October 22, 2024 • 13 mins
Are you ready to transform your academic expertise into a thriving personal brand? Learn how to break free from the traditional academic path and create a six-figure income by listening to our latest Power Your Research episode.
Follow Dr. Sheena Howards' socials:
@drsheenahoward | Power Your Research
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
you to get clear on what amplifying your platform
means for you Not somebody else,not your peer, not this other
person you see online doing itwell, but for you.
Understand that you will haveto get out of your comfort zone
in order to build your brand.
But also you can do it in a waythat best resonates with you.
(00:20):
I don't want my work to bestuck behind an academic paywall
.
I want to leave a legacy, Iwant to reach my potential and I
want to change lives.
(00:40):
This podcast, power yourResearch, is my attempt to help
the smartest people in the worlddo that very thing.
My hope is that you use thelessons I share to make more
money than what your higher edjob can ever pay you.
I've done it, my clients havedone it, and so can you.
My hope is that you'll applywhat you learn here and one day
(01:02):
join the Power your Researchprogram where you can work with
me one-on-one.
The topic of this video the PhDsblueprint for building a brand
in the attention economy.
Wow, that's a mouthful, but I'mexcited about this because I'm
(01:24):
going to walk you through theprocess for PhDs to go from
where they are today to buildinga brand, becoming a notable and
confident public figure thatmakes an income of six figures
plus just off of your brand.
So I'm going to go through thisnine-step system with you.
(01:44):
I'm going to talk about thestages of this system that you
can implement, and the attentioneconomy means, you know,
getting someone's attention isvery valuable.
Your attention is valuablebecause if you're not paying
attention to my content orsomeone else's content, then I
can't provide value to you, andthere is a lot of competition
(02:07):
out there.
So if I want my target audienceto pay attention to the things
that I'm sharing, there arecertain things that I need to be
doing and I need to be doingthem well.
So we're going to go throughthese steps and you can always
jump on a 30 minute call with meto talk about your brand
(02:27):
building goals, or you can jumpinto the five day challenge to
get the first part of thissystem.
And so you know the power ofyour research process is all
about protecting your future.
A lot of PhDs are either inacademe and not making the money
they thought they would make,or they realize they've reached
(02:47):
their pay ceiling right Afteryou get tenure.
After you get full professor.
There is no promotion.
After that, you can either goadministration to make more
money which a lot of people doeven though they don't want to
or you can just rely on,hopefully, a cost of living
raise every year.
But I'm giving you a thirdoption which, in my opinion, is
(03:09):
much, much better, and that isbuilding your brand.
You already have the academiccredentials.
You need to be out herechanging lives and making an
impact at scale.
So the other thing about thepower of your research process
is that the average academic isnot the one with the microphone,
and what I mean by that is youare a subject matter expert that
(03:29):
doesn't have the audience, isnot getting the media coverage
and visibility you deserve.
However, there are people outhere who are not subject matter
experts, who have not put in thetime you put in in your field
or area of research, and they dohave the microphone.
They are getting the mediacoverage and visibility, they
are publishing best-sellingbooks, and I happen to believe
(03:50):
that society is a better placewhen my subject matter experts,
my PhDs, actually have theblueprint to being the one with
the microphone, so you canactually disseminate the
information that is true andcorrect and that will actually
change people's lives.
This blueprint is in threephases.
So there's the build phasephase one, there's the engage
(04:10):
phase phase two and then there'sthe publicize, monetize phase,
which is phase three, and sothat's how the system is broken
up, and so there are three stepsin each phase.
The first step is mindset.
We all have our own uniquemindset issues that are holding
us back, but there are somethemes that I see working with
my academics, which is why thisprocess is specifically for
(04:35):
academics and those with PhDs,because we have a unique set of
challenges and indoctrination,because we have a PhD and
imposter syndrome comes withthat.
