"So I heard you were the guy that could tell me about a Blog? So what is the big deal anyway?".
I have been fielding these questions over and over since I began discussing with business owners and executives how blogs can be used as a tool for business promotion, marketing, and as a communication tool for customers, employees, and prospective consumers. I am amazed at the number of executives in companies that know nothing about the online environment. They are stuck in the old school of business and cannot jump into the deep end of the pool. They want to know a lot of basic information that as bloggers we take for granted.
I think back to my first days blogging, and the deer in the headlights look I would have the minute that they began to discuss what publishing platform I was using or the latest in site meters, or spam and the tools used to combat against it. HTML as far as I was concerned was the latest rock band like BTO or ELO or it might have been that new law firm that had opened its doors downtown.
When speaking to clients about the business of blogging, I first try to get a feel for their knowledge of the industry itself. If I say, "What is the URL of your business site?", and I get that glazed over look, I know this will turn out to be a long meeting. Sometimes we take for granted that this phenomena we call blogging is known by the world. We assume the person sitting across from the table has an idea what RSS feeds are, what a podcast is, and how using cpanel to track stats is a decent way to watch over your blog. If I have already lost you perhaps its time for your own education.
My point is to make sure that you don’t assume that the person sitting across the table from you is as passionate about blogging, and has the same education level as you do on your subject. Many of the clients I speak to don’t want to appear uneducated about the internet, they are the leader of their business they need to appear to be knowledgeable about all aspects of the business world. They certainly cannot admit to being ignorant about this thing called a blog. I try to take a little time for education. If they feel comfortable about what a blog is, they are more likely to, as I like to say, "Drink the Blog Kool-Aid".
