If you’ve used Twitter, the micro-blogging platform that radically altered the way a lot of online communication takes place today, you’ll know that right at the top of the page, you get asked the question:

What are you doing?

The idea being that you answer it in the box - and publish your ‘tweet’.

Well, with the frequent downtime that Twitter has been plagued by, it seems more apt to be asking TWITTER the same question!

The service has over 1 million users. They recently raised funds with savvy folks like Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos investing in it. They’ve had a LOT of time to get things fixed.

Yet the ‘blue whale’ still keeps popping up often. (Twitter uses a once-cute image of a blue whale coming up for breath to indicate down-time. But, once too often makes it much less ‘cute’!)

That’s why, even though I never expected to do it, I jumped eagerly aboard a new Twitter-clone that launched 2 days ago - it’s called Identi.ca

Where you ‘tweet’ on Twitter, you ‘dent’ on Identi.ca - and in many ways, it is quite similar to Twitter… with one difference. Portability. If you have the tech smarts to do it, you can ‘take’ your network with you when you move to another service (at least, that’s how I understand it).

Right now, Identi.ca only has ‘early adopters’ - which means most of the conversation I’ve been listening to is ‘geek speak’ that floats over my head.

But if it scales nicely, and with an open-source platform that’s available to many minds to adapt and tweak that is quite likely, then possibly Identi.ca will become my preferred alternative to Twitter.

Of course, that’s only likely if Twitter doesn’t get its act together.

So, Twitter… What Are YOU Doing?

I’m a member of a very special group - the Internet
Marketing Inner Circle.

In this supportive community, we share experience and
knowledge, network with other marketers and business
owners, and have fun.

We also take care of our fellow members.

That’s why, when we heard about Lynn Stivers and her
fight to save her home, the members rallied around
in support - and came up with a mind-blowing deal!

First, here’s some background.

Lynn has been fighting to keep possession of her home
for many months. Taking advantage of a legal loophole,
she beat her previous deadline literally by HOURS.

Her last deadline is closing in now and the only option
she has left to keep her home is to finish raising the
money to pay the bank.

Many people are able to beat foreclosure by filing
bankruptcy but because of a legal technicality it won’t
work in her case.

Lynn is determined to win so she has been working
feverishly, trying to raise the seemingly impossible sum
of $60,000 that she needs to pay off her dues.

In her own words:

“On the surface that looks impossible…
but I don’t give up!”

Lynn’s a fighter!

Raising large sums of money fast happens all the time
on the Internet… so with a little help, Lynn does have a
very good chance of winning.

She built a graphics membership site - and it ROCKS.

I bought access to a HUGE bundle of graphics from it,
and am delighted at the quality and style of her work.

Don’t just take my word for it - see for yourself (scroll
down the page a bit):

Aren’t they awesome?

And now, because she’s at risk of losing her home,
Lynn is doing something that gives you a chance to
both help her save her home - and get yourself the
same graphics you would normally pay a small fortune
for… at a mouthwatering low discount.

For the next 500 people who buy her graphics package,
Lynn is bundling 49 full sets of graphics for the one-time
payment of only $47.00

That’s a incredibly inexpensive $0.95 per set of graphics
that would regularly cost you at least $27 EACH!

All of these are original graphics, created by a very
talented artist.

You get rights to use them on your website, blog or
ebooks.

This is a win-win deal like none other - and I urge
you to jump on it.

Click here for details

By doing this, you not only help grow your online
business and make your website or blog look more
beautiful - you also help a fellow business-owner
retain ownership of a home she holds dear and close
to her heart.

But even if you don’t order a set for yourself, I have
a special request for you.

Because every little bit goes to help Lynn keep her
home, I ask that you spare a minute to think about
someone you know who may either need these graphics
or who has a list of clients/subscribers who may
want to own a copy - and tell them about this offer.

You could just forward a copy of this note to them.
By doing me this small favor, you will have helped
someone in a very special way.

Thank you very much for your support.

Once again, here is the link to get your pack of
49 sets of mind blowing graphics today - at a very
special low one-time payment…

Get Your EMERALD FIRE Graphics Pack

It’s out!

No, not the product - but the news of its coming launch.

And that trickle of information about Traffic Secrets 2.0 is the hallmark of the master buzz builder and ‘King of Anticipation Marketing’ - John Reese.

Already folks are beginning to go ga-ga on forums, blogs and social networks - and this frenzy will only increase and get more exciting until Traffic Secrets 2.0 launches on July 15th.

There’s one (of what’s sure to be many) interesting tweak already announced -

“The entire launch process for this course
will only be *12 DAYS*.”

That’s fast - but then, the pot’s been simmering slowly for almost a year now and doing an ‘accelerated launch’ may actually avoid over-eager fans beating a path to Income.com GHQ to physically wrench their copy out of John’s hands!

Prospective buyers, and even curious onlookers who intend studying the selling process (you do want to do that, don’t you?!) will heave a sigh of relief at this announcement too:

“There will be no other upsells, one-time offers,
special bundles, forced continuity, optional
continuity, immediate backend offers or
anything. NOTHING else will be for sale.”

