Becoming “slightly famous” isn’t a prerequisite for success, but it is one path to it, and social media has made it more accessible than ever before. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s available to anyone with a computer without a huge expense.

Author David Garland has interviewed some 200 entrepreneurs for his web and TV show, The Rise to the Top. He recently highlighted 13 unique entrepreneurs who have used online content via social media to build their brands and their businesses. If you’re interested in that as part of your path to success, I think you’ll find them both inspiring and informative:

1. Chris Brogan discusses how he built his business around his blog. (parts 2, 3 and 4)

2. Ali Brown started with an e-zine and shows us how she built a multi-million dollar empire.

3. Online influencer Sarah Evans shares the inside story of her rise.

4. Gary Vaynerchuk shares how he built, marketing and monetized Wine Library TV.

5. Youthologist Vanessa Van Petten shares how she built her Radical Parenting brand.

6. Personal branding specialist Dan Schawbel shares how he created his personal branding empire.

7. Founder of the extremely successful Small Biz Trends Anita Campbell shares her rise to the top.

8. Timothy Sykes makes over 1.3 million dollars a year blogging about investing. Here is how he does it.

9. Josh Shipp shares how he dominates the youth market as a speaker and content creator.

10. Adventure Girl Stefanie Michaels tells her story about how she has nearly 1.5 MILLION followers on Twitter and has built a brand around her love for travel.

11. Show host, entrepreneur and author Amber Mac talks about starting podcasts, shows and building her brand.

12. The founder of Duct Tape Marketing John Jantsch shares his rise to success.

13. David Heinemeier Hansson discusses how 37 Signals built a blog before a product.