I’ve been writing jokes on twitter for half a decade, primarily to funnel thoughts away from my mouth at inopportune moments. I’ve learned a thing or two about what folks like and don’t. Here are a few tips:

Short observation? Add a punchline!

Let’s say that you wrapped up tweeting an observation and had more than 30 characters left unused. Ask yourself, can I fit a joke here?

This especially works well for quick complaints. Use the extra space to make it clear how ludicrous the problem truly is:

Know your audience

This joke works because John Debay’s followers share his passion for code and design:

This joke doesn’t work at all because no one who follows me knows the Divergent author’s name.

Treat trending topics as writing prompts

When you see a formulaic hashtag like #fakeFirstTweets or #newSATQuestions trending, read a few of the tweets and attempt to interject your own. They won’t all be winners:

But sometimes they can be:

Keep at it!

It takes time to get to know your audience and figure out your own style. Don’t hesitate to ask followers what works and what doesn’t:

Remember, there’s no pressure!