“What happens when we live in the word of mouth world? What happens when brands can be humanized? There is enormous ROI in a tweet.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk; ‘The Thank You Economy.’

I want to personally thank Gary Vaynerchuk for the success of DrinkNectar.com, Spokane Wine Magazine and Nectar Tasting Room. 15 months ago, Gary’s book Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash In On Your Passion, was the catalyst for everything I’m doing now. The concept was in my head, the business plan was written, and the timing was always considered, “sometime in the future,” until reading ‘Crush It.’

In summary, Crush It is:

• You can brand yourself using social media tools
• Using a blog as a central source is the best strategy
• Content is king
• Content, Conversation, Share, Care
• Repeat

As I started implementing the strategies presented in Crush It, I was blown away by the results. In a few short months my personal brand grew and many opportunities began to present themselves. Just three months into my experiment I was offered the opportunity to write a few articles for Gary’s web site Corkd.com. In April, 2010 I was asked to write on a regular basis for the revamped Corkd.com. While I couldn’t commit to as many articles as Gary was looking for, I was happy to provide one post per week as my time allowed.

We are living in an amazing time. Brands have the incredible potential of affordably engaging with hundreds (even thousands) of customers. The world is getting infinitely smaller as word of mouth marketing goes viral with Twitter and Facebook. When starting my social experiment, I remember the looks on people’s faces. “You’re going to do what with what?” Gary, THANK YOU. Thank you for sharing your personal experience in a real world way.

I also want to say congratulations, Gary, on the 1000^th (and final) episode of Wine Library TV. The show thatstarted it all and inspired hundreds of wine bloggers (including myself) has left its mark as it changed the wine world. Not one to stay static, the incredibly energetic Vaynerchuk launched his new venture, DailyGrape.com the same day as the wrap of Wine Library TV. Daily Grape provides a daily dose of wine education and recommendations from Gary. The site is accompanied by a free iPhone app (other platforms coming soon).  Right now, content is light but each day brings something new. At this rate, Gary will hit 1000 Daily Grape episodes in mid 2014.

AUGUST 23 UPDATE

Today, Gary announced his retirement from the daily wine video. Gary has been such an inspiration to so many people (me included). While Gary will still remain in wine with Wine Library and other ventures, he will continue to work as a marketing consultant, public speaker, author, wine educator and more. Thanks, Gary, for all your dedication and inspiration to the wine world!

In addition to all the big changes at the Vaynerchuk empire, Gary’s new book, The Thank You Economy arrived in stores in early March. Watch Gary explain, The Thank You Economy Book.