You already know by now that Twitter is all the rage. But what the heck is it and how will it help your business?

Watch “Twitter in Plain English” below:

So how do you get started on Twitter?

Here’s 10 tips for Twitter beginners. It’s super-simple to get going in the right direction and it doesn’t have to waste hours of your workday.

1. Create a brief but interesting profile free of a sales pitch. The goal is to build relationships and network, not sell to your followers.
2. Upload a real photo to your profile. A real photo is far better than a cartoon or logo. People want to know they’re communicating with a person, not a company (or fictional character!).
3. Add your website or blog to your profile. Letting people know where to find you is fine, but stuffing your site down their throats will alienate you fast. Add just one link to your site in your profile.
4. Before you start marketing yourself, get ahead and write out 10-15 messages or “tweets.” Start off by communicating about yourself or joining the conversation. It’s a good idea because it will give people a great impression of who you are and why they should follow you.
5. Follow people who catch your interest and respond to their tweets whenever relevant. Don’t just pitch your website, but actually discuss your interests, hobbies and ideas. Doing so will get your name out there and build your own followers.
6. For every one “promotional” tweet, you should have at least 10 conversational tweets. If you think that a series of promotional pitches will drive you traffic, you’re wrong. Remember, Twitter isn’t about selling, it’s about building relationships and entering into the conversation that’s already happening.
7. Use a desktop or mobile version of Twitter. Once you get comfortable with how Twitter works, use desktop or mobile phone applications to keep up. Take a look at: Twhirl or TweetDeck for your computer, or Tweetie for the iPhone.
8. Know when others are talking about you. To keep track of the conversation, there are a number of tools that will alert you when someone tweets about you, your keywords, or your website. Use tools like TweetLater, TweetBeep, or TweeTree.
9. Start or join the conversation. It’s easy to find something to tweet about, just ask questions, answer other people’s questions, or join conversations that are already going on. Soon enough, you’ll build your reputation and following.
10. Limit your time. Twitter may be addictive, but don’t let it waste your day.

Download my Twitter Beginner’s Guide - PDF Checklist:

Like these tips? You can download them all in a spiffy PDF checklist format.

Download the Twitter Beginner’s Guide (PDF)

And please share it with your friends, blog about it, or tweet it. Just send people to this page to download the PDF from the source.

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I want to share one of the best and most reliable tools in my business to synchronize and backup important files.

It’s called Dropbox and it’s honestly one of the best file sharing and file storage tools, hands down.

I’ve been using it ever since it was a private invitation-only site, and I’m pumped to see it grow into the incredible free backup tool that it has become.

In fact, I’ve recommended Dropbox to at least a couple dozen friends and colleagues, and I make my team use it to share files.

Here’s why Dropbox is so cool:

• You use a regular Finder window on the Mac (or Windows Explorer on the PC) to store your files. You do have to install a small program that runs in the background, but it doesn’t interfere at all.
• Anything in the “Dropbox” folder is automatically synchronized in the background and new files are downloaded automatically.
• Dropbox stores past revisions of a file, so you can restore an old version of that spreadsheet or “undelete” an important document.
• Dropbox doesn’t upload the entire file when it changes, it only needs to upload the part of the file that changed. That way it saves bandwidth and uploads fast.
• You can share a folder with a friend or staff and always have access to the spreadsheet or document you’re working on.
• Anything in the “Public” folder within your Dropbox has a URL associated with it, so you can email that 15MB family video by just sending a link.
• It’s free!

Here’s how I use Dropbox:

• Have access to my important files wherever I go with my iPhone or any computer. So I can work at Starbucks and have my files instantly synced on my home computer.
• Synchronize a shared folder with my staff so we always have the latest materials at any time. (No more sifting through emails to get the latest version! Yippie!)
• Share and email large files, video reviews, and teleseminar downloads without having to worry about FTP’ing the file. I just drag and drop the file into the “Public” folder on my Mac, and it’ll automatically upload the file and give me a URL to share via email.

Here’s a Demo:

Now if you’re worried about privacy and security, I totally here you. Here’s what Dropbox has to say about security:

We take utmost care to ensure Dropbox is secure and take security very seriously. All transport of file data and file metadata occurs over SSL. All files are encrypted with AES-256 before being stored on our backend.

Now I have no idea what that means, but it sure sounds secure! Personally, I’m not all that concerned about the security and privacy of my files. I mean, if it was really that private, than I wouldn’t put it online, but in most cases, it’s fine with me.

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Here’s the coolest thing about Dropbox… you get 2GB of free online storage.

And if you sign up through this link, you’ll get a bonus 250MB of space for free. This only applies to the first 10 people only.

They do have paid options if you want more storage. I’ve got the 50GB plan which costs $99/yr, which is a pretty good deal for me since I need the space, and I like having access to the files anywhere. But 2GB is a great starting off point.

So do yourself a huge favor and use a synchronized and backup tool that gives you some peace of mind. Whether it’s Dropbox or some other solution, you should definitely be backing up your computer! Don’t wait until it’s too late, you’ll regret it.

What online backup or file synchronization tools do you use? I’d love to hear your thoughts!