So, is Twitter just a waste of time, or can it help you build your online, or offline, business?

Web 2.0 sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace etc are certainly big at the moment. Also, Google Buzz has recently arrived on the scene and is starting to make waves. The secret, of course, is to try and find legitimate ways to utilize some, or all, of these tools to grow your business. Something I’ve been looking at for some time now… and finally I’ve come up with some strategies that have made significant differences to my business.

Now, those of you that know me well, through my coaching and motivational site, will know that I like to get to the point. You’ll also know that I spend most of my time on coaching rather than Internet Marketing. So, when I start talking about Internet Marketing, it usually involves something big… and this is no exception!

OK, so why use Twitter? I’m not one of those people that says you should use something just because it’s there! It has to serve a purpose and it has to be effective in terms of both time and cost. Well, Twitter certainly wins in terms of cost… because it’s free! Can’t argue with that… because it won’t cost you a dime (or a penny… or a cent… you choose!).

But what about the time aspect? Does Twitter win on that one as well? To be perfectly honest, until recently, I couldn’t work out how to use Twitter in a time-effective way, because each ‘Tweet’ was simply published once and then, as far as I could see, disappeared into thin air! I simply couldn’t find a way of sending ‘Tweets’ so that they were seen by people at different times of the day… without sitting at my PC all day (and night) and repeatedly sending out the same message… time after time… after time… after time…

I just knew there had to be a better way of doing things, so I decided to do some research and low and behold… there was a multitude of tools available! The trick, of course, was finding one that did everything I wanted… but at a reasonable price… or better still… free!

Now, if you want to go through the same process as me, search Google for ‘free twitter tools’. You’ll find quite a few!

Unfortunately, most of them will only work for accounts with a small number of followers, whereas my top account now boasts well over 14k followers and I now have almost 50 thousand followers in my main accounts. These figures are increasing all the time… and bring about substantial visitors to my sites on a daily basis. So, Twitter is definitely working for me… although, it is still early as far as I’m concerned!

OK, in a nutshell, this is what I want from any Twitter tool.

1. The ability to schedule tweets to all of my accounts, either separately or the same tweet to each
2. The ability to resend tweets at scheduled times
3. The ability to monitor and maintain my list of followers
4. The ability to maintain and monitor the list of people I’m following
5. The ability to build my list of followers and friends (people I’m following) according to specific criteria

There are a few other things I need, but these are the key features I wanted.

OK, let’s look at these in more detail… but not too much, because I know you’re a busy person!

1. The ability to schedule tweets to all of my accounts, either separately or the same tweet to each

This is my number one requirement. I have individual Twitter accounts for each area of my online business… Life Coaching, Relationship Coaching, Internet Marketing, etc. So it’s essential I can send different ‘Tweets’ to each account… although sometimes, I’ll happily send the same ‘Tweet’ to all of my accounts! Each ‘Tweet’ you send is displayed on the Twitter site and will also be picked up by your followers (the people following you), so this is a great way of getting your message across to people who have chosen to follow you.

2. The ability to resend tweets at scheduled times

Again, this is crucial. Since Twitter is used worldwide, it’s important to be able to send out the same message at different times of the day, so that my followers will pick up my messages whatever time they’re logged on. Marketing also involves putting your message in front of people as much as you can… without getting to the point of really annoying them, of course! So I need a tool to do just that!

3. The ability to monitor and maintain my list of followers

A key aspect of Twitter is finding people interested in the same issues as yourself. As an Internet Marketer, for instance, I look for like-minded people on Twitter, follow them and hope they then follow me… we can then exchange ideas and hopefully I can sell some useful products to them! Look, this is business! Now, all of this could be a time-consuming process… without a tool to help you along the way!

4. The ability to maintain and monitor the list of people I’m following

This is pretty important too… mainly because Twitter doesn’t like you following lots of people if you don’t also have a similar number of followers… or indeed loads more followers. This does puzzle me slightly, but I’m in no position to argue, so I just have to get on with it.

Anyway, no figures are published, but it seems that once you get to following about 2000 people, you need to have at least 1800 followers or you won’t be allowed to follow any more people. This is a distinct disadvantage, since one of the best ways to get followers is to follow someone else… because they will then often reciprocate and follow you! See how this works? Good!

5. The ability to build my list of followers and friends (people I’m following) according to specific criteria

Again this is important… and basically works like this. I look for people with the same interests as me or people looking for services or products that I offer. I then become their friend (follow them) and hope they reciprocate and follow me. We can then build a relationship through Twitter.

Now… wouldn’t it be great if you could find a tool to automate these and a few other processes?

Well, I have some great news for you! Click here to take a look at the only tool you’ll ever need to make Twitter really work for you!

Make today a great day!

Keith L Jones
Internet Entrepreneur and Life Coach

In this article, you’ll find 3 simple steps to list building success. I’ll also reveal one very important tactic to help you grow your list at warp speed!

Without doubt the single most important thing you can do in Internet Marketing is build an opt-in list of highly targeted clients. It is all in the list! Look, by all means sell individual items using Adwords campaigns, but try your hardest to capture potential client’s email addresses before you send them off to your affiliate or product page.

Think of it this way. If you sell a product without capturing the email address of the buyer, you won’t be able to offer other products to them, will you?

However, if your buyer’s subscribed to your opt-in list, you now have the option of recommending other products or services to them, time and time again! If you treat them well and provide an excellent service you’ll have a customer for life!

OK, now we’ve talked about why a list is so important in Internet Marketing, let’s get down to the nitty gritty! How do you build your list, starting from zero clients? Follow this 3-step plan and you’ll be well on your way to success… it really isn’t that difficult, it just needs planning and a little leg-work!

Step 1

Create or find some free products to offer your potential clients. Listen, nobody’s going to give away their email address for nothing these days, so you’re going to have to work for it! There are loads of products you can get with give away rights. All you have to do is find some closely related to the product or service you’re selling.

If you can’t find enough, then create some of your own. Write a couple of reports, offer to send regular tips by email, offer email support for the product you’re selling.

All of these things have perceived value to potential customers, especially an ebook or report written by you, because that’ll be unique!

Step 2

Create a sales page, or squeeze page to sell your product. Near the top of the page include a simple form and promote your free products. Now, a lot of Internet Marketers will only give away their freebies to people who buy their products. Let me tell you here and now… this is not a good idea! What does it matter if they don’t buy the product you’re promoting, if they sign up to your list?

Look, as soon as they’re on your list, you can start to recommend other products to them… for life. Think long-term! That’s crucial.

Step 3

Promote your sales page, using Article Marketing! If you’re reading this article… (you are reading it aren’t you?), then this is living proof that this works! Also, use Google Adwords campaigns, your Blog, Social Bookmarking, Web 2.0 Sites to drive traffic to your sales page. Make sure your page is optimised for search engines as well. By generating free traffic, you’ll get a steady stream of people signing up to your list for each sales page you create.

Here’s the big secret… create as many sales pages as you can and promote each one. That way the steady stream of sign-ups will turn into a gush!

Set yourself a target of putting up a new sales page every day and your subscription list will grow at warp speed. Think about it. Set up one page a day for a whole year and you’ll have 350 pages (allowing for a couple of days off!) all working to build your list.

Start today… go out and find some free products to give away!

For the best List Building resource on the Internet visit List and Traffic

Have a great day!