When first starting on Twitter, many folks wonder what they should talk about. One of the nice things about Twitter is that there are no rules, so the sky's the limit. However, it helps to stay somewhat focused on whatever it is that you want to accomplish with Twitter. However, mixing it up with other topics can only attract more people to read your posts.

If you are interested in promoting your antiques business, certainly you can tweet about antiques in your Ruby Lane shop. You'll benefit from increased traffic as your followers click on your Ruby Lane link to check out your inventory. BUT – if you repeatedly run links to your shop several times a day, it won't be long before people unfollow you, since a constant flow of “see my stuff/buy my stuff” types of tweets is a real turn-off. You can certainly post a couple of shop links a day without offending anyone, but there are other ways to quietly bring attention to your antiques business.

*Ask a question.* Maybe you need more research on an oddball antique you're about to list; asking for help from the Twitter antiques community will bring you new friends, show that you are willing to learn, and will probably bring you some great links and research info.

*Post an interesting link. *And I don't mean to your Ruby Lane shop. But we all run across antiques information that others can use – antiques publications, a helpful YouTube video, a tutorial on photography, a specialty product you can personally recommend. Maybe you know a good restorer that can use some free publicity – you can post their specialty and their website. To attract faithful followers, regularly link to helpful info that your potential customers need. There's a huge amount of antiques information on the Internet, and chances are if you found the information useful, others will too.

*Humor is good.* It's not easy to post a good joke in 140 characters, but everyone can use a good laugh. Sometimes it's a link to a great blog, or just a funny but positive comment about someone else's tweet. Good taste is essential, but funny makes for good tweeting.

*Share other interests in your life. *You don't have to tell your personal secrets. But what else do you enjoy – hobbies, sports, favorite pastimes? @dextergrass of The Old Grey Mare sometimes talks about her antique tins collection, and often shares good detailed information about them. But she also occasionally mentions her horse farm too. @tomjudy of Judy's Lovelies, @RCantiques of R C Antiques and @aneD of Gardenartus Antiques are all Ruby Lane shop owners who gab about many different subjects – and I've learned a lot from following them. They cover a huge variety of topics, and are so interesting to read!

*Stretch your horizons *– think of Twitter as your own home office water cooler, where you share interesting tidbits with others who like what you like. Variety will bring you a myriad of good followers, and in turn they will shower you even more topics to discuss. I think of each tweet is a potential stepping stone to learning something new, and every day it usually turns out to be true.

Remember – don't ever answer that silly Twitter question “What are you doing?” Truthfully, no one really cares if you are sitting in your pajamas drinking chai tea. But people *are* interested in something you've shared which is informative and helpful. You'll find yourself being re-tweeted more and more as your followers get to know you and interact with you. You'll attract more followers as others recommend you, and that's the name of the game – building your follower audience.

Beth Pulsipher
Red Moon Antiques On Ruby Lane
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/redmoonantiques