A cynical and distrusting marketplace that’s been bitten far too many times lately will welcome this like a breath of fresh air. Kudos to John Reese for making this clear, explicit and unambiguous in an email to partners.

So, what’s the ‘Traffic Secrets’ magic all about?

It’s a process. Taught by a person who has applied it to get massive results in his business.

If the new version is similar to TS 1.0 in content and style, it will NOT be the most entertaining, exciting or visually appealing presentation you’ve ever watched. (There was a LOT of griping over the staid wallpaper pattern that made up the backdrop of the stage John Reese was lecturing from in TS 1.0!)

But it will be the most educational and instructive material about formulating a traffic strategy, setting up web traffic campaigns and executing them in step by step fashion.

Don’t kid yourself - it is hard work!

And the results are worth the effort - unless you prefer spending cash to get new website traffic, in which case other courses specifically teaching PPC marketing might be a better choice.

The ‘magic’ is also in the marketing.

And as you watch the Traffic Secrets 2.0 launch play out, you’ll witness the amazing phenomenon that never ceases to surprise me… people buying a high-ticket item primarily because they enjoy (and are caught up in) the hoopla that surrounds a well organized launch process.

Marketing spin positions Traffic Secrets 2.0 as being affordable, “priced at a shockingly low $397″. But ‘affordable’ is always uniquely individual. And even a low 3-figure price may be out of someone’s budget.

P.T.Barnum put it nicely. “If you have 1 pound and spend 19d 11p, you are rich. And if you have 1 pound, but spend 1p more, you are poor.”

This thought led neatly into a definition of marketing and selling that I learned recently from John Counsel.

Marketing is identifying a need and filling it.

Selling is getting people to want what they need - because unless they want it, they aren’t going to buy.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is great marketing - because every website owner needs more traffic.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is also great selling - because everyone who hears about it is going to want it.

Traffic Secrets 2.0 is NOT on my ‘to buy’ list - and still… I WANT IT!

Let the games begin!My affiliate link for Traffic Secrets 2.0 will be: http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ts2.htm

Recently, I wrote a short article called ‘17 POWER Tips For StumbleUpon Beginners’. It was a hit with many readers, some of whom have started using Stumble Upon more actively after going through it.

In 48 hours, this article was read by 749 people. It was ’stumbled’ by 43 fans. 7 people reviewed or commented about it. 14 bloggers linked to it from their blogs. And it all happened for FREE!

Not surprisingly, I received many questions about the article. To answer the most frequent ones and to give more detailed information about the process that helped even a beginner at StumbleUpon like myself get such amazing and fast results, I decided to write this in-depth guide to getting more StumbleUpon traffic.

This is not a comprehensive guide to StumbleUpon. If you’re looking for that, here are 2 resources that will give you a LOT more detail about StumbleUpon (but be prepared to spend hours on your research, these are MASSIVE content-rich collections):

• 65 Top StumbleUpon Articles
• StumbleUpon Comments

So let’s get started learning about how to get more StumbleUpon traffic - quickly, and for free.

Jump In - Start Stumbling!

Photo credit sxc.hu

It’s as easy - or difficult - as that. While you could read and research about StumbleUpon for a year, that will NOT bring you more traffic. What will, however, is if you just jump in and do things on StumbleUpon.

So, first - yes, even before you read further - click here to join StumbleUpon if you are not already a member. Just register, download and install the toolbar, and come back to read the rest.

Done? Welcome from a fellow SU member. Want to be my friend? Click here and add me to your friends list - just click on the ‘Add him as a friend’ button at the right top corner.

Finished? Great. You are ahead of 90% of the readers of this article who will just read it - but do nothing with the information. Your chance of getting more traffic from StumbleUpon just went up a notch!

Now keep on reading and you’ll learn about some cool - and easy - things you can do to drive a flood of targeted visitors to your blog or website.

Commit To Participating in the StumbleUpon Community

Photo credit sxc.hu

It came as a mild shock to me first, because I joined SU thinking it was a social bookmarking site that would get me more traffic. Kind of like Del.icio.us or Blinklist or Furl.

Within 2 days, I changed my mind. StumbleUpon is more than a traffic tap. It’s a powerful social NETWORK - an online community where you connect with PEOPLE. People like you, who have the same interests, like the same kind of things - and are ready and willing to share them with you, so that everyone benefits.

Get this core principle into your head and you’ll reap rich rewards from the StumbleUpon community - and have great fun as you drive more traffic to your site.

In just 2 days of networking, I have made 19 friends, am a fan of 48 others, and re-connected with many online friends I know from other places. StumbleUpon gives you some powerful, easy to use tools to make this process as easy as clicking a few buttons. Use them - and profit.

But won’t that take time?

Of course it will. And you may not have a lot of it. I understand. My life is just as crowded and hectic as yours.

Here’s the point, though. Of all online traffic driving systems I’ve researched lately, StumbleUpon is head and shoulders above EVERYTHING else in terms of delivering targeted visitors to your site - for FREE.

