This post is a 20-minute guide to Twitter for non-techies. If you don’t know what Twitter is, start with my first post on the topic, Twitter-dee, Twitter-dum. If you still aren’t convinced it’s worth your time, then read my 12 Reasons to Start Twittering.

Over the last few years, I have helped several friends and a few family members get setup on Twitter. I found myself explaining the basics over and over again, so I decided to write a simple, step-by-step guide.

A few days ago, I posted about my problem with Facebook. I outlined my complaints and then solicited reader input. So far, I have had more than 80 comments. They have been extremely helpful.

Last Friday, I spoke at the Music City Media Mixer, a luncheon sponsored by George Uribe and Ebie McFarland. I spoke on the topic of “The Importance of Building an Author Platform.” While my talk focused primarily on authors, the principles I shared apply to anyone trying to sell anything in today’s environment.

Building an author platform has never been more important. This is because of three realities author’s face today:

On Saturday, I posted Four Surprising Conclusions About Author Websites. Yesterday, I posted on Why Every Author Needs a Powerful Online Presence. Today I want to address the how of building your author brand online.

A while back, I posted “4 Surprising Conclusions About Author Websites”. In case you missed it, I concluded that, for authors, building a powerful online presence doesn’t appear to have much to do with having (1) slick graphics or state-of-the-art technology, (2) a large media platform, (3) a large organization behind you, or (4) a young, hip image.

Joe Sheehan commented on the post, saying,

A few weeks ago, in preparation for a meeting with one of my biggest authors, I visited his website. I was reminded again how many authors think that by just hanging a website in cyberspace they are somehow building their brand. As it turns out, not so much.

Seth Godin is one of my very favorite business authors. His first book, Permission Marketing (1999), helped me understand the importance of crafting messages that are anticipated, personal, and relevant. It shaped the way I think about the Internet as a communications medium.

Since that time, Seth has written many bestselling books on marketing, including The Purple Cow, Word of Mouth Marketing, and, his newest, Tribes. Each time he has challenged the status quo and turned conventional thinking on its head.

I started Twittering on April 5, 2008. What started out as a 30-day experiment, has now turned into part of my daily life. I have written about 12 Reasons to Start Twittering. I even created A Beginner’s Guide to Twitter.

So far, I have more than 1,600 people following me, but I only follow about 180. (Some people, for reasons I can’t fathom, think that they must follow everyone who follows them. I do well to keep up with the people I am following.)

A few months ago, we began an experiment. We offered a free book to anyone who agreed to post a 200-word review on their blog. We started with The Faith of Barack Obama [affiliate link] by Stephen Mansfield. We had almost 200 people request books and almost 70% of them posted book reviews.

It takes years to build a brand. Unfortunately, there aren’t many shortcuts. You build a brand—like a reputation—one impression at a time. Every encounter with a customer results in either a “deposit” or a “withdrawal” in your “brand account.”