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There are many sites offering a fee for finding you followers, but avoid these and stick to the free follower approach which will save you money, hassle and scams. At the end of the day, there’s no reason why you can’t build up your own base of relevant followers with a bit of time, and it’s far more rewarding.

Here are our top tips:
• Give people a reason to follow you. If you’re posting links to your own good quality content and asking questions rather than tweeting about what you had for breakfast or spamming, people are more likely to follow you. High quality links and non-spammy tweets.

• Ask for advice and opinions. People always like to give their views and help out where they can, plus it means you’ll get new angles and new resources.

• Ask and answer questions. If someone’s posted something that you find interesting, engage with them and ask a question about it. People are more likely to reply to direct questions. In the same vein, if someone asks you something, use it as an opportunity to get involved with someone who’s interested in what you’re saying.

• Tweet regularly… People are more likely to drop inactive accounts, and websites such as UnTweeps allow users to cull those who haven’t updated recently. Additionally, if you have your latest tweets displayed on your blog, it makes your website look neglected as well.

• …but not too regularly. Remember some of your followers may only be following a few others, and if so their home feed will be less varied than those with thousands of followers. They’re much more likely to be swamped with your tweets. Spammers can easily be reported to Twitter, so try to get a good balance.

• Join directories. Don’t expect to see thousands of followers instantly, but joining directories such as WeFollow helps people find those interested in a particular field – great for building up a targeted follower base.

• Dedicate time to Twitter. Even a few minutes a day can prove valuable. Don’t expect your follower base to build itself – it will decline as people get bored and move on, unless you put regular effort in.

• Retweet quality links – selectively. If you’re got a targeted follower base, you’ll be seen as a good source of content. However, be selective about which links you pick and retweet from a varied selection of users rather than just the same few.

• Find your niche and be specific. With tons of information to sort through, Twitter can sometimes seem a bit too open. Find your niche, and get to know your neighbours. For example, if you’re in to design, make some free icons and link to them. Offer a relevant whitepaper or article. Interact with people in a similar field or your target customers rather than trying to engage with the whole of Twitter. This is a great way to build up a base of loyal, engaging followers.

• Tweets about Twitter. You’re guaranteed that people using Twitter are interested in Twitter, so Twitter-themed tweets unsurprisingly provide a good way to capture people’s interest. A controversial blog post or a new angle on tips can be good ways to get people talking and following.

• Add people to lists. People always like to be on lists such as ‘awesome-bloggers’ or ‘best-web-designers’, and it gives you a good opportunity to organise your Twitter account at the same time.

• Keywords aren’t just for SEO. Tweet using keywords relevant to your field, e.g. ‘blog’, ‘web design’ etc., which are more likely to attract relevant followers and retweeters tracking these terms. Hashtags can also be useful.

To get traffic from your Twitter account to your website you need:

• A strong follower base. You need lots of followers, but more importantly, relevant followers who are interested in the topic of your website and/or the services you offer. Refer back to the tips above for ways to build a targeted follower base.

• Catchy, original tweets. Use numbers and intriguing titles, and where possible leave enough characters left for others to retweet your messages.

• A solid reputation. You want to be known for delivering quality content and promoting valuable URLs. Quality content on your website is always attractive to Twitter followers, who will retweet your links and so help you promote your site. Each Twitter account has an associated Klout score, which is one method you can use to track your influence.

• The right mindset. Don’t use Twitter solely for sales marketing, or expect to get lots of direct conversions. Twitter, and most other social media, should be about engaging with customers and other valuable followers rather than an extra RSS feed or telling people you bought some new socks. Don’t think you’ve failed because you haven’t reached a certain number of clicks or hits. It’s about finding new contacts, building up your brand and providing a friendly ear. That’s not to say that other strategies don’t work, but you need to be clear from the start about what you want to achieve with Twitter and what steps you’re going to take to achieve this; changing your mind halfway through will just confuse everyone.