From a purely business-like ‘return on investment’ angle, the time you spend on StumbleUpon will very likely deliver more traffic to your blog or website than any other effort - except maybe pay-per-click traffic, where you need to spend money.

Can you find the time to participate on StumbleUpon? You decide. All I can say is that it’s worth finding.

“I Want To Be TOP DOG - a ‘POWER’ Stumbler” - Fuhgeddaboudit!

Photo credit sxc.hu

Far too many people get into social media networks with the traditional mindset of conventional media like search engines or directory rankings. Numero uno (number one) is valuable for listings on Google or Yahoo!, for sure.

Not so with social media, where your ‘voice’ matters more than your ‘rank’.

So stop obsessing over becoming a ‘power’ stumbler. Don’t set your target as wanting to beat the 100,000+ score that the top stumbler has. Instead, focus your attention on adding value to the SU community - by bringing interesting stuff you come across online to the notice and attention of your network of friends and fans.

Stumble often. Stumble a lot. Stumble good stuff.

That’s easy, isn’t it? And effective too.

Do you surf the Web often? Surely you come across some nice photos, a cool widget, an incredible content resource, a funky design, a heart-warming initiative… Stumble it.

It’s as simple as clicking on the ‘thumbs up’ icon on your StumbleUpon toolbar. Then write a short, pithy, passionate review about the site, telling briefly why you like it, and why others should bother checking it out.

That’s all. Do this consistently and often, and you’ll be a StumbleUpon superstar very soon - and your traffic hit counter will be spinning so fast, you’ll get dizzy staring at it!

And even if you’re just getting started, you have as good a chance at being an ‘instant hit’ as the best stumbler - as long as you pick the right sites to spread the word about.

Getting Started - Some Tips for Beginners

Photo credit sxc.hu

If you’re just getting used to StumbleUpon, it can be confusing and daunting. I know, because I experienced the same baffling scenario not too long ago.

Here are some tips to get going:

1. Click on the STUMBLEUPON icon on the left corner of your toolbar. You’ll be asked to pick some preferences, depending upon your interests. Select one or a few. Based on your choice, the service will present targeted websites for you to stumble and review. As each page loads in your browser, you can rate it - by either giving it a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’… and move on to the next.

2. If you surf the Web regularly, you can go about it the usual way - except that now, when you come across a site that impresses you, click on the ‘thumbs up’ icon on your SU toolbar - and it gets added to the StumbleUpon database (if it isn’t already in it).

A short explanation about this is in order. If you are the first person to ‘discover’ a cool site, it could be very effective in driving traffic if your ‘find’ gets popular. How? Each site’s review page and listing will carry your name, profile photo and link as the ‘discoverer’ - which means WIDE exposure across the network.

This is the biggest incentive to actively stumble useful resources that help many other users - because then these people will want to be part of your network, and will join your fan base, giving you increasing influence and leverage when it comes to creating buzz around sites you discover in the future - including your own!

Give first - get many times more in return later!

3. Start with people. At the top of your StumbleUpon page, there is a tab titled ‘PEOPLE’. Click it. You’ll get a random list of members. Click on the icon to go to their StumbleUpon blog. There you’ll see a list of the sites they have stumbled. Start exploring, rating and reviewing.

4. Or pick a tag to go. On the right sidebar is a ‘tag cloud’ - a list of words on popular topics, based on the choices you gave indicating your preferences. Clicking on each tag will take you to a page listing people who are also interested in the subject, and sites stumbled by other users. You can visit each and rate them. If you prefer video and multimedia, there’s a section devoted to it, again linked from the navigation bar at the top of the page.

5. Make friends first. That’s another way to get going. You may find someone you already know on StumbleUpon. Click the ‘Add Them As A Friend’ button to be their fan. If they choose to, they can in turn pick you to be a ‘mutual friend’.

And in this way, you can even approach people you don’t know yet - but think you’ll like knowing, based on their interests and profile - thus enriching your network. Remember what I told you before - StumbleUpon is not merely a ‘traffic tool’ - it’s a SOCIAL network!

Driving Traffic To YOUR Site From StumbleUpon

Photo credit sxc.hu

Now, I’m sure you’ve been scratching your head wondering how all this is going to help YOU. After all, by stumbling someone else’s website, aren’t you really driving traffic to THEM?

Yes, and now we’re going to look at adding your own sites to the mix - so some of that juicy StumbleUpon traffic is directed towards your online property.

First realize this - in a people-powered social network like StumbleUpon, it is harder (and really not worthwhile) to try and ‘game’ the system. Sooner or later, you’ll get caught out - more likely sooner.

If you think you’ll slap up a SU profile and spam the bejeesus out of your network by posting every one of your websites and blog posts ad nauseum, think again. You’ll soon have a grand following of ONE - yourself!

Instead, approach it from the angle of how YOU would like to be treated by someone in your network. What would make you follow everything that person does? Why would you hang on to their every word? When will you begin to TRUST them?

