What I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk @ WBC

Friday evening at the Wine Bloggers Conference closed with dinner hosted by the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau and the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley. There were some very good wines poured and a delicious dinner made from local Sonoma County ingredients. But, the highlight of the night was the keynote address by Gary Vaynerchuk. Those that are familiar with Gary will know that he is a very passionate person, and a great motivational speaker. He has a lot of great things to say, and I learned some key points. Here is a list of what I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk at the Wine Bloggers Conference:

1. Do what you love: in the 21st Century there are so many opportunities to do what you love, that there are no excuses not to.
2. Execute against your DNA: he loves saying this. He basically means do what you are good at. It will make you most happy, and give you the greatest chance at success.
3. Hustle your face off: Without hard work, there is no reward.
4. Manage your time wisely: your time is your most valuable asset and should be treated as such. If you feel you don’t have time to blog, etc. reevaluate what you are spending your time on. Maybe you should watch less TV, or sleep less, and hustle more.
5. There are great opportunities: whether you are selling products or advertising on your blog, there are opportunities out there. You just have to find them.
6. It’s about ROI: wine blogs provide a great avenue for advertisers with a low buy-in and high potential return.

So how does this all apply to wine PR and marketing? It means that there are many great opportunities for wineries to build relationships with hungry wine bloggers who are looking to make a few bucks from their blogs. Whether this is some sort of sponsorship, cross-promotion, or online advertising, there are relatively cost-effective methods available. Rather than spend $50,000 on one advertisement in a glossy publication, consider spreading that same ammount to hundreds of bloggers. Just think about how much greater impact and influence it would garner.

Tags: Blogs, gary vaynerchuk, wine bloggers conference