their hardest and hate missing games. They could care less about our fantasy teams when their livelihood is at stake. Let's all be cool like a bunch of Fonzies.
12. Learn your homonyms. Far too often people errantly use “your” instead of “you're.” Analysts feel special when someone offers themselves up as their one and only “stupid” by saying, “Your stupid!” But trust me, the big-time fantasy experts are already stocked up on similar offers from others.
13. It's your team. You need to be involved enough to feel good about the choices you make. Don't ask someone to log into your league and make your team better. If you send someone your entire roster and ask them to set your lineup for you, doesn't that ruin the fun? Show a little hustle out there.
14. Superstitious or not, don't claim to have 14 tips when only 13 of your ideas make the cut.

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Conclusion

I hope these tips help you get the answers you seek on Twitter. Let me know whether you agree, disagree, or think I left something off of the list. For fun, try to contradict as many of these suggestions as possible in a single tweet. Whether you're a Belieber or not, I look forward to chatting with you on Twitter in the near future.

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Follow @AustinNFL