The Other Blog Business

I work for Federated Media which has helped many independent site owners quit their day jobs and live very (some very) well. Some bloggers monetize their media properties as a tool to promote their “real business.” As a guy that loves the wine, I become hooked on Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV recently. This guy has truly embraced “web 2.0″ (I hate the term but it remains very useful) tools to take a traditionally staid business and opened it up to a broad customer base using blogging, social networking, etc. Consider:

- He’s done 458 10+ minute video blogs in the past 2 years. Each post easily gets 200+ posts and most feature wines that you can buy online at Wine Library. His blog must be a powerful ecommerce tool because I’ve clicked on a few wines of interest featured from the show and they have all been sold out.

- He’s embraced Twitter, Pownce, Facebook (he’s maxed out his friend capacity,) myspace, linkedin, and the social network for winos corkd.

- He’s written a book and has mobilized his “Vayniacs” to come to his book signings across the country.

- His various websites all ASK his customers questions. “Where should I go on my book tour?” “What wine did you drink last?” “What wine would you like me to taste on the show?”

If you like wine you will learn a lot from his podcasts. I have found a number of really inexpensive and tasty wines that I wouldn’t have given a chance before I started watching the show. Good stuff.

Like most popular bloggers, he has a bit of the ringmaster in him. He has carefully developed his brand using the talents he’s developed over a life in the wine shop. No different really from any corporate blog but the execution here is truly phenomenal. The value grew over time and I’m sure a less passionate wine operations director would have long thrown in the towel but the Wine Library has created a media property that helps define and extend the Wine Library brand to an audience that was virtually impossible to reach just 10 years ago.

Check it out…