Today I begin Twittering with renewed enthusiasm. Last night I even updated my profile and image. I’ve got a yellow post it note stuck to the side of my monitor to remind me to update Twitter. If you don’t update, then the whole exercise is pointless.

Are you on the Twitter yet? It may seem like an unproductive use of your time, and I can’t really blame you. But if you ain’t on the Twitter, you got a problem.

Here’s the lowdown. Twitter really can help you build up an online network of people who are interested in what you have to say; who can influence events in your life; who can recommend your products or services to others. It is a legitimate business tool. And it’s free (not counting the time you spend actually doing it).

So start today. Go set up an account if you don’t have one, and make your page look interesting. Upload an image of yourself so you don’t have the default brown loop-looking thing as your image. Fill out the fields on your profile page. People want to learn who you are.

Your Twitter posts should: contain relevant keywords; be industry specific; and be interesting to read. If you can make them funny, that’s even better. You want to entertain as much as possible.

I’m a professional search engine marketer, but I’m a newbie at using Twitter. But if I’ve learned anything in the short time I have been using Twitter, it’s that you’ve got to be interesting!

By the way, you can look me up on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jwork.