In today's newsletter...

Don't you just hate that term, "my bad". I know it drives some people crazy. And that's exactly why I used it in today's subject line.

You see, a few months ago I wrote about Twitter and how I'm one of the few people NOT tweeting, and why. The issue sparked some controversy.

While the bulk of the feedback I received was from folks in my non-tweeting camp, I also got emails from people who were using Twitter to grow their businesses.

One email in particular called me to the mat. "Jim, you may not need to tweet since you already have a large group of followers. Most budding entrepreneurs don't, and they can really benefit from Twitter."

And this person was 100% correct.

My bad.

Today I want to share with you, exactly how people are using Twitter to grow their businesses.

Getting Started with "Twitter For Business":

Step 1. Go Slow.

While your long-term goal should be to grow a large following, which you can occasionally promote to, you can't go too fast. For starters, you cannot promote immediately. Also, don't try to amass a huge following before you've done some tweeting.

You see, people will not be interested in following you when they click on your Twitter page and see almost nothing. You need to have tweeted more than, "Trying to figure this Twitter out" and "I think I've got it figured out now." Tweet, tweet, tweet before you gather your flock.

Don't know what to say? Try "retweeting" (RT) some other peoples' tweets that resonate with you. Reply to what someone else says and start up a conversation. Share what you're doing on your business right now. Those are several tweets in the making right there.

Step 2. Don't shoot out promotion after promotion!

When others look at your timeline, they'll notice you're just in it for you. People want to know what's in it for THEM. There are millions of Twitters to follow, why should they follow you when you're only tweeting about your own annoying promotions?

Step 3. Engage in conversation with your Twitter friends.

While most of the time, Twitter messages are updates to an entire group, you can reach individual Twitter users on your list by using the @ symbol followed by their username. By doing this occasionally, you’re showing your other followers that you are a real person. Do this enough and they’ll be more accepting of links to your site(s) in your Twitter messages.

Therefore, as you start to get friends/followers, you should reply to some of these individuals on a daily basis. While it may be impossible to reply to all of them every day, taking time to make several replies to various tweets a day will help you get more followers.

So give attaboys, words of encouragement, comments on their blog post or tell them how you like their latest product. Offer answers when someone has a question, which is an excellent way to brand yourself as an expert. And if someone @replies to one of your posts, it's considered common courtesy to comment back.

Again, the biggest advantage of Twitter is using it to build relationships. Offer value, yes, but also take the time to "talk" to people so they can see you as a real life person. Give first, make friends, and watch your business world open up - just from tweeting on Twitter.

Step 4. Post early and often.

If you're going to use Twitter, don't be afraid to jump right in. And once you get started, be prepared to post regularly.

You don't have to spend hours a day posting, but you do need to post an update or two every day at a bare minimum, in order to be picked up by the public timeline view. This gives you exposure and lets the community get to know you. Remember, this is a social networking tool, so you need to be visible. It's the only way you can grow your network of followers.

After this important sponsor break, I'll share perhaps the biggest secret to success with Twitter...

This last tip holds the real secret to success with Twitter...

Step 5. Have a PLAN!

As Twitter marketing expert John Ritskowitz writes...

"People do tweet about what they had for dinner. Twitter has also helped people find 9 to 5 jobs and given some contract workers more than enough work to do. Marketers have made money with Twitter by tweeting about their blog posts and selling their products to those in need."

"But.... Twitter can eat away at your time. You can blow hours just b.s.ing with your new friends - cracking jokes and retweeting some excellent one-liners. In order for Twitter to work for you while you still get the important things done during your day, you have to go about it smart-like."

John's advice is as follows...

"Have a purpose before you log into Twitter. Obviously you can't just tweet your promos and leave, or when people look at your Twitter stream they'll going to consider you an almost-spammer. No, you need to have a plan."

"Let's say you want to promote your ebook about xyz. Start off in the morning by saying hi to your friends, some individually, the rest in mass, and answer some of the tweets you see. You don't want to read every single tweet - that could take hours and hours and hours if you have a lot of followers. Look at maybe the first two pages. Next do a search using Twitter's search function to look for any comments or questions regarding xyz or similar. Answer any of those tweets that you can. Now you have several tweets under your belt for the day and you can go ahead and tweet your xyz promo. Then leave!"

"Come back midday and again read the first one or two Twitter pages and shoot off a few answering tweets. Retweet any great quotes or other tweets you find informative. Don't forget to check the @yourname mentioned function to see who's talking to you so you can answer them. Send off a few tips about xyz that are useful information to others, including a link to your new blog post. Then leave!"

"In the evening, repeat the process of answering tweets, sending out a few more xyz tips, and retweeting. Send yet another xyz promo. Then leave for the night. Your promo tweet will stay for the night."

If you want to try Twitter in your business, I suggest you buy John's Twitter Training Package. (That's not an affiliate link, it's just a recommendation for a great package on Twitter.)

IMPORTANT: If you're a Gold Member of my Coaching site, you can get John's entire package at no cost... simply log in then download it here.

Then put his proven techniques to work for you immediately. John's is the best Twitter advice I've seen to date, and I've seen a lot. He's used his techniques to go from zero to 9,000 followers in a short time, so I know his tips will work for you.

See you in a few weeks..

Jim Daniels
JDD Publishing Co.

P.S. Could you make a living from the web?

Decide for yourself at my make-a-living-online.com website.

(No opt-in necessary... I'll explain everything you need to know at the site, for free.)