Follow me, where I go

You've set up your Twitter account and are now ready to figure out how it works. So here's how you do it: Follow me. Or more accurately, go to my Twitter account @BlogBookTours , and look at who I'm following in that little icon section at right. Click on View All and you'll get my entire list from the most recent added all the way back to the first. Scroll through and click on any name that interests you. Try to follow a few hundred people very quickly. Ten pages is plenty for one sitting. You'll immediately start seeing updates for those people each time they post. Continue this for a few days until you are following about 500. Then follow people from other sources, too, including Twitter widgets that you'll start seeing on blogs and websites.

Over the next few days, people will start following you back, and can then see your postings on Twitter. So it's important to post several times a day as I described in the previous post, to keep your followers interested in you. Remember, it is only your Followers who will see what you write, so it is important that you have followers. I repeat, only your followers can read your messages. Many people follow thousands, but this just gives you more to read! Those people can't read you until they follow you back. You must understand this, as it's key to making Twitter work for you.

Twitter is difficult to search, so if you are looking for areas of interest, click on the categories at this site. Just Tweetit is by no means complete (@BlogBookTours isn't listed, after all), but, again, it's a good way to get started with connections that interest you.

Next we'll talk more about proactive and beneficial updates. Tell them more than just what you're doing, especially if it's ho-hum. Give them added content and links to visit. That's how you make Twitter work for you.