#1 Pick a name that is definitely recognizable as you! (Comaford is mine, for instance.) #2 Be sure to complete your profile, and have a catchy photo to upload. #3 Tweet at least 5 times a day – share quotes, industry-specific wisdom, upcoming events, etc., and include a link to your website or product pages, where appropriate. (Remember to tweet in a 4-1 ratio of NON-sales though.

You can build up your followers by following those who are attracted to your niche.  Find them by searching a key word to your industry, like CEO or dogs or hair. Another path is to follow the followers of a key player in your market, such as John McCain (if you were a republican selling an ebook, for instance). The idea is that those who YOU follow will often follow you back. Monthly, go in and remove those who don’t follow you back.

Finally, join TweetDeck to help you stay on top of your discussions and Tweetlater to set up a classy, simple automatic Direct Message – be sure to simply say thanks and give a BRIEF introduction and link to your bio page or website. Like I said, there are a thousand “experts” who will want to offer you (or sell you) their Twitter expertise – but this is pretty much the basics of what you need to get started.