As a Twitter user, you should realize that Twitter should be used as part of your overall strategy. It is not enough to just focus on Twitter all day long, as that is putting your eggs all in one basket! If you have a successful following in your niche, it is time to encourage them to visit your blog or website. Better yet — they should be able to easily purchase a product from you since they have grown to trust you.
This message serves as a warning that too many people waste their days away on Twitter. While it's fun to chat with people, there has to be a limit you set for yourself. Otherwise, while Twitter is keeping you busy, it's not actually productive. It's best to set a time limit each day for how much you time you can spend on Twitter. For some people, just 10 minutes per day works well. If you're having trouble with that low number, and enjoy Twitter as entertainment, you might increase that to an hour or so. The problems occur when people spend hour upon hour on Twitter. That's no way to build your business!
With that said — that does not mean Twitter isn't a great IM platform! There are some people making thousands of dollars on Twitter, and have no problem doing so. That's because they have dominated their niche and have added so much value that people have no problem ordering from them or visiting their website. It's best to emulate these people. Find out who is successful on Twitter and ask some questions, or model their strategy. You should be following them in your own Twitter account to see what successful Twittering looks like.
Along with Twitter, you might develop a squeeze page, product, affiliate offer, or whatever else is part of your overall business strategy. Please realize that Twitter is just one traffic generation/networking tool, and that there are many others out there as well that you can take advantage of. Writing articles, creating videos, networking on Facebook, networking on MySpace, and other avenues are the perfect ways to advertise your business. Twitter is incredibly fun, and incredibly useful, but it's just one part of your overall marketing message.
As you start to use Twitter, set those limits for yourself and figure out a game plan. That will help you use it as effectively as possible, so you can start marketing and getting more traffic and more money.