When you start using Twitter you may not always have an idea about what types of things people are looking for in a good twitter user.  How can you add value to the twitterspace?

If you’re not careful you can find yourself being unfollowed by other users.  Here are 10 things you can avoid doing to ensure that people don’t stop following you.

10 Things That Will Get You Unfollowed On Twitter

1. Constantly twittering about mundane things:  Things like – “my coffee is hot” or “just got on the bus” are not really that interesting to anyone else.
2. Never twittering at all:  You set up an account, post one tweet about how you’re trying twitter, and then disappear.  Quick unfollow.
3. Using your twitter account only to spam people with announcements of your newest blog post: Your twitter account doesn’t seem to have a real person, just occasional updates from a twitter bot.
   
4. @reply to every twitter you see, but without adding any real value:  You constantly twitter replying to every twitterstream you find, adding no real substance to any of the conversations you’re joining.  You’re tweeting just to hear yourself tweet!
5. Sending a robot greeting to all new followers: Is it just me that finds it annoying when i start following someone, and I get an automatic direct message telling me about a great new service, or how I should check out someone’s site?  I prefer a personal touch, or none at all!
6. Having no avatar and little profile information: Your account doesn’t look like you’re in it for the long haul. You just signed up, did a few tweets, and that’s it. You have no profile information, no avatar, no custom background.  You’re tweeting on borrowed time.
7. Being offensive or rude: If you constantly swear, or are offensive in your tweets, I’ll unfollow you ASAP.  I don’t have time for that kind of negativity.
8. Your profile calls you a social media expert, but your tweets don’t back it up:  You talk about how you’re an SEO or social media expert, but your tweets make you sound like you’re a bit slow.
9. You constantly talk about how you don’t get “this twitter thing”: We don’t care that you don’t understand twitter! Just start using it, read a tutorial or two, and get going!
10. You only have one tweet, and it is asking me if I want to learn how to make $15,000/month using google!:  You sign up for twitter from your internet cafe in Nigeria and talk about how you can help me earn $15,000/month or more in this secret scheme!  Unfollow!

Those are a few of my pet peeves, and reasons why I will unfollow someone on Twitter.

How Do I Know When I’ve Been Unfollowed?

Want to figure out why people are unfollowing you? Was it something you said?  Sign up for a service like Qwitter.  Qwitter will email you after someone unfollows you along with telling you what you twittered right before they quit.  Maybe you said something offensive, or just tweeted “going home from work” for the 10th straight time.  It will help you to figure out where you’re going wrong and change your tweeting habits so that more people will want to follow you!

What are some reasons you unfollow people?  What makes someone a good twitter user, and makes you want to follow them?

If  you’re a blogger, and you’re not using Twitter, you really should.   It really has the potential to drive a lot of traffic to your site!

Darren Rowse of Problogger.net in a post on his blog talked about how people are only beginning to realize the potential for twitter.com driving traffic to their sites:

get on Twitter because it’s a pretty hot spot at the moment when it comes on online activity and I think the potential to drive a lot of traffic from there is still only just being realized. It’s a space that is still in it’s early days of development so get in early (even though it’s been a year or two since it launched) and position yourself for the future.

I agree with what he’s saying and through my own personal experience I know that Twitter can be one of the better traffic generators out there.  I’ve seen it with my other site, Bible Money Matters.   So without further ado, here is my list of 8 ways you can use Twitter to promote your blog or other online business:

1. Promote your blog content:  I use “Twitterfeed” to take the RSS feed of my blog(s) and have it send a quick post and link to my most recent post.  You need to be careful about doing this, however.  If you start sending too many blog posts every day, people will just start to think you’re a “spammer”.  Moderation is key.
2. Network with other bloggers and business people:  I’ve met so many other wonderful bloggers through twitter.  They’ve helped me to grow my online presence, and have given me a ton of good advice about what I was doing right, and what I was doing wrong.   Don’t underestimate the power of your extended twitter network!
3. Find blog topics!:  Coming up against writer’s block?  Not feeling inspired?  Ask your Twitter followers what to write about.   They’ll give you a good idea!  Even better, just find what others in your niche are twittering about, or find what the trending topics on twitter are. Blog about that!
4. Research and feedback: Trying to figure out what the most popular finance softwares are? Ask your followers!  Want to know what Twitter client to use? Find out what others are using!
5. Use it as a mini-blog:  There are times when I want to share something with my readers, but it isn’t long enough for a blog post.    Instead of blogging it, I micro-blog it on twitter.  Things like quotes, breaking news, tips etc.
6. Find new readers: Connect with other tweeters – and often times they’ll subscribe to your blog.  It’s a great way to find new readers for your blog – just chatting with people!
7. Use it to link to favorite articles:  Sometimes I’ll link to an article from my archive, or link to another blogger’s article.  So, I either send readers to my own site, or help out other bloggers.  Often they return the favor and link to your articles!
8. Request social media linking:   If i have an article that I want to get traction, I’ll send it out to my twitter followers and ask them to submit it to their favorite social media hubs like Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, etc.  It’s often a very powerful way to get a rush of traffic to your blog!

