An Interview with Mike Sansone

Last week I ran across the Blog Posting Mantra. It was amazing. All these things I had come to realize on my own were right there in black and white. If only I had seen them sooner

The author was Mike Sansone who blogs at ConverStations. As I began to read his site, I realized that he really knew what he was talking about, and he has a great writing style that makes the information so easy to grasp. So I was excited when he agreed to spend some time talking with me so that I could learn more about him and how ConverStations came to be.

How long have you been blogging?

Officially? Since August 2005. I had been reading blogs just prior to that, but started writing my own in August.

How do you blog unofficially?

I used to send out a daily newsletter to community members long ago, though it was prior to RSS feeds and blogware. So August 2005 is the official date.

So did ConverStations start out as an email newsletter?

Nope. I was a freelance copywriter (specializing in conversational copy) and had a blog called Copywriting Watch in February 2006. I put all my energies into business blog coaching.

The newsletter I spoke of was called the Daily Dinger, which I wrote to volunteer community leaders at AOL in the late 90s. It was a piece that got the conversational juices going so chat hosts and forum leaders would have something to talk about if they ran dry.

Do you write any other blogs?

I don’t at the moment. Lately, I’ve had a challenge writing my own

I know that’s a common sentiment. Was blogging just a natural outgrowth of what you were doing, or was it a new direction for you?

More like a return to a previous passion than something new. The tool is relatively new, but not the practice. I’ve always had a passion for building community and love the challenge of building community around a conversation – and seeing if we can turn it into business.

That’s really interesting. Darren made the point Friday that there is a glut of blogs about blogging. Yours stands out because it’s so unique, and you give it such a good voice.

Thanks. I think the point of difference (for now) is that we’re trying to break down the barrier (is that the counter/the office door?) between business and customer. In the previous generation of web…individuals were first at building web pages…then the businesses got on board….I think the same holds true with the next generation of web publishing (which is blogging and social media).

Eventually, I think more web developers and social media consulting will become popular and voices like Darren, yourself and other “how-to” blog sites are going to be important voices.

Yeah, I know it’s tough for businesses to use this tool effectively without someone to show them how. You can tell by all the bad attempts that are out there. Who would you list as good examples?

One of the best is Aldo Coffee. Rich does a great job of building relationships with his customers.

Another is Lightning Labels. Peter shows he’s an expert and has fun doing it.

Really, we do business with people we like, right? So it’s important that business people show a bit of themselves (have a conversation like we’re at the coffee shop).

Very, very true. I wrote yesterday about people being able to tell if you were faking it. I think too many businesses are afraid of being transparent. You see those that do take that risk, though, and it pays off so much. I guess it’s just a new way of thinking.

You clearly aren’t faking it, though. Your Blog Posting Mantra is a great example of something that seems so simple on the surface, but contains extraordinary depth. How did that come about?

Well, it’s like I tell new bloggers: when you find yourself saying something more than once offline…write it online as a blog post.

I’ve always believed that a site that shares its knowledge and resources (outbound links) will be well read, and that’s why the core of that mantra is link out once every post.

It came from watching new business bloggers struggle with the how-to, so I came up with a mantra If they miss out on rule number four too much, they get to do pushups (remember…coach, not consultant).

Ha! I like that!

The mantra is more than a year old now. If you were writing it today, would you change anything?

Yep, but I probably wouldn’t change the voice. More images within posts…that’s a habit I’ve got to employ more even graphics to denote a recurring series.

Also, I’ve got too many categories (hard to change that now). The good thing about too many categories…I can show my students what NOT to do. 6-8 to start. If you can’t put two posts in a category each month, it’s not a category (it’s a tag).

Great point. What about the Technorati tags. Do you still think those are important?

I think they’re very important. As a search engine, Technorati continues to evolve (more as a social media search than a blog search). And the way I teach ‘tagging’ is this…if someone is just finding your conversation, the tags tell them what you’re talking about in that post.

And tagging crosses all social media sites (Flickr, del.icio.us, etc) so the habit of tagging is important.

I’m going to have to try that out. I do tag on one of my sites, but that’s purely for on-site use. I have never tagged for Technorati. That’ll be fun to experiment with. [I've actually started to do that now since he and I talked.]

Is it your passion for building community that keeps you blogging?

Yes. I love to witness people connecting in new ways and watch them break down barriers that were previously just imaginary. When a customer gets a call from a prospect in South Africa (and they’re in Iowa) or a collaborative effort shapes up across international borders….the excitement is fun to watch.

I bet. I’m amazed every week by the incredible relationships I’ve discovered and grown because of the Internet. That’s exactly why I blog.

Look at you and me right now

Exactly I know you’re busy, so just two more quick questions.

What blogs are your personal favorites these days?

Logic+Emotion by Daivd Armano, Copyblogger by Brian Clark, Make It Great! with Phil Gerbyshak, Andy Beard by himself and then a whole bunch tied for fifth.

I have over 200 blogs in my feed reader – and my customers are all favorites (another 50+). The five above and the customers are the only ones I read every day…the rest get read three times per week or so.

I can’t say enough about feed readers. No way could we follow as many blogs as we do without them.

Last question: What’s the best piece of advice you could give to someone who has only been blogging a few months now?

Don’t think…blink. But blink often.

Some of the best blog posts, the ones that get the most comments, are often ones that we don’t slave over. They just come from the gut.

Great advice. I’m guilty of that all the time.

(Me too … shh.)

I can’t thank you enough for taking the time out to talk with me. I really appreciate it. I’ve already learned a lot from you, and I’m excited that my readers who had not heard of you until now are going to get to do the same.

Me too on that last part! And I’m glad to have found your site…excellent advice for any blogger at AskShane….business or individual.

Thanks so much, Mike

Don’t forget to check out Mike’s Blog Posting Mantra. It’s very, very good advice for bloggers at any level.