Yes, I know. For a lot of people, Twitter’s not that big of a deal. But for me, it is. It’s how I grew my business when I relaunched, rebranded, and relocated to a new state. It’s how I keep in touch with virtual colleagues and keep up-to-date on industry news and even make new friends. And for just a little over a year, it’s a place where I’ve been know as @InkyClean.

And here I am about to change that.

A lot of things have led up to this. For one, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want out of Twitter, and more than anything it’s a place where I connect with other people. The business relationships and the promotion of Inky Clean all come secondary to the real relationships I’ve made. I don’t log on every day to link to my latest blog post, but I do log on every day to check and see how my “tweeps” are doing. Twitter’s a place where I feel I can let my guard down a bit; it’s a place for honesty and genuineness, and for me, the next step in that sincerity is to just use my own name.

Secondly, as much work as I’ve put into Inky Clean, it’s not the only thing I do, nor is it the only thing that defines me. I’m not just a copywriter—I’m an aspiring novelist, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer addict, a nostalgic gamer who occassionally plays Donkey Kong Country on an old-school Super NES, a dog owner, an occasionally moody (but always lovable) wife, a little sister, a Miami transplant living in Austin…the list goes on and on. All of these things, including my company, fall into the very complex and often geeky umbrella that is me.

Third, I want people to know me for me. A year ago when I started this Twitter account, my goal was to develop Inky Clean as a strong, memorable brand. And I think I’ve done that maybe too well (on Twitter, at least) because sometimes, once the online networking goes offline, people will call me by company name and not my actual name. And I love that it sticks, I love that they remember it, but I want my company to be something people remember about me, not all they remember.

So maybe it’s time for me to develop my personal brand just like I developed my business brand. And it’s very possible to develop both at once. It doesn’t mean I’ll be neglecting my business brand (and—let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture here—a brand is much, much, much more than a Twitter handle). If anything, I’ll be working harder to make sure that my business is one of the great things people think of when they think of me. But just one of the things, among many.

Because we are all so very many things.

Do you keep your business and personal brand separate? Why or why not?

In case I haven’t made this clear before, I’m a huge Twitter fan. Yes, I’m that annoying person who’s always suggesting that my job-seeking friends and entrepreneur friends get on Twitter. Right. Now.

Problem is, they’ll often come back after a few months and say it hasn’t really worked for them. It seemed too time consuming, and they weren’t getting any followers.

But this post isn’t about how to get followers (this one is). It’s about how to make Twitter work for you when you’re a newbie. It’s about how not to mess it up your first 20 Tweets in. Because while it’s true that Twitter doesn’t work for all types of businesses, more often than not it’s because a person isn’t using it right.

So if you’re new to Twitter, or thinking about creating an account, here are some tips to make sure you’re not doing it wrong.

1. Get a Twitter Client, like, yesterday. I know it sounds contradictory, but you won’t be using Twitter to its fullest potential if you’re using it on the website itself. A client like TweetDeck or HootSuite will keep you updated on your replies (so you don’t accidentally ignore  people trying to chat with you). You can create tabs where you can monitor certain keywords, like industry terms, or chats (as indicated by a # sign before a term, like in #brandchat). Because the whole point of Twitter is that there are several conversations being updated in real time—wouldn’t it be best if you sifted through the noise to get to what you want to hear?

2. Don’t make your followers do all the work. If you want to share a link to a blog post you wrote, or a product special on your site, please, please, PLEASE don’t just tweet the link. Give people a reason to click on it. Tell them what’s in it for them; if you ask them to figure it out on their own, they simply won’t. read more…

This is one of those posts that I wish I’d read somewhere else before I wrote it. Because really, before I started networking for my business I was a nervous wreck about it. Nevermind that as far back as high school, when I had to walk up to random students for a quote for the school yearbook, I was forced to push my shyness aside for the sake of writing. Nevermind that I continued doing so in college and then when I started writing for magazines.

When I shifted to copywriting, though, I realized I needed to learn to make better connections with business owners and people that needed my services. And sitting at my computer, hiding behind a screen wasn’t going to cut it.

After a lot of whining that I’m a writer! I’m much more put together on the page than I am in person! I realized I had an advantage. As writers, we have several tools that, if redirected, can make us great networkers:

1. We know how to build intrigue: That first line we write is the best shot we’ve got at capturing an audience. It doesn’t tell the whole story (why would anyone keep reading after that?) but it grabs a reader, hinting at what’s to come. The same is true for approaching someone while networking. When you craft your elevator pitch and introduction, focus on making it interesting. No need to blurt out everything you do as soon as you meet someone; just be interesting enough that they’ll want to learn more about you.

2. We know how to ask questions: My background is in journalism, and when I first started out, I was always surprised by how much people are willing to tell you about themselves. Everyone has a story, and everyone wants their story to be heard. As a writer, you get an ear for which questions to ask, so use this as you talk to the other networkers. Most people won’t want to talk with you if it’s a one-sided conversation, if you’re just trying to sell your services. Ask them questions and not only will they stick around, you’ll learn more about them and about how, specifically, you could help them. You’ll also connect on a more personal level rather than a business level, upping your chance that they’ll remember you after the event is over.

3. We know there’s always more than meets the eye: This kind of ties in with number two, but I think one of the reasons it’s easy to be intimidated by networking is that the room might be full of VP’s, EIC’s, CEOs…acronym after acronym. But beneath all those titles are just people. They have hobbies, families, favorite bands, and if you dig deep enough you’ll find some common ground, even if you’re in a completely different industry. Once you start looking at networking as a chance to meet new people, not business contacts, it all comes naturally, and it’s much more enjoyable for everyone.

4. We know how to get to the point: You know how when you finally sit down to write, you might only use a fraction of the research that you gathered? You focus in on the point of the story or copy and communicate it to readers. So let’s say you meet an editor from an agriculture magazine at a networking event, and you’ve written mostly for general interest pubs but in college you were a double major in Environmental Engineering and Communications. What are you going to focus in on when you tell that editor about yourself? Maybe not the piece you wrote for Glamour. Focus on how you can help others (instead of the other way around), and let them know in a clear and concise manner.

How about you? Have you found that your work skills help you in a network setting?