The answer is obvious. When they start adding value to your life - and for as long as they keep doing it - right?

So the real secret to becoming a ‘power’ stumbler is to establish that position of trust and influence - with your network. And the way to do it is add value to their life.

And if your own website, blog, business, service, product, membership or anything else you do online is likely to bring light into the lives of your audience - why, it is your DUTY to let them know about it!

That’s how you drive traffic - huge floods of it - from StumbleUpon to your website. By providing something of great value on your site, and telling your online community about it in the same way you always tell them about helpful, useful, valuable sites you came across.

Do NOT use hype.

Do NOT hard sell.

Do NOT be pushy.

StumbleUpon audiences are discerning and know what they like and enjoy. Just point them in the right direction, and sit back to watch. If they do not like it, see if you can make your resources better or more appealing, instead of trying hard to herd them back… that won’t work.

Here’s a critical mistake you must avoid. Do NOT send visitors to the homepage of your blog or site. Instead, link deep to the specific content that will interest them. That way, you can target many different, narrowly defined niches within StumbleUpon - based on selected keywords or specific interests - and deliver perfectly tailored content to each group.

It also helps your blogging, because you do not have to create all your content in the hope of getting StumbleUpon visitors. Write for your regular audience, but sprinkle in a few posts directed at StumbleUpon readers - linkbait for SU fish!

What Content Do StumbleUpon Readers Like?

Photo credit sxc.hu

Tough question. Hard to answer. Test it for yourself.

Some generalities:

- people like lists e.g. 101 top Wordpress themes, 69 ways to get more website traffic, 17 POWER Tips to StumbleUpon Beginners

- SU readers enjoy learning more about SU and other social media

- Hot news… juicy gossip, breaking news, what’s happening TODAY

- Photos and pictures

- Cool sites… design that rocks, gadgets, widgets and games

These are very broad, general guidelines. StumbleUpon has a VAST user base of millions, and their interests are diverse and varied. Since you will be appealing to people in your network who anyway share your interests, chances are good that what you find interesting will be attractive to them too.

A bit of data about StumbleUpon visitors based on my early experience (others have reported similar results).

1.66 pages/visit (average)

46.96% bounce rate

00:01:40 average time on site

What does this mean? The ‘bounce rate’ is the number of visitors who left the site without exploring beyond the page they arrived at. Typically, for services like Digg, this figure is around 85%. As you see, with StumbleUpon it is 46% - which means about one-half of visitors did click around to explore other pages on my site.

The fact they spent one and a half minutes (on average) is also significant, as the article I linked to would take barely 30 to 45 seconds to read - less to skim. Chances are many stayed back to read a few more posts.

StumbleUpon visitors are valuable to a website or blog owner. They are more than curiosity seekers flicking from one site to another. Catch their interest and they’ll stick around.

The key to it is providing great value - informative or entertaining content, presented in a pleasant, aesthetically appealing style, without clutter or crowding, and minimal or no advertising that’s annoying and ‘in your face’.

Technical Tips for Content Creation

Photo credit sxc.hu

Now that you’ve seen what kind of content appeals to StumbleUpon readers, here are a few technical tips to help you get maximum leverage from your StumbleUpon traffic.

1. Longer articles with more links to explore may work better. The more ‘thumbs up’ votes you get, the greater the chance others will stumble across your page. And longer, more informative and comprehensive content is likely to get voted more often than ultra-short snippets.

2. Use eye-catching photos or visual aids to grab visitor attention.

3. Craft compelling headlines to attract readers and suck them into the content.

4. Label and tag every post. Use broad category tags like ‘money’ or ‘health’ which get searched more often rather than less frequently searched terms.

5. Take care to offer most content ‘above the scroll’ - before the visitor has to click a mouse button or scroll down. Chances are they won’t - unless you give a convincing reason to do it.

6. No advertising. Or at least, not intrusively or aggressively. You may use a form to sign up visitors to a list, dangle a juicy gift or run a contest as a hook, and even offer a freebie giveaway. But do not use Google Adsense or other flashy banners or do anything that appears to be pushy advertising or you’ll lose your StumbleUpon audience fast. After all, they found you from a click on their toolbar - and another click takes them somewhere else equally interesting!

The REAL Secret of StumbleUpon Traffic - Relationships

Photo credit sxc.hu

StumbleUpon is a social network. Incidentally, it also drives huge volumes of traffic to sites that its users consider popular or valuable.

How to get a sizable chunk of StumbleUpon users to rate your website or blog as ‘popular’?

The answer is one word: RELATIONSHIPS.

That’s why social marketing is today’s equivalent of the earlier era of email and web based permission marketing - where coercion will not work, only convincing and co-operating will.

Yes, building relationships takes time.

Yes, growing relationships takes effort.

Yes, consolidating relationships is neither instant or easy.

So you have to take the long-term view about growing a powerful presence on StumbleUpon - all the while enjoying short bursts of traffic and visitors during the process of developing a sustained presence.

