It's unfortunate that some people are using Twitter as a spam tool. That's why it's essential for you to understand the difference between spamming, marketing, and networking on Twitter.
First things first — why are you on Twitter? If you're an Internet marketer, the chances are good that you hope to either make sales or generate more traffic to your website. There is nothing wrong with this, but it is important to understand that the way you go about this can either make or break you in the world of Twitter.
Spamming is basically when you auto follow a bunch of people and only add affiliate links. This is not spamming in the true sense of the word since that deals with e-mail and unwanted solicitation, but what matters is that many people consider this to be spam! People will quickly unfollow you and all your efforts will be wasted.
Marketing on Twitter is when you occasionally present products for sale to people who will be interested. This works well if the people who are following you are in the niche you are presenting the offer in. That way they'll be very targeted and will be interested in what you have to offer.
Networking on Twitter is what you do to gain friends in your niche. You won't directly make sales from this, but it is a great thing to do for your business. Networking can help you develop affiliate relationships and JV relationships. It also helps get your name out there so people in your niche are familiar with you when they run across your product in the future. There are incredible opportunities that open up as a result of networking!
Before you get started using Twitter, it's best to define what your business model is. This will help determine the kind of tweets you put out, as well as the offers you present. Of course, you can use a mixture of marketing and networking, but never spamming! Always add value and your customers will come flocking to you. When you add value, people will definitely look for your tweets and will want to subscribe to your blog or website.
Twitter is an amazing tool when it is used properly. The good news is that there are many tools out there that can help you build a large list, and add relevant content. Gone are the days where you had to rely on articles to generate content — now you can micro blog and develop real relationships with people in your niche!