You know, we learn things thatare completely opposite than the
entrepreneurship world, that wehave to either unlearn or learn
entrepreneurship side by sidewith the academic success and
(04:56):
skills that we have.
So the first step is mindset.
We don't want to be pouringwater in a cup with holes, so
mindset looks like helping youunderstand that you need to
increase your speakingengagement rates, consulting
rates and reframing the way youthink about self-promotion.
A lot of my academic friendsare scared of self-promotion and
(05:18):
they're scared of trolls.
One of the number oneobjections I get in this first
mindset step is you know whatare the ramifications of people
online saying nasty things to me, and so we have to overcome
those limiting self-beliefs.
If you can make it out of yourlimiting self-beliefs, you can
make it anywhere.
So the first step is mindset.
(05:38):
The second is vision.
A lot of my PhDs, either becausethey're in academe or because
they tried to be in academe, oryou know, they have one foot in,
one foot out, especially mytenure track folks.
All of your goals are connectedto academe in some way.
Right, all of your professionalgoals are connected to getting
a tenure track or getting tenureor just some way connected to
(05:59):
academe.
You need to have the space tothink about what you want your
life to look like, not alwaysconnected to academe.
A year from now, five yearsfrom now, what do you want your
life to look like?
Could look like a lot of alittle bit of teaching.
You know, I don't teach thatyou should just completely
abandon your academic job, but Ido teach that you need to build
(06:21):
your brand in a way whereacademe can be an option where
you can say, hey, I can leavethis job if I want, because my
brand is paying me more thanwhat any institution can pay me
anyway.
So give yourself the space tocreate a vision and don't keep
it in your head.
Write this vision down what youwant your life to look like six
months from now, a year fromnow, five years from now.
And then I want you to getclear on what amplifying your
(06:44):
platform means for you, notsomebody else, not your peer,
not this other person you seeonline doing it well, but for
you.
Understand that you will haveto get out of your comfort zone
in order to build your brand,but also you can do it in a way
(07:05):
that best resonates with you.
That includes choosing thesocial media platforms you want
to be on and all of that goodstuff.
Get the clarity you needbecause you can be intentional
about building your brand in away that best resonates with who
you are.
Hey, everyone, real quick.
I don't run any ads on thispodcast, so I have to rely on
word of mouth.
If this podcast has helped youin any way, please share it with
(07:26):
a friend and follow me, drSheena Howard, on LinkedIn,
where I give more free contenton building your brand as an
academic.
If you tell me you came to myLinkedIn from the podcast, I'll
make sure I accept your request.
Third step is brand building.
You need a brand statement, youneed your brand adjectives and
you need your brand archetype.
These are your brand assets.
(07:47):
So before you go out and do thecosmetic stuff of spending
money on a color scheme andlogos and brand style guide, you
need to have this first phaseof clarity figured out.
You need your brand statement,brand archetype and brand
adjectives.
Think about it A lot of usdon't do the steps in order.
So you're going to a freelancerto get your logo kit.
(08:07):
You're just like, ah, I kind ofwant it to look like this, I
kind of want to look like itlike that, but you don't know
who you are as a brand.
Imagine having your brandassets and then saying, hey, I
need you to design a logo.
This is who I am, this is whoI'm trying to help.
They can then match the colorsup with your brand, your brand
adjective, brand archetypesright.
So you got to do things in theright order.
So phase one, that buildingphase, is about clarity.
(08:31):
Right, go in the steps in theright order.
Phase two engage.
This is the media coverage andvisibility strategies.
Now I'm going to go throughthis phase quickly only because
I don't have enough time to giveyou the specifics of what you
need to do in each step, but I'mgoing to tell you what the
steps are.
To get you started off on theright foot, so you need a media
strategy.
(08:51):
Get you started off on theright foot, so you need a media
strategy which we teach youempower your research.
You need a media placementstrategy which we teach you
empower your research.
No-transcript, and we teach youthat in the program.
