Any Network Marketer who uses Twitter knows that it is a powerful way to connect with other "tweeters" who are interested in Network Marketing, Direct Sales, MLM etc. so long as you find the right people.

So exactly how is it possible to capture the fraction of the 30 million (and growing) tweeters who are potential prospects? How can you get followers who actually read your tweets, click your links and even retweet (RT) your tweets for you? How can you get across your message in less than 140 characters?

1. Get followers from outside of Twitter - talk to people on other social networks you may be on e.g. Facebook, and get them to connect with you on there. If you already have prospects on a different social network and you want to get to know them better, then get tweeting right away!

2. Send Direct Messages (DMs) to new followers - this is a fantastic way to welcome new followers. When sending a DM, just make sure to thank them for following you and let them know that you want to connect with them on Twitter. Basically write what you want - but NEVER post a link or any promotion. A blog link is acceptable but unlikely to get a big response, so there's not much point.

Note: there is a free service that lets you send DMs automatically and rotate between messages - visit SocialOomph's website.

3. Connect with your new followers by sending @ replies - you can build relationships this way - just ask them how they are, what they are into etc. and just try and connect with them. Keep in contact with them - they might even reply to you after you send a DM.

4. Only link to your personal blog (if applicable) and put up a personal background - by doing this, you will make your profile look more professional and make you stand out from all the marketing clutter on Twitter. I rarely post links in my tweets - apart from new blog posts, I don't link to much else.

To summarize, Twitter is a great marketing tool. Just make sure to lead with value, connect with other tweeters and avoid anything to do with Twitter spammers, bots and automated programs (except the automated DM - which is like having an autoresponder but on Twitter).

Seb Brantigan
Network Marketer & Online Entrepreneur

Thanks for sharing this very interesting article! Most of the people i know would link their Facebook or Myspace accounts to their Twitter accounts. So every time they tweet something, it would also appear on their Facebook or Myspace accounts. Really cool!

That can be great, so long as you're not posting something on Twitter more than a few times a day.

I have a few people on my Facebook friends list that tweet every hour or so, it gets old.

Like any kind of related application, don't abuse it.

Great article...Before I read your post I do not know about this.Thanks, your article help me a lot.