The last week has seen explosive results in my online networking success. I’ve received no less than five offers from popular internet marketers desiring joint ventures and mutually beneficial business relationships.

I’m very excited, to say the least…

Here’s a little bit of information about one of my recent online networking success stories, as well as some tips that will help you achieve the same success.

I’ve been following the work of Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian for quite some time. Along with being an expert at internet marketing, Dr. Mani is also a heart surgeon. Dr.Mani gives much of his online profits to help disadvantaged children receive the life saving heart surgeries they desperately need. He even started his own Children’s Heart Foundation at, http://www.chdinfo.com/chdaware/ to help children around the world have the opportunity to receive the gift of life.

When I saw that he was launching a new site called IM interviews I jumped at the chance to share some of my advice about getting traffic with the popular StumbleUpon Website, as well as contribute to helping him out.

Little did I know, but the rewards of this small interview resulted in a testimonial from Dr. Mani and some very appreciated publicity.

Here’s my interview for the IM Interviews site, you can also read and submit your own interview as well:

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Matthew Sherborne’s Take On StumbleUpon Traffic

Dr. Mani’s IM Interviews

Question: How long have you been using StumbleUpon?

I’ve been using StumbleUpon since April of 2007. I find that while the users of the site have a famously low attention span, the traffic can be great as long as you have quality content. Another prerequisite for receiving a large amount of traffic from the StumbleUpon site is having a large friend network. These friends definitely help propel your Stumbles forward and give them momentum.

Question: What do you see as the biggest benefits from being a SU user?

The biggest benefit by far is the sudden surge of traffic the StumbleUpon site can deliver. For instantce I had a popular post about Second Life on my Paid Insider Forum that I stumbled. The post received over 1800 page views in a little over 24 hours. Not too bad for a post that normally would have only received a couple hundred from other traffic sources. This post contributed to several new signups on the forum, which may lead to new long-term customers and name recognition for myself online.

Question: How has StumbleUpon helped you?

I’ve had the chance to make some really great new friends from StumbleUpon. Several of them have been well known marketers. In fact, I ran across you, (Dr.Mani) on StumbleUpon, which in turn lead to this interview you’re reading right now. So the benefit of the site goes far beyond the traffic aspect that you see up front.

Question: Do you use StumbleUpon as a social networking tool? How?

The reality is that StumbleUpon is another avenue to build relationships and create a
core following of advocates for you. It’s funny, but I’ve met people on the StumbleUpon site who have gone on to seek me out on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and Technorati. It’s amazing that once you make these connections how your network can open up very rapidly to new people. This type of leverage is great to rapidly grow your exposure.

Question: What tips do you have for getting more value from StumbleUpon?

The best way to get more StumbleUpon traffic is to increase your high profile friends count. Here’s the whitehat method I use to get more website visitors by building a bigger network of top ranking Stumble users.

Before you attempt to locate these friends and friend them in the hopes that they will add you as their friend in return you should do a few things.

Start by first sprucing up your profile with artwork, pictures or photography to make your StumbleUpon profile visually appealing. This way you don’t look like you just started out on the site. StumbleUpon users want to make sure that you are active on the site before they will add you. This gives their Stumbles more exposure.

Second, you may want to build up your friends count by visiting other Stumble profiles. Give them a thumbs up, then review their page. Then add them as a friend and send them a comment, saying something that you liked about they website or stumbles. Make sure to say, I added you as a friend, and compliment them.

Once you’ve build up your Stumble profile with some pictures, votes and friends you should attempt to get on the good side of the top Stumblers. You can find the top StumbleUpon users at:

StumbleRank – Ranking Top StumbleUpon Users for Fun and Competition

You want to look for users who have less then 200 friends so they can add you back.(If they have over 200 friends they can not add you back and you will not benefit from the relationship)

Follow the steps laid out above to friend the top users who still have space available. Remember to be yourself. Social networking is all about being real and forming relationships. Make sure to visit your friends occasionally and keep the friendship going.

Question: What features would you like to see on SU that are not yet there?

