As of May 2009, Twitter received more than 20 million unique monthly visitors, surpassing many big media sites such as NYTimes.com. Although the exact number is not known, Twitter is now reported to have an estimated 9 million users.
Abandoning ship
There is speculation that a lot of those Twitter accounts have been opened and then abandoned by people who never quite got the point of it. It’s understandable because for something that appears so simple on the surface, it can actually be quite complex.
Personally, I hear lots of different objections on a regular basis. Just the other day someone bemoaned that they were done with Twitter because “No one is following me except spammers.”
The offenders
It’s actually not difficult to build up a good-sized following (of non-spammers) on Twitter. But here are some reasons why you may be popular with spammy types—and not many others:
1. You protect your updates
2. Your twitter stream doesn’t show any RTs or @ replies
3. You follow a lot more people than follow you
4. Conversely, a lot more people follow you than you follow (This is common with celebrities…yes, obviously a lot of people are still choosing to follow, but the imbalance does discourage some folks.)
5. You have no or very few updates
6. You promote too much
7. Every tweet contains a link but you’re not showing any of your personality
For myself, when I am checking out someone’s Twitter page and deciding whether to follow, these are some of the things that I notice.
What to do?
So, if you are still wondering how to get more people to follow you, concentrate on a few things:
First, post interesting links and information that is likely to get re-tweeted—this exposes you to the people that follow your followers whom you aren’t connected to yet. Re-tweet others, put your Twitter username in your email signature, list your Twitter account as a website on your Facebook profile, list yourself on sites like Twellow and WeFollow, and use keywords that best describe your business and interests because lots of people search by keyword when they are looking for new people to follow.
Oh, and don’t let your fear that you have nothing interesting to say stop you from tweeting. Just let us know what has your attention, as Chris Brogan put it. People want transparency and authenticity. They want to connect with real people.
You probably have a lot more interesting things to say than you give yourself credit for. 
So what else would you add to this list?
Photo credit: 7son75
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8. They do not like your political opinion. For example, if you are a nationalist, you are often labeled as a »nazi«, even if you are not.
Sometimes you’ll also be blocked.
9. You post a dozen or more updates in a row and people fear that you will flood their stream and drown out other people they are interested in.
10. Corollary to tt’s #8 above — Too many religious posts scare off the non-religious folks.
I would add one more:
Don’t be Twitter windbag. You shouldn’t use Twitter as a live feed of your every movement and thought. If you do, you’ll soon be dropped.
I would advise against joining certain Twitter site that promise you 10 thousand followers in 30 days or something like that.
Charles Hopson´s last blog ..Hello world!
This post was spot on! I look at all those things before following someone.
Amanda´s last blog ..Free Blog Designs – Template-Mama
@tt–True, everyone’s got their own unique reasons…
@Ray–Good additions!
@Mark–LOL, yes, no using Twitter as a lifestream.
@Charles–Yep, best to avoid those like the plague. Kind of misses the point, you know?
@Amanda–Woohoo! Glad you agree
Thanks for the update and appreciate your help on learning how to use Twitter effectively.
Charles Hopson´s last blog ..Hello world!