The trick is to balance both, so that the benefits your quick results bring will justify the ongoing effort and time you’ll spend to reap even richer rewards.

Let’s look at the relationship building process on StumbleUpon.

Your Mirror to StumbleUpon

Photo credit sxc.hu

When members of the StumbleUpon community look for you, the first thing they come across is your profile. It is important in creating an impactful ‘first impression’ that will knock their socks off!

Remember to brand. Your username and profile picture must extend the brand of your website or blog or business to StumbleUpon readers.

Create a customized version of your homepage, selecting your interests from the topics listed on the sidebar to match the theme of your StumbleUpon presence.

Pick your topic, interest and keyword choices carefully, as they will determine the kind of people from the community who get exposed to your profile and site picks through SU’s matching algorithm. By placing your selections in front of the correctly targeted audience, you greatly enhance the chance that they will find what you select interesting - and vote you to prominence quickly.

Personalize your StumbleUpon homepage. To do this, click on the PREFERENCES tab and start customizing. In your PERSONAL PROFILE, you are allowed to post a brief introduction message - in which you can link back to your regular website, blog or even sales page or other social media websites.

Start Growing Your Network

Photo credit sxc.hu

Connect with fellow stumblers. Pick a theme or keyword, and see who else is interested in the same topic. Visit their blog/homepage to see the kind of sites they have stumbled. If there’s a match, add them to your list of friends - and sign up as their fan.

You can take this further and send a message - just click the link on the sidebar and type. The first contact could be just a brief introduction, with a quick mention of how you found their site and what you liked about their stumbles. Then wait for a response - and keep the conversation flowing.

There is no way to automate this correctly. You must invest the time and effort to do it right. You cannot outsource or mechanize human relationships - and those are the kind you develop on SU.

After you enter their orbit, do something to help your new friends. On StumbleUpon, the best thing you can do to help is to vote up their content. Check to see if it is good, because by stumbling and rating poor quality stuff, you will harm your own reputation in the long run.

But if the content is good, stumble it - and rate it with a ‘thumbs up’. Don’t stop there. Write a review. Far too many reviews are short, standard and not compelling. Stand out and be different. Write a RAVE review - one that will get other visitors to the page take notice, and definitely will grab the site owner by the eyeballs and bring you to their attention.

Trust me, they will notice - and reciprocate your effort to help them. A friendship has begun… and all it takes is some passionate writing.

An even better way to get on a Stumbler’s radar is to review their SU blog (homepage) itself. Click their photo to go to the blog - and then pick the link on the sidebar labelled “Review Their Blog”. Write a rave review of the person, or the content on his/her blog.

A StumbleUpon blog with many reviews carries higher ‘authority’ - and every SU user appreciates action that you take to boost that authority. Writing a review is one of the surest ways to a stumbler’s heart!

One more way to grow your network is by making friends with your readers. StumbleUpon shows you how many people visited your homepage, and their details. It’s a flashing icon at the top of your right hand sidebar, next to the inbox icon. Click on it, and you’ll get a list of recent visitors to your StumbleUpon blog.

These are people who were curious enough to check out your blog. You have the opportunity to convert them into friends, fans or at least repeat visitors. A click on their profile photo takes you to their site, where you can add them as a friend, or send a message or review/rate their site picks and profiles.

A final tip that works well for some power users is to go out and search for prominent bloggers who also are active StumbleUpon users - and then you stumble their posts! Do you see how this benefits you? Active SU members understand how your action was responsible for their blog getting extra visitors - and will return your favor at some time in the future, even if you don’t ask for it!

Any of these actions could become the seed of a fruitful friendship - don’t knock it until you’ve tried doing this.

Deepen Relationships With Your New Friends

Photo credit sxc.hu

Think about friends or family you have in real life. Which kind do you like most? The ones who constantly keep asking you for something? Or the kind that keep GIVING you something you want?

The latter, of course. It stands to reason.

And so, just as in the real world, your online relationship building should begin by giving your new friends value.

Introduce yourself with a personal note. Ask if you can help in any way. Offer your services and assistance with something. Reach out to them and make first contact. Your approach will pay rich dividends in a short while.

Here are 3 more things you can do to help your friends:

- Stumble their content. Visit their blogs and websites. If you find something you like, stumble it - and then write a review. They’ll be sure to thank you for the flood of traffic you unleash.

- Rate and review their picks. You can do this by visiting their blog and browsing through the links they’ve stumbled. How does this help? SU ranks users possibly based on their utility to the service. A stumbler who picks great websites that many other users enjoy should therefore rank higher. By giving your friend’s pick a ‘thumbs up’, you are boosting your friend’s authority within SU.

- Send them your top content to stumble. As a StumbleUpon user, you can send pages to specific friends, or even all of them. When you write or create something that you think all your friends will love, and stumble as their own discovery, send it to them. You’re helping them, while helping yourself indirectly.

Key tip: NEVER explicitly ask an SU user to vote up or stumble your content. It is considered bad form, and reflects poorly on you.

