Book SummaryCrush It!, by Gary Vaynerchuk

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Crush It!

The dominance of social media has brought the rise of the “personal brand,” your online presence and personality. In the early 2000s, Gary Vaynerchuk launched a personal brand that helped him grow his family’s wine business and turned him into one of the first social media influencers. In Crush It!, Vaynerchuk argues that everyone needs an engaging digital presence to stay relevant in their career or to launch a new career by monetizing their personal brand. He provides step-by-step instructions for building and optimizing your personal brand online, from choosing your niche to monetizing your content.

**How This Guide...

Crush It! Summary From Wine Salesman to Proto-Influencer

Vaynerchuk and his parents immigrated from Belarus to the U.S. in 1978, when he was three years old. In 1983, Vaynerchuk’s father opened a liquor store in suburban New Jersey and, when Vaynerchuk was 15, he began working in the family store. Although beer and liquor made up most of their sales, Vaynerchuk recognized that there was a culture around wine, so he began focusing on how he could tap into that community to grow the store’s wine business.

While in college, Vaynerchuk got his first glimpse of the internet and immediately recognized that he could use the web to grow the store’s wine business. A year later, he suggested to his father that they sell wine online. From there, it was a short road to rapid growth.

In 1997, he launched...

Crush It! Summary Why You Need a Personal Brand

Vaynerchuk argues that everyone needs to optimize their personal brand to stay relevant in the professional world, regardless of their industry or professional aspirations. A lively personal brand is mandatory because the internet has changed the business world, and it continues to alter the landscape of virtually every industry.

(Shortform note: Business consultant Tom Peters coined the term “personal brand” in 1997, more than a decade before this book’s publication. However, while Vaynerchuk uses the term to refer to your digital presence, Peters wrote about personal branding in the workplace. He argued that workers’ brands—essentially, their professional reputations—must project their unique value as “free agents,” independent of their job title.)

According to Vaynerchuk, anyone can benefit from a personal brand—for instance:

• **If...

Crush It! Summary Step 1: Choose Your Niche

Vaynerchuk repeatedly argues that your personal brand must be true to who you are—and that starts with your niche. While it’s tempting to choose a topic based on its marketability, he insists that you must let your passion guide you because that will not only resonate with your audience but also keep you motivated and interested in this work during the inevitable long hours and late nights.

(Shortform note: In contrast to Vaynerchuk, Cal Newport argues in So Good They Can’t Ignore You that the idea that following your passion will lead you to love your work is flawed. Instead, he says that the way to find fulfilling work is to hone your skills, and use them as currency to secure a job that gives you autonomy and...

Crush It! Summary Step 2: Establish Your Web Presence

Your website will be the home base for your personal brand; all of your social media posts and outreach should ultimately point people to your website. Vaynerchuk recommends these steps for creating a website:

1. Buy your domain name. (Shortform note: Choose a domain name that is short, memorable, easy to spell, and ends with .com.)
2. Create a WordPress or Tumblr account to host your domain. (Shortform note: Since the book’s publication, the number of web hosting options has multiplied. When choosing a hosting provider, look for one that offers customer support, allows you to quickly scale your website, and...

Crush It! Summary Step 3: Choose the Right Medium

Once you know what you’re going to talk about, you must decide how you’re going to present it. When choosing between text, audio, and video, Vaynerchuk suggests basing the choice on your personality and comfort level, rather than the nature of your niche. (Shortform note: Despite Vaynerchuk’s advice to base this choice solely on your personal strengths, you should also consider where the audience for your niche is liveliest, which medium offers the best presentation for your topic, the time and effort required for each medium, and the cost associated with each, such as a camera and editing software.)

• Blogging makes it easy to post daily content, and frequent posting makes it easier for people to find your content. (Shortform note: To increase traffic to your website, HubSpot recommends publishing three to four new posts per week for blogs run by small teams, and four to five new and updated posts per week for...

