I think Sea_Hunter put it down perfectly.

My personal advice would be: Give him as much to read as possible (stories etc.), ask him what he likes/can imagine to do, tell him what you like, and see which of these things might work for both of you.

I wanted an experienced Dom, so I cannot advise you on teaching a "beginner" in a relationship. However, before I found my Dom, I learned that - knowing what I need - I was not interested in one-night-stands or casual flings anymore. I can live without sex for an extended period of time if I donīt have a suitable partner, but I cannot live without BDSM.

So I asked my gay best friend to beat the crap out of me every now and then (it works as stress relieving for me, too...).
The nice thing about the gay guys I know is that you never get a shocked "oh my God, you really like this? How CAN you! YUCK" sort of reaction. They simply listen and learn, and ask if they are not sure about something.

He got the knack of it really quick. He also enjoyed it a lot and now does similar stuff with his boyfriend *LMAO*.

What I basically did was supply him with a riding crop, and a few hints of what I like and need - more a description of what the desired state of mind (for me) was, and what it took to achieve it.
Plus pointing out that if I should break down and cry, this was exactly what I wanted, and that he should not feel bad or guilty about it, just stop the scene and hug me till I was done crying.

It worked very well. *G*