Over and Above - The ‘Last Mile’ of Social Bonding

Photo credit sxc.hu

There are no traffic jams on the last mile of online social relationship building. You are virtually all alone, ahead of the pack and faster than it - if you implement some common sense practices.

Even simple ones like - saying ‘Thank you’.

Guess how many do it? Not many! Sad, but true. Make the impoliteness of the crowd your competitive advantage.

Thank everyone. Thank the friend who stumbled your post. And the friends who ranked it or visited your site or reviewed your blog. Thank the person who wrote the article or blog that you just discovered and stumbled, or reviewed.

Courtesy is so rare it is always noticed!

Comment on blogs about posts that have already been stumbled. When visitors from StumbleUpon read the blog, they might see your comment - and follow a link in it to your site.

Don’t abuse this function. Always be sure your comment is in context and contributes to the conversation. Never use this as pure link spam. Karma is a strange thing… it comes back to bite you in the back!

Plus link spam is easy to spot - and no power blogger or stumbler will endorse a link spammer. It’s a strategy that’s penny-wise, pound foolish.

Evangelize great posts. No, not just on StumbleUpon - everywhere. Blog about it. Email your list. Twitter or Utterz it. Bookmark it on Del.icio.us and on other services.

Doing this positions you as a ‘value adder’ - and the beneficiary of your efforts will be extremely grateful to you. When it’s their turn, they will gratefully drive a rush of visitors to your site or blog.

To Put It In a Nutshell…

There’s a LOT of information in this report. Yet you can boil down the essence to one quick summarizing statement:

“StumbleUpon is a network of people looking to find interesting, exciting, useful content on the Web; they respect, cherish and admire people like you who help them achieve this goal; and helping them is the quickest, easiest way to get huge surges of traffic from StumbleUpon”

The rest is detail. Technical excellence is of little advantage in a human powered network. Human empathy matters more. That, and a commitment to growing and enriching the online community you participate in.

StumbleUpon is one such awesome online community. It has the ability to drive a huge torrent of website visitors to your online properties. Take advantage of this potential - but do it ethically, effectively and enthusiastically.

To your StumbleUpon success - and may your web server crash from the flood of visitors thronging your site!

More Recommended Reading:

A Comprehensive Guide to StumbleUpon: How to Build Massive Traffic to Your Website

StumbleUpon Networking: How to Easily Share Content and Build Relationships

How to Become a Top StumbleUpon User (or Why You Really Shouldn’t Bother)

Five Ways to Grow Your StumbleUpon Network: An Ode to Altruistic Stumbling

It’s the almost universal response when people first hear about Twitter, the micro-blogging social network that’s the taking the Net by storm.

Even as the service nears signing up its 1 millionth user, many web surfers aren’t sure what exactly is the nature of the beast called Twitter.

Twitter is a CONNECTOR

image credit sxc.hu

Where else can you engage in mini-conversations with famous, busy and influential people? Catch their eye for a fleeting moment? Share a short snippet or whisper a juicy tidbit into their ear?

Twitter is a CONTENT CHANNEL

image credit sxc.hu

When I first dabbled in Twitter, I considered many possibilities. Using it to deliver content was one of them. Chris Webb had a similar idea.

Recently, I fleshed the idea out into a ‘TwitZine’ - http://TwitZine.com. Seems like this could evolve into an interesting e-publishing channel.

Twitter is a COFFEE ROOM

image credit sxc.hu

In a short blog post that’s since been widely read and distributed, I likened Twitter to a coffee room in the operating suite of a surgical unit. A place where you hang out and chew the fat with a motley crowd after the day’s work is done - or take quick refreshing breaks in between a long slog.

Twitter is a COMMUNITY

image credit flickr.com

A nurturing, enriching and supportive group of caring people. Susan Reynolds discovered this when her FROZEN PEA FUND initiative for breast cancer awareness building took the Twitterverse by storm - with everyone sporting PEAvatars in support of her fight.

See “I Fight Cancer With Twitter” for more insight.

Twitter is a CO-ORDINATOR

image credit sxc.hu

Users plan tweet-ups, impromptu get-togethers in various places, meetings during live events and conferences, or even get opinion, feedback, insight, advice and directions using Twitter. Some collaborate on projects, provide status updates and log problems needing attention. All help get the task done efficiently.

There’s a whole lot more to Twitter. Much of it hasn’t even been explored yet. There’s potential and possibility. And there’s folks who’ll still say…

Oh, Twitter

… and happily go about their regular little lives!Recommended Reading:

• A quick guide to Twitter for bloggers by Chris Garrett
• The Big Juicy Twitter Guide by Caroline Middlebrook

Here’s one way to integrate your activities across various social media properties and networks, so that each leverages another and gets you incremental value from whatever you do in this space.

I use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon and blogging as my primary social networking activities at this moment - and here’s how I’ve set them up to work in concert.

On my blog…

I have the Twitter widget on the sidebar, a Feedburner icon (plus email sign up link) for visitors to subscribe, and will soon add the Facebook widget too. A visitor to my blog gets instant news about what I’m doing on FB and Twitter, while reading my longer blog posts… and if s/he likes it, can subscribe for more, through RSS feed or by email.

