Twitter Tips: Who to Follow & Who to Block

I've been active on Twitter since
2008. When I meet people, they are often surprised at
my large twitter following (currently over 192,000 and growing at about 100 new
followers a day). If you want this type of audience, it does not happen organically (doing nothing).
I've been transparent about my
five every day actions that I take on Twitter. Years after creating it, I'm
still taking these actions every day and encourage you to do so as well.
Several of my authors from Morgan James are following these actions and growing their
followers on Twitter. It doesn't consume lots of of my time but it takes
consistent effort.



Years ago, I made a decision to follow everyone who
follow me—which is a basic of twitter. Some of my friends are amazed that I
follow thousands of people—and they can direct message me. Also I include my
personal email address in my twitter profile.  It makes me easy to reach and I answer my
email. Why? I want to be accessible to people and I want to help as many people
as I can with the volumes of information that I have online.



I use the tool Refollow to follow other people's followers—yet I'm not just
following anyone. I'm following people who are in my target market (publishing,
writing, etc.). This tool only takes a few minutes to use. Yet sometimes I find
I'm following people who I don't want to be following. In this article, I'm
going to give the details of how I check my followers and then who I
block.



Usually about once a day, I click the “home” button
on my twitter page and scroll through my twitter feed. As I take a few seconds
to scroll through this feed (with hundreds of posts and images), I'm looking for
several things. First I'm looking for people who are not tweeting in English. If
they are using a different script or language, then I right click, open a new
tab for this person. Next I block this person from my twitter feed.



Also I'm looking for porn and foul language (either
in text or in images). When I find this type of material, again I right click
the name of the person that I'm following (even if it is something they have
retweeted), open a new tab for the person, then block them.



If you are not taking these actions, then you are
sending a subtle message to others (who you don't want as followers) that they
should follow you. I'm looking to continue to grow my followers but I want those
followers to be the right type.



My system for social media isn't perfect but I have
created a system or a regular pattern of behavior.  I'm always open to learning
something different and making modifications.  If you have some idea for me,
feel free to comment below or reach out to me and let me know. It is important
for everyone to develop your own system and process for handling these details
of social media.



I don't waste a lot of time on social media because
I don't have that time. The bulk of my day is being an acquisitions
editor at Morgan
James Publishing. Notice the link on Morgan James which takes you to a two-page
information brochure—and notice my work contact information including my
phone number is on the second page. Many authors are struggling to find
their way in the publishing world and if I can help you, don't hesitate to reach
out to me.



Tweetable:



For Twitter, how do you know who to follow and who to block? Insights here from @terrywhalin. (Click to Tweet)