First of all, if you don't know what to say then begin by "listening" and watching what others say. Start by following those that you respect and acknowledge them when they've shared something that you found interesting, useful, or thought provoking. You do this by 'mentioning' them by typing "@USERNAME" (insert their twitter name of course) and telling them how you felt about it. You can also share your feelings privatelyin a direct message if you prefer. If you find their tweet worthy of sharing with others, you can "Re-Tweet" it (push the Re-tweet button or type RT @(USERNAME) + the message. People usually enjoy being mentioned in this manner and you will have a great conversation starter and hopefully are beginning to strenghten a long-term relationship based on quality info and trust. You will also want to be building a targeted Twitter following. Whatever industry you are in, find the leaders of it and follow them, as well as scoping their followers for people that are interesting and you want to work with! Figure out your follower limit (imposed by Twitter) and add as many targeted followers as you are allowed (leaving some spaces from those that want to follow you.

Now that you're interacting with other twitterers and growing your network,start looking out for websites, quotes, or products and services targeted to your industry that you can share. If you aren't getting the results you want, try asking questions and engaging with your followers.

You're should check your followers daily and follow them back… especially ones who have larger followings and influence. Then periodically use a free service like ManageTwitter.com to purge your list of inactive members (inactive over 30 days is my criteria) or those less influential than haven't followed you back (or unfollowed you). You should check out their websites to gage their influence and make the best choice for yourself.

From there, simply remain in good communication, make some friends, re-tweet and be re-tweeted, and IF you prove yourself to be a source of quality, actionable information you will find that you get retweeted and mentioned on a regular basis. Once you have a quality network growing, begin to grow into an expert in your selected industry.Professionalize your page with a branded or visually stunning background and answer the questions of others-- your best real answers, researched if necessary, not BS pulled out of nowhere.Brand yourself as expert and concern yourself with learning all that you can until it's second nature.

At this point you will be approaching:"connected influencer" status… calculate your current score at Klout.com and that site will specify the necessary actions required for you to to continue briniging ur influence.Then simply watch your inbox fill up with paid offers to Tweet. Remember to regiister with a program that pays tweeters to adveri, as detailed on my Internet MarketingBlog at http://ViralBliss.com !! Hope that this advice gets you off on the right foot and onto a blazing start! Contact me anytime if you have questions Best of lucvk,

John Bates

JB