The topic today is how to make money using Twitter. Now I am sure you have heard before about how twitter is one of the great ways to make money on social networking, but have not unlocked the great secrets of the site. So let’s look at three ways to make money off twitter.

Number 1. The traditional approach has been using Twitter to drive traffic through ads. I would tell you it is a waste of time, and then I think about all the successful people who currently are out there advertising their product through the site. I know I have affiliate ads set up automatically through RSS feeds that display ads for a variety of products. I do my best to mix this in with good quality information, but I have not found a better traffic driver than Twitter.  With that being said, you should only be using 20% of your tweets towards ads. So for example if you do one post a day, maybe Tuesday’s tweet would be my weekly advertisement, and the rest of the week would be dedicated to content, packed with information for my customers.

Number 2. Twitter can be used to meet offline contacts. Use twitter as a tool to connect with people to meet for coffee or an event. This approach is becoming more and more popular as businesses look to grow through group meetings. In fact, look for me to send out soon a Tweetup for my I can not have any more friends event, because I am reaching my 5000 friends limit on Facebook.

Number 3. One of the best ways to make money on twitter is to build a relationship. Most of these relationships will come off-line as you discover new customers, vendors, and partners. Look for people going in the same direction as you and anything is possible. One note is that this will take time, and you should not expect customers within a week. Rome was not built in a day, and neither will your business be built that quick.