This article is kicking off the first “Follow Fridays” for BookSparksPR.  We want to spread some knowledge (and gain some) about Twitter, so every Friday we will have some helpful information to help you navigate through thetwitter_bird wonderful world of Twitter.

I’ll be honest, Twitter and I have a love/hate relationship.  I believe adamantly in its ability to connect people who otherwise never would have met.  I believe in its ability to draw in readers to websites and make blog posts famous.  However, when I sit down in front of Twitter, I sometimes go cross-eyed trying to think of what to say.  It has to be quick.  Informative.  Witty.  And last, but not at all least, it has to be intriguing.  You get 140 characters to make someone listen.  That’s not a lot.  I’m chatty by nature, so condensing what I have to say is not my strong suit.

Thankfully we stumbled upon this fantastic article “15 Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic with Irresistible Tweets” by Judy Dunn.  She offers some great tips on how to hook someone in Twitter-land, so I wanted to share some of them.

1.Ask a Question
Simple enough.  Propose a question to your followers that they won’t be able to resist.

2. Make a Confession
Part of the beauty (and sometimes the danger) of social networking, is the ability to get a little personal.  By revealing something, you are inviting people in.  Just be careful with what you reveal and make it relevant to what you are trying to deliver.

3. Be Funny
People like a goof.  Give your followers something that will make them smile or LOL and not only will they be hooked on that tweet, but they will likely look for more tweets from you just to get their daily giggle on.

4. Disagree with Someone
Challenge someone.  There isn’t really any need to be argumentative, but people in general like to see both sides of an issue.

5. Use a Little Old-Fashion Fear
Let’s use this post for an example.  Tips are being offered.  They could definitely help you out, here is what might be said (using a little fear) to get people to check it out:

Are your tweets a turn-off? Here’s tips on how to make them irresistible.Someone might be a little scared their tweets are “a turn-off” and feel the need to check out these tips.

Now Twitter is as much about doing the right thing as it is about avoiding doing the wrong thing.  So I thought I would include some of my personal “Do Not’s” of Twitter.

Do Not:

1.Trick your followers
Putting out something ridiculous just to get someone to click your link is no way to build a good reputation.  It may work a couple times, but people in general, don’t like being lied to.  If what you are trying to promote is good material, there are better ways to get attention.

2.  Say things people already know
There is a lot of information to be had.  And there are a lot of people who have the same information.  It is understandable if multiple celebrity blogs have the same Lindsay Lohan story, but if everyone tweets “Lindsay’s out of rehab” I’m only going to feel the need to acknowledge one tweet.

3. Make arbitrary commentary
That is not the place to talk about how much you like coffee.  We all like coffee, but on Twitter, no one cares.  Facebook is where comments like that belong.  Twitter is information driven and business minded.

Make sure you check out the complete list of Twitter tips from Judy Dunn and check back in next Friday for more Twitter talk.