Crush It! Summary Step 4: Choose the Right Platform

Vaynerchuk recommends having multiple platforms. He advises using each one strategically to maximize its strengths, and having them all direct fans back to your blog. (Shortform note: Although he doesn’t clarify, “blog” here seems to refer to either a written blog, vlog, or podcast; Vaynerchuk often refers to written and video “blogs.”) He breaks down the pros and cons of the top platforms of the day, but because much has changed since the book’s publication, we will instead highlight the key features to look for when choosing a platform.

Video

• Livestream with a live chat function enables you to interact with people in real time, which reinforces a powerful sense of connection between you and your viewers. (Shortform note: That may be why research finds that live video holds viewers’ attention eight times longer than pre-recorded...

Crush It! Summary Step 5: Create Engaging Content

Now that you have the building blocks, it's time to start creating blogs, Tweets, posts, videos, or podcasts about your topic. Vaynerchuk emphasizes that everything you post is a tool for attracting people to your personal brand and enticing them to become part of your growing audience. (Shortform note: Taking this a step further, when people share and view your content, it boosts your search engine optimization (SEO) score, which makes it easier for people to find you online. This creates a virtuous cycle.)

To make compelling content, Vaynerchuk says you must:

• Be yourself. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but your personality will resonate with some people, and they’ll recognize your authenticity and trust you more for it. Incorporate some personal details and anecdotes to help people get to know you, thereby making them more connected to your brand. (Shortform note: While showing your personality is key to building your personal brand, how much of your personal life you should reveal depends on your topic, your...

Crush It! Summary Step 6: Build Your Community

With good content, you can build the audience you need to be able to monetize your brand. Vaynerchuk notes that, when it comes to creating community, quality beats quantity: A few loyal, engaged fans are likely to draw more followers than a large crowd of passive subscribers. (Shortform note: When it comes time to monetize your brand, many advertisers also recognize the value of quality over quantity. A 2017 report on influencer marketing revealed that “micro-influencers'' with narrow niches and devoted audiences of 10,000 to 1 million followers often drive more traction than celebrity endorsements.)

After you’ve created and posted some content, Vaynerchuk provides step-by-step instructions for building your community. Repeat these steps continually to consistently grow your audience.

1. Search the keywords for your niche on each social media platform and join active groups and forums related to your topic. (Shortform note: When using keywords, [be specific with niche...

Crush It! Summary Step 7: Keep It Going

You’re well on your way to having a thriving, profitable personal brand—now you just have to keep it up. Vaynerchuk suggests tempering your expectations on several fronts.

• This requires a lot of work. Besides work (if you currently have a job) and quality time with family, Vaynerchuk contends that all of your time should be devoted to creating content, building your community, and maintaining your brand. He says that you should be working late every night, and that your passion for your topic will keep you energized. (Shortform note: A 2017 report revealed that 52 percent of influencers spend 30 minutes to three hours conceiving and creating posts. Additionally, they say they’re constantly monitoring their social media channels and engaging with followers.)
• You probably won’t be an overnight success. Don’t get...

Crush It! Summary Step 8: Monetize

Once you’ve established your credibility and gained an engaged community of followers, you have leverage to start monetizing your passion. These are some ways to earn income through your personal brand.

1) Advertising—Vaynerchuk recommends cold-calling companies that are relevant to your niche and asking them to advertise with you directly. (Shortform note: Some brands will have ready-made content for you to post, while others will want you to create the content. If you have to create the sponsored content, be sure to charge more. )

Be Transparent About Your Endorsements

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines require social media influencers to disclose whenever they have a personal affiliation or paid partnership with a brand they’re endorsing. In an effort to combat deceptive ads online, the policy is fairly thorough:

• Influencers must disclose if they receive free products, discounts, or perks for mentioning a brand’s products.

• Likes, tags, pins, and other forms of mentioning a brand can all be...

Shortform Exercise: Create a Plan for Your Personal Brand

Whether you’re a social media networker or an abstainer, reflect on how you could use Vaynerchuk’s guidance to develop a personal brand that could generate income.

First, choose a niche. List two to three interests that you spend the most time thinking about, talking about, and looking at online.