These are just a few of the ways that I’m using Twitter as a part of my social media blog strategy.   The more I do these things, the more strategies I learn!

What are some ways you’re using Twitter to promote your blog, business or other online presence?

Lately I’ve been finding more and more different ways to use twitter, everything from firefox add-ons, to stand alone programs to apps  for your ipod, phone or blackberry.

I was curious about which Twitter clients were the most popular with my 1400+  followers, so I decided to do an unscientific poll.

Poll Results – Favorite Twitter Clients

So here are the results of my poll, with the most popular Twitter clients listed first.   This may be helpful for some of you newer Twitter users who are still trying to choose a client.  The most used Twitter clients are usually popular for good reason.

If you want to join in the continuing voting,  please feel free to vote in the poll that I set up in the sidebar.

• TweetDeck
• TwitterFox
• Twitterific
• TwitterFon
• Twhirl
• Twitter.com via browser
• ping.fm via gtalk
• m.twitter.com
• TwitterBerry
• Gwibber
• Identi.ca
• Chirp
• OuTwit for Outlook
• SMS text message from phone
• Brightkit

Out of the Twitter clients above the ones I’ve used the most include TwitterFox (firefox addon) and Tweet Deck.    I also use TwitterFon and Twitterific when I’m out and I have my Ipod Touch with me.  All of the clients offer a slightly different experience, and bring something different to the table.  My suggestion? Try a bunch of them, and see how you like them.  If  it doesn’t suit your twittering needs – switch!

What is your favorite twitter client? Don’t see it above? Leave a note in the comments and we’ll check it out!

This is a guest post by Phil over at PTMoney.com.  He’s got a great blog and tons of great insights, so check it out and subscribe via RSS!  Oh, and of course, he’s on twitter too!

I’m by no means a Twitter power user, nor do I know how to use all the cool Twitter tools. But I’ve been using it long enough to learn that whether you’re a blogger or a business, you can’t afford not to be using it. Here are 10 good reasons you should be on Twitter:

1. It’s Still New - I know Twitter has been around since August 2006, but it’s still relatively new from an “outside the web” standpoint. Likely not for long though. So get in while it’s still on the cutting edge.

2. It’s Free to Sign Up and Ad Free – All it costs to sign up for twitter is an email address. Currently there are no ads on Twitter either. Can’t beat free and ad-free.

3. You Can Still Get Your Name – There’s only one @ptmoney on Twitter, and I have it. Have you secured your brand name yet? Better hurry.

4. It Will Increase Your Brand – Twitter is just one more place you can get your brand in front of a huge audience. President Obama used Twitter heavily during his campaign in 2008 to get his “brand” message out. You can do the same.

5. It’s Fun – Once you get into Twitter and learn what it’s all about, you’ll start having fun with it. It can be quite addicting as well.

6. You Can Meet Friends, Clients, Partners - Twitter is like a big social gathering where everyone has a voice and everyone can be heard. If you use Twitter, you will meet as many friends, prospective clients, and business partners. You just have to know how to find them. Subscribe to TweeterTips and you’ll learn all you need to know.

7. Keep an Eye On Your Competitors – Even if you aren’t interested in getting on Twitter to push out content or promote, you should still sign up so you can follow your competition and see what they are up to on a real-time basis.

8. It’s a Unique Outlet – I’m first and foremost a blogger and most of my content is shared on my blog. But I use twitter to share quick tips and deals I find interesting or relevant that I would never make into a full blog post. Twitter can be used to share your content that currently doesn’t have a home.

9. It’s More than “What Are You Doing?” – Twitter is so much more than simply sharing the boring details of your life. With Twitter you can link it from your blog and share links back to your posts, ask questions and get answers, share or pass along (re-tweet) interesting information, break a story, solve a customer issue, or tell someone ‘thanks’ publicly. The uses are endless. How will you use those 140 characters?

10. It Will Bring You Traffic, Leads, Sales, Etc. - Your Twitter profile can hold one active URL link where people can find more information about you, your blog, your business, or whatever. You can also place url links inside the individual tweets.

So now you have 10 good reasons to head over to Twitter and sign up.