Success Stories: Chris Brogan

My friend Liz Strauss introduced me to Chris Brogan last year at BlogWorld. I wanted to meet Chris not only because I’m a fan of his blog and his work, but because I was curious to see if he lived up to his “nice guy” image. I had met plenty of other well-known “regular guy” bloggers and mostly they just said a quick “hello” before returning to their entourages and their interviews. Chris and I chatted for quite a bit, he was very funny and very down to earth. There was no entourage in sight.

After BlogWorld Chris and I chatted occassionally on Twitter and through my job when I worked for BlogTalkRadio. After I left BTR, I used this Tweet from Chris as a one of my references, which helped me to land a few clients. Guess the guy has clout.

Chris has taken his experience and is sharing it in a new book, coming out this fall, called “Trust Agents.” He was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to tell us a little about the process. For our latest Success Story, I’d like for you to meet the same Chris Brogan I had the pleasure of getting to know. Friendly, approachable, and yes, a regular guy.

Tell us about Chris Brogan

I’m a typist. I tell people that and they smirk, but think about it. I’m typing right now. Before that, I was typing. Earlier today? You got it. Tonight? Wait for it…. typing. In truth, my big goal is to demystify all these social applications and help humans (mostly businesses) communicate in human-shaped ways. I run a company called New Marketing Labs, where we help Fortune 100s (mostly) make strategy happen. When I’m not doing that, I type at chrisbrogan.com.

You’re widely regarded as a social media expert. What is social media and why is it so important?

I define social media as the two-way web. Everyone has a voice. The good news is that we all have access to these tools (and by all, I realize that it’s trickier for the poor, but libraries everywhere are opening access projects to help with this). The bad news is, we all have access to these tools. This social web stuff is like the new telephone. I got that from Marcel Lebrun of Radian6, who says that businesses need to realize that the social phone is ringing, and they’d better answer.

What attracted you to social media? Why did you make it your calling?

Since 1984 when I got my first computer (the first Macintosh), I’ve seen computers not as devices to write programs, but communication tools. Social media is just a kind of “finally!” moment for me, where everyone’s caught up and where the passion and the technology finally match. Now? The meaning-making has to happen.

You have written several successful ebooks and on August 24th your first book (with co-author Julien Smith) Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust will be available to the masses. What made you decide it was time to write a traditional book as opposed to the downloadable versions?

There’s really only a few reasons to write a mainstream book. One is that you want the validation that comes from being accepted in the mainstream publishing world. That’s not why I did it. The OTHER reason is that a book becomes a huge business card that encourages people outside of my typical social circles to get to know what Julien and I are passionate about. THAT’s what we wanted. We wanted to talk with people outside our bubble, because we’ve got a good relationship already with the folks who think like we do.

Tell us a little about “Trust Agents”. Why would it interest freelance writers and professional bloggers?

Trust Agents is a book about how to be human from a distance. How does the web change the game of gathering attention, building influence, improving trust. We are excited because not only do Julien and I believe the book extends into how people might conduct themselves professionally offline, but we feel there are lots of ways people will start with the book and then move forward into their own iterations of what works for them. It’s not a one-size fits all, but freelance writers and professional bloggers might well find some breakthroughs in how we see things versus how they were doing them before.

How easy was the process, did you have to pitch this book to a publisher – or did the publisher come to you?

So, it was a bit different for me. I was talking with Ellen Gerstein, who is like Goddess of Marketing at Wiley (or some such) at South by Southwest (a conference in Texas), and she asked me why I didn’t have a book. My first reaction was that I type every day: why bother? But inside, I’d wanted to publish a book since I was six, so this was a big chance. The publisher technically came to me. Chris Webb, our friend and publisher now transferred to run the UK division was our first guy on the project, and I love that because I knew Chris personally via Twitter. Our new team, Matt Holt and Shannon Vargo are real fun. Matt’s the kind of guy I’d hang out with, even if he wasn’t my publisher.

How long did it take to write “Trust Agents?”

Julien and I have tweaked and poked it for so long that I can’t remember the actual detail. Ten months would be about right, but that’s mostly due to scheduling issues on my side. I travel and present a lot. Julien works from more solitary places, so he could keep pushing me to submit my parts. We wrote together on Google Docs (both live at the same time) with an IM client running. It was quite unique, the experience of editing the same paragraph from two different parts of the world.

What are some of the misconceptions many writers have about writing and publishing the book?

Most authors think the book will be the most unique thing ever written: that’s rare. Most authors think the world NEEDS their book, but doesn’t do any kind of market analysis. Books are business like anything else. If you don’t know the marketplace, if you’re not an avid reader in the space where you’re publishing, why bother? You’re like the newbie showing up at the writing group and saying, “Have you guys ever READ Stephen King?”

What sort of advice would you give to someone looking to publish his or her first book.

Work to get to know agents, authors, and publishers. Don’t work from a vacuum. I thought it was supposed to be a solitary business, but doing anything in a vacuum is a bad idea.

What’s next for Chris Brogan?

I’ve got the Inbound Marketing Summit conference in Boston in October, and I’m putting a lot of love into that. It’s our flagship event of the year, and I put a lot of my personal touches into who speaks, what the community will learn from it, and how to make sure everyone goes home happy and full. That and book touring will fill up the rest of the year in between real work with clients.