A risk manager, according to the International Organization for Standardization, should be dynamic, transparent, systematic, and inclusive. Those who practice risk management should be responsive to change, create value, and be capable of continual improvement.
Bill Dorman is a risk manager. He has a degree in the subject. He’s used his training since 1983 at Florida insurance agency Lanier Upshaw, where he is currently principal/owner and sits on its board of directors.
He also studied marketing and this particular path is catching up to him as he experiments by night with social media. On his 2-month-old blog, Bill describes himself as “curious” and his blog as “invisible.”
That’s about to change.
Responding to an email query, Bill explains why he created it.
I only opened a WordPress account because I thought that’s how the interaction went between the blogs.
He refers to writing comments on other blogs.
His name came to my attention when he replied to 9 tips by Marcus Sheridan about how bloggers should portray themselves. Bill wrote a comment that sparked seven more in response.
Bill also joined the Twitter fray as @bdorman264.
I had no plan and I have never tried to drive traffic to my account.
Yet he did.
Therein lies the power of linking your name to a blog or other website.
People are curious creatures and when coming across a new name on a blog frequently visited, we crave more knowledge. We click and click.
We come across people like Bill.
He created his blog in March 2011 and wrote a few articles. Some sparked 2 comments, others 10 comments. But through commenting on other blogs and linking his name to his blog, people clicked. He soon saw 37 comments, then 42, then 51, then 68…
I asked Bill why he defines his blog as an invisible one.
When I started commenting and bringing my link with me, I did so because I thought it was the thing to do. Next thing I know, people are leaving comments. I never expected the kind of traffic I’ve had, hence the invisible tag.
Bill comes across as a friendly guy.
He thinks people are merely commenting on his blog to be nice. He hasn’t found a direction for his blog. He doesn’t know where to take it. He thinks he has a long way to go.
My secret sauce was taking the time to connect with people on a genuine, deeper level first and they have been kind enough to reciprocate. It has never been a quid, pro, quo as I’m connected to some heavy weights and I’m still pretty much invisible to them in a blogging sense. I don’t say that in a bad way, but I’ll definitely know when I’ve taken it to the next level and I’m not there yet.
It is unclear if Bill is modest or naive, but he’s there already.
If that’s the line, Gini Dietrich is the sinker.
Bill describes her as “the one who really helped me see what the ‘social’ in social media was all about. She is absolutely the best.”
She was equally quick to praise him.
He is focused and persistent. He figured out what he wanted to do with his blog and his social efforts. He figured out who was doing it the way he wanted to emulate. And he began making friends with those people. Commenting on their blogs. Sharing their content. He even sent me a handwritten note thanking me for welcoming him into the Spin Sucks community. He’s funny, he’s charming, and he’s smart. He quickly got himself on my “must meet” list.
Bill provides value.
Yeah, yeah, so does everyone else. But everyone else is not doing what he is doing. And therein lies the difference. It takes most bloggers many, many months to witness the kind of explosive growth and traffic that Bill has seen in such a short amount of time.
And that, my friends, is why you need to know Bill Dorman.
Any questions?
