Mentors have been an invaluable part of my success and are a critical asset for building a strong personal brand. The best mentors are those who are successful in your industry, brutally honest, and can teach you some powerful lessons. Thanks to web 2.0 platforms like twitter, connecting with mentors is easier than ever before.

If you are using twitter properly and engaging in conversations rather than just using it for self promotion you can make a good impression on experts in your field by retweeting and replying to their tweets. That is not to say self promotion is bad –it is certainly not. You just have to keep it balanced.

Try this: Find five successful people who you admire and can learn from in your industry. Follow them on twitter. Take time to respond to their tweets and engage in conversations so you show up on their radar. Think of a few questions that you would like to ask an expert about your business or industry. Pick the person who you think could best answer your question and direct the question at them. Chances are you will get a response and learn something new. I have met so many fabulous people by engaging in conversations on twitter.

Connect with new people on twitter by leaving your twitter url in a comment below. Follow me @nataliemacneil