The blog is also distributed through Aweber, with email notifications along with short summaries sent out whenever I update the blog with new content (not every time, but once every 3 posts or so).

On Twitter…

My profile links back to my blog. Through my tweets, I often link back to posts and other events of interest on my site, forum or blog - and even point to FB, LinkedIn and other social media sites I frequent.

Because my Twitter widget is on the blog and on Facebook, the latest tweets are ’syndicated’ across them too.

On Facebook…

I have the Twitter widget enabled, which means my tweets are shown to my FB Friends. I post Notes about interesting blog posts, leading some FB Friends to my blog, Twitter or MySpace to read more about them.

I have also enabled my StumbleUpon account sharing, so sites that I ’stumble’ will show up on Facebook too. And by ’stumbling’ my recent blog posts, that bit can happen ‘automatically’.

On StumbleUpon…

My profile page links back to my blog. I also stumble posts on my blog, tweets on Twitter and updates to my websites, among other interesting links I discover as I surf the Web.

I could use RSS to integrate SU more intensively into my blog, if I wanted to.

That’s just a brief overview.

It helps maximize my involvement in social media, by spreading the effort across multiple networks. Parts of my audience across these media is the same. But there are some folks who only see me on FB, some on Twitter, others on email - and by sharing and distributing content across the networks, I increase my chances of reaching them through one channel or another.

It’s why in this post titled “Oh, Twitter!” I called it a ‘channel’. In a sense, all social media is a channel - between you and your audience. Maximize it for greater value for your investment in time and effort.

How do you integrate your social media networking? Do you have any helpful tips to share? Please leave a comment explaining how you do it. Thanks.

Keep smiling, keep shining,
Knowing you can always count on me
That’s what friends are for

In good times, and bad times
I’ll be on your side for ever more
That’s what friends are for

On Twitter and on this blog, I have been criticized and condemned for doing things “a friend would never do”.

Because so much about what friendship means is personal perspective, I thought it was a good idea to write about what I think being a friend is all about.

Friends correct you

When a friend sees you going down the wrong path, she doesn’t sit still and watch. She tries to keep you on the right one. One of my friends has become a symbolic ‘conscience-keeper’ for me, to the point I ask myself before doing something: “What would Paul say/think about this?” - and only then do it.

Friends guide you

Where others may discourage or put you down, friends will act as trusted guides and advisors to help you progress or get out of trouble. Friends are people you can trust to give you the right kind of advice, without you having to worry about whether they have ulterior motives or hidden agendas.

Friends support you

When things go wrong, friends stick-up for you. Sadly, some mistake such undying ‘loyalty’ alone for true friendship. A friend will not support a wrong, unethical or unjustifiable action or stance - though a friend will accept you as you are, warts and all.

Friends help you

To be a better person. More successful in what you do. A friend helps you in thought, word and deed. There are too many ‘pseudo-friends’ who talk the talk, but won’t stick by you when push comes to shove. Friendship is measured by actions, not words alone.

Friends energize you

After spending time with my friends, I come back with my mental batteries recharged, raring to get back into action. Friends have that effect on you. They are an emotional tonic to get you over the blues and find meaning and purpose in life again.

Friends relax you

You can let down your hair and be yourself - because friends don’t care for the pretense and show you might feel compelled to put on for the rest of the world. Friends care for and like the real you. And so you can really relax in their presence.

I am blessed to have many friends. And I am blessed to be a friend to some nice people. Friendship is a privilege and friends are a fortune.

So, tell me…

What does friendship mean to you?

What are friends for?

What do you like your friends to do for/to you?

Welcome to the first day “6 Day Twitter Traffic”.

Twitter is a micro-blogging ‘presence stream’ application that’s unique because it only allows you to post messages shorter than 140 characters in length!

Yet within this limitation, a whole community of over ONE MILLION users has evolved, making this one of the most vibrant, interactive and fascinating of social media channels available today.

Are you ready to explore the exciting waters of Twitter?

Let’s go.

Sign up for a Twitter account

Before you go further, read this report (it’s free) to see what your next steps will be:

Mastering Twitter: Click here to download the PDF

Enter your name, username, password, email address, and a picture.

The picture/photo is important. It’s your ‘avatar’ on Twitter. And on a social medium like Twitter, it matters that people in your network interact with you as a person or entity. Pick a photo, picture or logo that represents you or your business, brands it, and is eye-catching.

Start experimenting.

Post a few messages to Twitter. Since no one is ‘following’ you yet, don’t worry - if you goof up, no one will know!

Type a short message (less than 140 characters) into the box and click on the UPDATE button. Your post will appear below the box.

Try using a link to your website or blog. The link will be automatically converted into a short cloaked link, through the tinyurl.com service.

