Does Twitter really bring you business?

Online business owners often ask questions like, "Twitter
seems so simple - and so silly! Can people really use it for
business?"

Answer: Absolutely. People say twitter brings the 30%, 40%
-- even 90% of their revenue. But you can't just toss out
tweets. You need to create a system.

(1) Set up your twitter account with an appropriate
photo. Create an informative bio so prospective followers
will know if they want to follow you.

(2) Set up a dozen or so tweets, so prospective
followers will get a sense of the quality of communication
they can expecdt from you.

(3) Choose your tweet follows and followers strategically.
Begin by searching for key people in your field. Go to their
twitter sites and click on "follow" so you can follow them.

Often they will follow you, but it's not a big deal if they
don't. Twitter is asymmetrical and that's actually a benefit
to you. Your first goal is to identify their communication
styles and their contacts.

Occasionally you will come across someone who posts, "This
person has restricted access." You need to ask permission to
follow. As you get busy you'll probably find that you just
skip over these people.

Example 1: You're a financial coach who helps clients deal
with debt. Identify 3 successful financial coaches and
follow them. You'll notice they exchange tweets with other
financial coaches and also with people who have questions
about budgeting.

Look up some of these names. Some will seem to be potential
alliance partners, suppliers or prospective clients. Choose
a small number to follow. Visit their sites and identify
visitors who seem to be actively engaged and professionally
relevant.

Decide whether to initiate a "follow" relationship. You can
always remove yourself from following.

(4) Tweet about topics in your area of expertise. For
instance, if you're a lawyer, share reasons why readers need
to make a will or have their real estate documents reviewed.
You can tweet tips to choose a lawyer.

A fitness coach tweets about right and wrong ways to do
basic sit-up crunches. A diet coach offers links to recipes.

(5) Tweets are short but think of them as gateways to
longer pieces of expertise. Add a link to your tweet, using
a link shrinking service like budurl or tinyurl. This link
not only introduces readers to your knowledge base, leading
to increased credibility. You'll also build traffic to and
visitors to your website, or blog.

(6) Include some posts just for fun. You can write about the
weather, the dog, or how your favorite sports team is doing.

In my experience, personal posts are the most challenging.
It's easy to feel, "I *must* post," so you write, "I just
ate a piece of chocolate cake."

Alternatively it's easy to give Too Much Info. Always ask
yourself, "Will this post make me more attractive as a
potential business relationship partner?" And wait to post
till the answer is "yes."