The beauty of StumbleUpon is it’s simplicity. I think for it to be more effective there should be a way to find the top ranked sites. They already have a similar ranking for the top users on the site, I think it would be great if they did the same for the top websites.

Question: What do you like most about StumbleUpon?

The ease of use, and its ability to quickly generate a substantial amount of visitor traffic.

Question: What do you dislike most about StumbleUpon?

I’m guilty of spending too much time browsing other sites. To tell you the truth it can be a big time waster if you’ve got critical tasks you should be doing instead. I recommend you utilize the site, build up your friends network and network with others. When it comes to Stumbling for leisure, do it on your down time at the end of the work day.

Question: How do you see StumbleUpon evolving in the future?

As for what’s next I think it’s best said by the founder of StumbleRank, Muhammad Saleem.
“I foresee better ways of assessing and networking with top users. More focused ways to categorize users by their interests (using tags), etc.”

Authors Resource Box

Matthew Sherborne is an author and info-product creator of many products including Myspace Cash Machine, Instant Money Reports and Paid Insider. His primary goal is to help people around the world realize a better life through the creation of online income.

*** I’ve still got spots on for you to be my StumbleUpon friend at: StumbleUpon » xperior’s web site reviews and blog Friend me quick before all of the spots are gone

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Networking is an important part of any online business and you should always be on the lookout for ways to build relationships and grow your online footprint.

You’ve probably heard the famous quote…

“It’s not what you know but who you know that makes the difference.” By Anonymous

After the interview I contacted Dr. Mani and kindly asked if he was satisfied with the interview, and told him how I was helping to promote his new site.

I then asked if he would be interested in taking a look at my newest free viral report title, “Profit the F.A.S.T Way.”

Dr.Mani agreed to take a look and said he would get back to me when he had the time. A day or so later I received this glowing testimonial for Profit the F.A.S.T Way.

Here’s the testimonial Dr.Mani wrote:

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“Matthew, your special report, “Profit the F.A.S.T. Way” is an excellent overview of the time-tested process of making huge profits from writing and selling, or even giving away, short reports on wildly in-demand hot topics.

Your step by step approach to explain the sequence to go through will be a helpful guide for beginners and a nice refresher for even experienced infopreneurs to follow while writing and distributing their next special report.It’s a short, snappy, swift read – one that fits the needs of today’s time-starved ‘Attention Age’ audience by getting straight to the point without waffle or waste. Nice report. Well done.”

Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian
…the Internet Infopreneur
The Internet Infopreneur
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The small amount of effort to help Dr.Mani promote his new site and the time it took to write an interview was well worth the benefits of having his glowing testimonial for my new site.

Another key factor in getting and staying motivated in networking with other online entrepreneurs is, no one knows all the answers. The isolation of working online can be one of the most difficult aspects. You sometimes need the advice and leverage of other successful people to bolster your own success.

When you network you make it easier on yourself by connecting with others in your community. Doing so will often result in ways to work together and expose new opportunities you never knew…And of course, when you have helped and networked with enough intelligent people in your industry…
People begin to take notice.

Some of the richest people in the world attribute their success to finding the right networking group. They often claim these groups, mentors or partnerships lead to the turning point in the growth of their business.

You’ll want to go where other like minded individuals are meeting up. Sites like Meetup.com or Google, Myspace or Facebook groups are all great place to find people interested in a variety of topics. Working together, a networking or mastermind group can help its members generate more qualified sales leads and solve problems faster and more efficiently.

The key to finding these valuable networking partners is to be real. If you are completely upfront and genuine you’ll realize far more success with networking.

Get rid of ulterior motives like how the relationship can help you. Remember that your first priority should be to build relationships with others. Be yourself and you’ll have far more success in the long run.

Get involved and and contribute to helping others. Become a valuable resource and in the process you’ll become perceived as an expert in your niche market. Sharing ideas, expertise and experience is also an invaluable aspect of business building, self improvement and motivation. Once you’ve contributed to the success of others they will often return the favor.