Create Great Content

Gary makes it clear that to monetize your personal brand into a business using social marketing networks requires two essential ingredients: product and content. It has to be a quality product that you truly have a passion for and are willing to work hard to market it. The product has to something you know extremely well or are willing to do whatever is necessary to learn everything you possibly can about it. This may mean attending classes, seminars, reading books and lots of research on current and future trends as they relate to the product. When I say do your homework it is at a whole new level of understanding the product like no one else does and being able to express in a fashion that is unique and interesting to a broad audience. You need to be able to tell a story that demostares your passion for the product and helps other relate to why it excite you to the degree it does. It's like getting them to participate in a wave that shows a meeting of the minds on the positive or negative attributes of the subject. You should be able to talk about it for days at the drop of a hat. If anything keeps you awake at night it should be the joy of sharing every new discovery you make about the product. It is not enough to share your passion if your ultimate goal is to monetize it into a salary that would allow you quit your job. It also has to be a niche that is big enough to draw a broad enough customer base and two you must be able to set yourself apart from everyone else marketing that same product. Once you feel you have selected the right product a critical next step in building your brand is by engaging people with similar interest to get yourself into existing conversations that will ultimately assist in expanding your brand. The available media on the Internet are almost endless but the magic is finding the right ones to leverage your brand. It is not enough to say build it and they will come because if they can't find you in the communities they frequent they will not come. Here again is an area Gary excels in Crush It by sharing try and proven platforms for you to start to build your brand equity. Depending on your overall knowledge of the Internet you may already be utilizing a number of these platforms and if not Gary Crush It is a Good Read, to help you develop your plan of attack. However, all of this comes back to what was said earlier about the need for authenticity in everything you do. As in any business you set out to create you will never please everyone all of the time but the message here is be yourself from start to finish. While there will be a group you will not appeal to, the truth of the matter is that with the right content, true passion, hard work, a quality product and authenticity you will win. The other critical element of success is to be patience and realistic about how long it takes to build a successful business. There was a time where a small business owner creating a new brick and mortar business was cautioned to be able to survive 3-5 years from start to generating profit and stability in a business. We have also heard 80% of small business fail in the first year. It takes time to build a business and in most cases it is not about the amount of effort but more so the quality of effort that accelerates its growth and eventually stability.