WHY SHOULD WRITERS USE TWITTER?

A quick list of ten ways that writers can use Twitter.

1. Write a Professional Profile. Your profile on Twitter should contain a brief description of who you are and what you do. You should also provide a link to your business blog or site. Use a
professional photo of yourself or your company logo. You may be surprised at how many people visit your site after clicking the link in your profile on Twitter.

2. Join the Conversation.  Search for tweets about the topic you are currently working on. Find out what people are saying. Join the conversation. Tip: you should choose a short Twitter ID,
because you want to make it as easy as possible for people to "retweet" your messages and your Twitter ID will eat into the 140 characters allowed for the retweeted message.

3. Research a Topic.  See what questions people frequently ask about your topic and the answers provided. Ask some questions of your own. Discover some related resources that others are
recommending.

4. Build Your Reputation. Start tweeting about your niche or industry and start to build up your reputation as an expert.

5. Use HashTags.  When you tweet about a topic add relevant "hashtags". Hashtags are keywords starting with the # character, placed in tweets, which make it easy to find and follow threads on
particular topics. This will help people searching on those topics to find your tweets, e.g. #gardening or #sportswriting or #bookreviews

6. Find Experts.  Use Twitter to find subject-matter experts who are regularly tweeting on your topic. Contact them privately for an interview or for a quotation you could use in your next article.

7. Job Hunting.   Search at Twitter for relevant phrases such as "writing jobs" or "writer needed". Another good technique is to search for hashtags, for example #writingjob or #writingjobs. If
you find a Twitter account that regularly posts writing opportunities remember to "follow" them.

8. Interact with Other Writers. Search for tweets with writing-related hashtags such as #writing, #writetip and #amwriting. You will quickly find yourself in the middle of an active community of writers, with tons of good advice and writing tips.

9. Tweet Quality. If you are decide to use Twitter for business then make certain your tweets contain valuable and useful information. It is okay to tweet about your dinner or the movies occasionally - and in fact it can be beneficial to reveal glimpses of your life - however I recommend keeping these tweets to a low percentage.

10. Follow Potential Clients. Is there a particular client you would like to work for? Are they on Twitter? Find them and follow them. It is not a good idea to use Twitter to publicly ask someone
to hire you. But it is ok to follow them. Try to get to know them and to discover what they are looking for. Get involved in the conversation. If you then pitch to them outside of Twitter later they will probably remember you or know who you are already. 

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