This is my quick and simple method for increasing Twitter followers…
Obviously, the more people know about you, the more likely your blog will grow.
Background
Me and my introverted self resisted jumping into the Twitter fray for a long, long time. Frankly, I just didn't get it. I'm kicking myself, of course, because now I see the benefits, and if I had actually used Twitter from the time I signed up (forever ago!) well things might be different. But I just choose to live and learn.
(By the way, if you're one of the ones that doesn't "get" Twitter like I was, chances are, you're probably over-analyzing it. Just jump in. Find someone and watch what they do. You can follow me @AmyLynnAndrews if you'd like. 
)
I gave you some of my best Twitter tips already, but I thought I'd add this one about building your followers.
How I Am Building My Twitter Followers
At the beginning, my strategy for increasing my followers was simply hoping others would follow me. I just thought that's how it worked — someone found you (who knows how) and they followed you.
Well, that's true to a point, but then I realized I needed to be more strategic about it. I've tried several methods, but this is the most effective by far:
The easiest way to increase your followers is to follow first. Most people will follow you back so your numbers will grow.
How to Find People to Follow on Twitter
Method #1
- Set aside a few minutes each day for this task.
- Find a #hashtag where your potential readers might be.
- Skim through the tweets you see and just start following people that look real and legitimate (as opposed to spamming-types).
Method #2
- Set aside a few minutes each day for this task.
- Find someone that has a blog similar to yours.
- Follow their followers. Obviously, these are the people who are interested in what they have to say, therefore, it's likely they might be interested in what you have to say too. Find someone's followers by going to their profile and clicking "followers" like so:
That's it. Simple, right? It works. Over time, you'll slowly build your following.
Tips for Following People on Twitter
- Don't be crazy about it. I try to keep the number of the people I'm following, close to the number of my followers. (This is one reason I make this a short, daily task.) If you're following 10,000 people, but only 5 people are following you, it makes you looks (a) desperate or (b) like a spammer.
- Follow back. If someone follows you, follow them back. You can do this automatically (set it up in your Settings) or you can click on your followers (see image above) and follow people back who have followed you.
I'm a Twitter newbie, but what about you Twitter superstars? How do you build your followers?
Here at BloggingWithAmy you'll find tips, tools & tutorials about blogging and websites. In plain English. Want to 
Great tips as always Amy! I found several of my Tweets by simply doing a people search…for instance, if I want to find cupcake Tweeple, I just type in cupcake, and get the ones with cupcake in their name.
~Liz
Excellent point, Liz. Thanks!
I use method #1 and it's so fun! I also search by keyword since sometimes the hashtags I use keep pulling up the same people.
oh, and I also make use of lists and Hootsuite. That way I can see my IRL friends in a separate column so I don't miss anything.
Yes, I agree, making a list of your IRL friends (or the people you don't want to miss) is a must.
The value in following is huge. I did a little experiment last follow Friday, I followed nearly everyone that was recommended. My followers grew by about 40, some sent me a personal message and we become friends right away.
I don't automatically re-follow new followers, I check their pages, see what they write about and follow only if it interests me. Maybe makes some angry but I it's my stream and I like to have info and people I will enjoy.
Thanks! I still don't "get" it and still don't see how people have time to mess with it but I will give it a try.
I get a headache just from trying to "follow" some of the conversations let alone figuring out how to jump in!
I didn't get facebook either and now am in the swing of things so I will give it a go.
I use tweetdeck and you can change how quickly the messages refresh. This is great for the times you participate in twitter parties.
That's how I found people is by joining groups. I follow two blogging hashtags and two fitness/health hashtags.
Like others have suggested, I would just do a search for a keyword (frugal, budget, or even #savvyblogging as there are a lot of deal bloggers in that stream) and respond to one or two people. The best way to elicit interaction is to ask an easy-to-answer question. So, for example, "How does Twitter work?" is most likely not going to get you much response. But "What's your favorite plugin?" is a question much more likely to be answered.
It takes a bit of time and persistence to get started, but keep at it and you'll get it in no time.
I still don't fully get twitter, although, I get more people on my blog from that than from commenting on people's blog.(I have yet to get a reader from your blog
) I never read other twitter statuses so I assume that people don't read mine. Maybe that is not true.
Do you allow followers that are clearly spammers? I noticed I have a lot of those, but they run up my numbers and offer an illusion of fans
Should I keep them or block them:)
I don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about spammers unless their tweets are intrusive or annoying, in which case I'll block them.
I've turned off my email alerts notifying me when someone follows me (saves time), so I don't know when I get a new follower other than seeing my follower numbers change. But as you get going, you'll noticed your number of followers goes up and down as Twitter shuts down the accounts of people who are obviously spammers.
When I go through my list of followers once a week or so, I will delete anyone who looks like a spammer.
participate in follow friday. when someone recommends you in a group check out the other people. when someone you particularly like is recommending people check them out too.
Thanks for the tips, Amy.
I wonder the same as Turkana – do you block people who follow you that are obviously spammers? I got about 5 new followers in a row last night but when I looked at their tweets they were all RT'ing the same "get rich quick" program!
Like I mentioned above, I'll block them if I notice them, but I don't go out of my way on a daily basis to monitor who's following and who's not. Whew, that could eat up a girl's day!
"Follow your Followers" : this is one of the most important part in social network building. As Amy says, it is really a time consuming process to find out who is following you whom you are not following, especially if you have large number of followers. I use a tool TweetTwain which has an option to auto-follow my followers. It can be downloaded from http://www.tweettwain.com The paid version is only for business users, to manage multiple accounts.
Hope this helps.heers,
Alex.
C
thanks so much for explaining. I use Twitter, but I'm not sure that I "get" it fully, or utilize it correctly. Still learning…I did wonder about the "spammy" followers. For now, I left them, as I wasn't sure what to do.
I hear ya. It took me a while to figure Twitter out myself!
My followers dropped from 1500 -1700 to 1100 and the numbers are staying the same for the past 5-6 weeks. New REAL followers come in everyday but the numbers are subtracting not adding. I am curious surely such a large number couldnt have ended their internet services. I was told someone is stealing your followers, how is that possible? There is no response from support/help, already contacted them. Any one else out there having same issues?
Would love to get this resolved! Best wishes for the holiday season everyone, Cheers!
Interesting. I haven't heard anything about losing followers. That's strange. Not sure what to tell you…maybe google it? Sorry to hear that; that's a bummer.
Hi Amy! I've heard others say only follow back if they are truly interesting. What do you think about that? Thanks for a great post!
I generally only follow back people who look like real, legitimate people.
I'm enjoying the new Activity feed in Twitter which shows me who has recently followed me. Usually I'll scroll through those and follow back anyone who looks interesting.