Here’s a sample you can try out - and at the same time, promote Congenital Heart Defects awareness:

“A Day For Hearts” is on February 14th. Please show your support. Help save a child’s heart. http://www.CHDinfo.com/chdaware/

or

You can help spread Congenital Heart Defects Awareness. See how you can help: http://www.chdinfo.com/chdaware/youcanhelp.htm

Then, check out the General Timeline by clicking on the link near the top of your Twitter homepage. You’ll see a cross-section of ALL Twitter users, with posts being refreshed frequently.

Some posts will be interesting, others cryptic, and most will be dull, drab, useless musings of individuals. You do NOT want to make many posts in that last category!

Click on stuff and explore the service.

There are many cool features. You’ll discover them by being curious. And for more background, check out the Big Juicy Twitter Guide written by my friend, Caroline Middlebrook - it’s here

The “CHD Social Media Challenge” is a project to spread Congenital Heart Defects awareness. There are 4 mini-tutorials and 1 firesale making up the ‘challenge’. You can join in and help too - click here to see how.

Over the last 10 days, I’ve set up a profile on Facebook and grown it to include 347 ‘Friends. And also done it on LinkedIn, where I now have 47 ‘Connections’. I have posted close to two hundred times on Twitter and grown my ‘Following’ from 470 to 548.

So was I existing entirely on social networks, doing little else?

Nope.

It has been a prolific and productive week.

In the same time frame, I launched 3 new products/programs - the ‘Authority Site Process‘ for search engine optimization, the ‘Ask Dr.Mani‘ program where I invite questions from members, and the ‘Success Mindset‘ mentorship.

And I re-launched one of my favorite ebooks, ‘The Emotion Prism‘. My medical practice has been quiet, though, because April is when schools have their annual/final exams!

How can I do all this? By having a disciplined ‘Social Media Marketing‘ strategy - and setting strict limits on what I do, and where.

I could have called this post ‘Twitter Efficiency Tips‘ or ‘Facebook Productivity Secrets‘. It’s about how to get the most from social networks and integrate your social media marketing into everything else you do - online and off.

Social Networking Sucks You In!

It’s tempting and easy to get involved in social networks… and spend hours and hours doing ‘fun’ stuff.It’s also natural. Man is a social animal. We were not supposed to live in isolation. Communities and interaction are core to our kind.

Yet, barring few exceptions, for the most of us, some privacy and solitude is essential to carry out tasks, get work done, focus attention on important things.

Social media marketing and participation on social networks interferes with this. And that is by design.

Sharp minds behind these networks use their smarts to get you engaged and involved for as long as possible - because the longer you stay, the more they derive value, and by extension, revenues, from your participation.

What’s In It For YOU?

I know this sounds contrary to my advice of always ‘giving first’ when it comes to social engagement.That’s to deter folks from barging into social networks with a ‘See Me, See What I’ve Done’ style self-promotion.But it is just as important to be selfish - in a not-so-blatant way. And that selfishness is determined by asking “What’s in it for me?” when you get involved in social networks.

• Is spending 3 hours a day on Twitter adding value to your bottom-line?
• Is scurrying down Facebook’s rabbit holes making you a better person?
• Is connecting with people on LinkedIn raising your profile and job prospects?

If the answer is “Yes”, keep doing it.

But don’t let participation on social media and networks become your excuse for ‘work’ - especially if you cannot quantitate and measure the success you are deriving from it.

Measure, Track & Analyze

I watch metrics like visitor count, sales and referrals carefully.Twitter connects me to friends - but has also got me guest posts on Problogger’s popular A-list blog, sparked off a project with Kevin Riley (see “Post Product Launch Follow Up“) and started discussion about another with John Rhodes - about ‘Twitter Domination Secrets v2.0‘. It even made a few sales of “The Emotion Prism“.

My research into Facebook earned me $269.51 this week - from a variety of incidental monetization models. My profile on LinkedIn is bringing 50 visitors to my blog daily, and expands my visibility online.

Are you measuring and monitoring the impact of your social media marketing?

ROI on Time

Some try to short-circuit the process, avoid spending time - but want results.Unfortunately, social networking does not permit such ‘tricks’. It’s like trying to speed up your romance - and get hooked up with the lady of your dreams in a week, spending 5 minutes a day. Or getting pregnant and having a baby in 3 and a half weeks. Or growing up from toddler to teenager over the weekend.

It just doesn’t happen that way.

Human interactions demand time, attention and persistence. They result in rich connections and rewarding relationships that make it completely worthwhile.

That’s your ROI on time.

And by the same token, you may lose that most precious commodity that you can never get back again - your time.

So carefully monitor how long you spend on social networks - and what returns you are getting from that investment.

Carry on doing what you are - ONLY IF it is worthwhile.

I stumbled across this interesting blog post through a link from my favorite Twitter poster, TheBloggess

In light of my recent thinking and blogging, I enjoyed the subtle sarcasm more than usual!

Relativity, Honesty and Ego Drink Beer in the Kitchen

“Why do people hate honesty? If you are walking around with a booger in your nose, wouldn’t you like someone to let you know? …

Christ, people hate the truth.” More…

Tags: honesty, wisdom