Talia Beckett Davis of Pink Pearl PR: Five Ways For Influencers To Monetize Their Brand

Book Speaking Events & Conferences: You can capitalize on your recognized expertise and use speaking engagements to share your message offline. Conferences and other events in your niche will help you reaffirm your qualifications while also expanding your network with new clients or followers. You can also charge for your speaking services at larger conferences.

As part of my series about “How Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Talia Beckett Davis.

Talia Beckett Davis is the Creator of the Public Relations Academy, Founder of the Organization of American Women in Public Relations and the Organization of Canadian Women in Public Relations (Women in PR North America). She runs the PR Agency, Pink Pearl PR and has worked with some of the largest brands in North America. Talia shares her public relations tips on her blog and podcast Fempreneur.com. NASDAQ recognized her as a PR Influencer, and PR Week showcased how she is helping women in public relations move into leadership positions to overcome the gender pay gap.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is your “backstory”? What brought you to this point in your career?

I started my agency Pink Pearl PR to help female entrepreneurs showcase their products and services on a global scale. I completed my master’s degree in international relations at the University of London, England and I worked hard to establish my credibility as a leader. After working with some amazing clients over the years, I felt a calling to give back to the public relations industry. As a result, I founded Canadian Women in Public Relations and American Women in Public Relations (Women in PR North America). I registered both organizations and I trademarked everything because I knew that this was going to be big and others would likely copy what I was doing. At the time, I did not know how big something like this could possibly get!

As the organization continued to grow, so did my knowledge of the PR profession and my platform as an influencer. I was suddenly speaking on large stages at conferences and events for Women in PR about the need for the organization to exist. My connections with media and public relations professionals grew quickly and so did my influence. NASDAQ recognized me as a PR Influencer, and PR Week showcased how I am helping women in public relations move into leadership positions to overcome the gender pay gap.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you during your career?

When I started American Women in Public Relations, I planned the launch event in New York City Times Square. I confirmed the date well in advance, booked the venue and lined up media appearances. What I did not plan for was how challenging it would be to become a new mom at the same time as launching a large-scale organization.

However, as a mother it was even more essential for me to promote the advancement of women in the workplace and the idea of job sharing. My husband came with me to New York City with our 6-month-old baby boy and I did not tell anyone that I had my son with me on that trip as I wanted to appear professional. Although the launch event was not as perfect as I had hoped, I felt more accomplished than ever. I had successfully expanded the organization across the Americas, and I had just completed my first live television interview from New York City Times Square.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

As I have increased my career success, I have been able to work with clients that are doing meaningful work. One of those clients is RE Royalties. They have established a corporate responsibility initiative that donates to non-profit organizations.

Last year, we volunteered at Union Gospel Mission in the kitchen to prepare and serve 150 meals. We also donated to Covenant House Vancouver to help finance the Community Support Services, which is part of the Street Outreach and Drop-in program. RE Royalties’ donation provided wraparound care for youth throughout the year and helped to support the Backpack Program. This year, RE Royalties donated to Atira Women’s Resource Society, a not-for-profit organization committed to ending violence against women.

You have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?

If you are feeling stuck in a career or business that has not instantly succeeded, look for what you are truly passionate about within it. Success does not happen over night and you need to build on what you have already created to make it grow. Sometimes you must make changes along the way to remember what in your current business makes time fly, instills you with vision and confidence, or brings you satisfaction.

Find a way to tap into your strengths and adjust your overall business plan so that you are more closely following the path that inspired you to start this career in the first place. Even if you have a string of failures behind you, this only means you have already proven you have the number one trait of a truly successful entrepreneur: tenacity. You never give up.

Jason Selk, Author of Executive Toughness, suggests spending “60 seconds daily imagining how you want your life to be, and what you can do in the next 24 hours to help make your vision become a reality.” He explains that personally he started doing better and better. “I liked the changes I was making in my life…so much so that 20 years later, I still take the time to think about my vision and daily integrity.”

Make time in your schedule to engage in activities that make you laugh and be playful. Take the time to reassess your career choices to be more aligned with your own definition of success. Do you dream of someday being your own boss, or taking your business to the next level? If you feel more confident in your own abilities, you will naturally feel more powerful in your accomplishments. Sometimes we need a little bit of help to move us forward.

