Overview
Gary Vaynerchuk shows how entrepreneurs can leverage social media platforms to build thriving businesses from their personal brands.
Vaynerchuk, an early internet marketer who built VaynerMedia after growing his family's wine business online, published Crushing It! in 2018 as a follow-up to Crush It! (2009). The book is organised around personal-brand case studies across social platforms (Instagram, YouTube, podcasts). Vaynerchuk's persona is relentlessly energetic and his prose style reflects it.
Key Ideas
Document, Don't Create
Authenticity resonates more than polish.
Platform Mastery
Each platform has its own culture and best practices.
Patience and Hustle Together
Macro patience with micro speed is the formula.
Who should read this
Readers interested in building a personal brand online and willing to put in the grinding time Vaynerchuk argues it requires. The platform-by-platform breakdowns are useful as starting points, though the specific tactics date quickly as algorithms change.
Who might skip it
Skip if Vaynerchuk's style grates — he writes in caps-lock energy throughout and repeats himself constantly. Skip also if you're looking for nuanced career advice; Crushing It is specifically for people who want to bet their career on content creation.
The verdict
A book whose core message (volume, volume, volume on whatever platform suits you) has aged well, but whose specifics date within eighteen months of publication. The case studies are where the value is — real people who built real followings through disciplined posting, which normalises the path for readers tempted to give up early.
"Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless."
— Gary Vaynerchuk, Crushing It
If you liked this
Crush It!, the 2009 predecessor. #AskGaryVee for the collected social-media advice in more compact form.