Shannon Ables, Author of Choosing the Simply Luxurious Life, explains “nothing worth having ever miraculously occurred without hard work. Understand that there may be setbacks along the way, you may have to readjust your sails along the journey, but fortitude and grit never kept any dream seeker stagnant for long.”

None of us can achieve success without a bit of help along the way. Is there a particular person who made a profound difference in your life to whom you are grateful? Can you share a story?

I am fortunate that there have been many individuals that have made a difference in my life, but I have been collaborating with Shelly Lynn Hughes, Publisher of Fresh Magazine since I started Pink Pearl PR. She has been so supportive of my agency, has helped me grow professionally, and is always working on something new to inspire women in business across Canada. Recently, I was interviewed on her new show Fresh with Fiona and I have joined her as a Co-Author of the book Pursuit:365, which will be published on International Women’s Day. The book features 365 Canadian women from all walks of life including Jann Arden, Tosca Reno, Celebrity Stylist Kim Appelt, me, and many more.

What are the most exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

I created the Public Relations Academy, an online membership to help female business owners build their reputation and influence. If someone wants to hire me to work on their public relations strategy, they need to have a healthy marketing budget. However, I recognize that there are a lot of start-ups that want to take a DIY approach. In the Public Relations Academy, I help my fellow female entrepreneurs create their own content marketing plans, build their personal brand image, and learn how to pitch the media effectively.

What are your “Top Five Ways That Influencers Can Monetize Their Brand”. (Please share a story or example for each.)

Once you have made a name for yourself and developed your influence, it is easy to turn your expertise into profit. When you have a captive audience, you can create multiple revenue streams to capitalize on your new-found brand recognition.

Offer Professional Consulting: One of the easiest ways to monetize yourself is through professional consulting. When you have become a respected leader in your field, you can begin to charge a higher hourly or project rate for your expertise. That way, time is money — literally — so you can generate steady revenue month-to-month with retainer and recurring clients. For example, in addition to running my agency Pink Pearl PR, I offer my services as a public relations career coach.

Book Speaking Events & Conferences: You can capitalize on your recognized expertise and use speaking engagements to share your message offline. Conferences and other events in your niche will help you reaffirm your qualifications while also expanding your network with new clients or followers. You can also charge for your speaking services at larger conferences.

Publish an eBook or Online Course: Once people are turning to you for advice, you can stop giving away all your content for free. Develop robust content, like an eBook, and sell it on your website. When people visit, they can opt into your more extensive content offerings if they are especially interested in certain subjects. This is also a great way to generate passive revenue without sacrificing your time on an ongoing basis.

Start a Podcast: Content does not always need to be written. Instead of sticking just to blog posts, record a podcast to generate additional content and dive deeper into certain topics. Once you reach a certain audience size, you can also begin to bring on advertisers or work with companies on sponsored posts to generate a higher ROI. For example, I run the blog Fempreneur.com and I started the Fempreneur Podcast so that I could share my public relations knowledge in more detail.

Create an Online Store: Developing templates, guides, and worksheets is an easy (and, later, a passive) way to leverage your expertise to generate income. Put in the time up front to create these assets and offer them for sale on your website. This helps your audience get the information and help they need, while also allowing you to expand to another revenue stream. I have created an online store on my website and I also embed links to my digital resources across my platforms to make my content shoppable.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

The time is now to build your business online. I believe that the biggest difference between entrepreneurs that have customers and clients knocking at their doors and entrepreneurs that cannot get anyone to buy is that they are not taking the time to make themselves visible.

Many entrepreneurs had big goals for their brand, but things have not quite worked out as planned. Everyone has something unique about them, but they need to showcase it the right way to build a successful business. The movement that I want to start is empowering business owners to raise their profile, no matter their budget. Public relations is not reserved only for big businesses. Even if you are a start-up, you can still take advantage of the benefits of building your influential brand image.

What is the best way our readers can follow your work online?

You can connect with me on my personal brand website: https://www.taliadavis.com and read my PR tips on http://fempreneur.com/. If you are looking for public relations support, I’d love to help you through my agency Pink Pearl PR http://pinkprfirm.com/.