And so these are all the thingsthat are going to cut out the
fluff and just get you the theresults that you need when
(09:12):
someone types in Google the keyterms that represent the field
or area you want to work in.
Because here's the thing onGoogle, people don't scroll past
the first or second page, right?
And so when someone types inthe keywords related to your
field, you need to be coming upon that first or second page,
whether it is within an article,whether it is an article that
you wrote, whether it is an oped that you wrote.
(09:34):
You need to be coming up on amedia blitz, which is just kind
of part of your social mediastrategy, and letting people
know, reminding people thatyou're getting all of this media
and visibility coverage Right.
Some of you are only posting aninterview or an op ed once, and
(09:57):
then you're like, oh, a coupleof people liked it and that's
great, but you actually have topost multiple times.
And so we talk about that inphase two, with that engage
phase and incorporating yoursocial media strategy in there.
Right, social media is astrategy, it's not something
that you just do haphazardly.
And then phase three ismonetize.
So publicize and monetize.
(10:17):
This is all about that sixfigure roadmap.
My roadmap is documented on mybrand strategy guide, and so
monetization looks likeimplementing a system to get
consistent speaking engagements,and by consistent, I mean
consistent based on yourlifestyle.
Some people have little kids.
They're not trying to fly allover the place for speaking
(10:37):
engagements.
Some people can do more, somepeople can do less but
implementing a speakingengagement system where you're
actually respecting your timeand charging what you're worth
and seeing your knowledge andyour presentation as valuable
enough to charge at least $3,500.
None of this honorarium stuff.
We need to cut that out.
(10:59):
And you need to have a systemfor when and why you will do
free speaking engagements.
And when I say system, I meanyou will do free speaking
engagements.
And when I say system, I meanthese things need to be
documented and you turn it intoan objective process.
If the opportunity matchesitems one, two, three and four,
I can do it for free.
If not, I cannot, and so youwant to learn more about what
(11:19):
that looks like, jump on a callwith me.
Okay, so that step seven ismonetize.
Step eight is build equity, andthis is just helping you
understand that you don't need50 streams of income.
You don't need to beconsidering building your brand
as a side hustle.
It's actually something that'sconnected to your mission,
vision and purpose.
Otherwise, why are you doing itif you're not trying to help
people and make an impact?
(11:40):
So building equity in yourbrand, which is step eight,
means the money you make is notjust about you do something and
you get money in return.
It's about the long-term equityin your brand.
Your brand should be worth morethan just the single
transaction that you're makingto do a speaking engagement or a
consulting gig.
(12:00):
This has to do with addingvalue.
This has to do with doing twothings really really well.
Okay, so for me, I have mywriting business, I have my
power, your research business.
Those are the two things that Imonetize, and it's all funneled
through Dr Sheena Howard, mypersonal academic brand.
Step nine is about protectingyour future, so when you get to
(12:21):
the end of this blueprint, youneed a documented brand strategy
guide which basically documentseverything that I just told you
, and it is personal and uniqueto you.
And so that is the blueprintfor building a brand in the
attention economy, specificallyfor my PhDs, and I truly hope
(12:46):
this helps.
If you're new here, my name isDr Sheena Howard.
I'm the founder of Power yourResearch, an academic branding
company where I help academicsand educators increase their
visibility, authority and incomewithout the expense of a
publicist, and I hope you havean amazing day.
you to get clear on what amplifying your platform
means for you Not somebody else,not your peer, not this other
person you see online doing itwell, but for you.
Understand that you will haveto get out of your comfort zone
in order to build your brand.
But also you can do it in a waythat best resonates with you.
(00:20):
I don't want my work to bestuck behind an academic paywall
.
I want to leave a legacy, Iwant to reach my potential and I
want to change lives.
(00:40):
This podcast, power yourResearch, is my attempt to help
the smartest people in the worlddo that very thing.
My hope is that you use thelessons I share to make more
money than what your higher edjob can ever pay you.
I've done it, my clients havedone it, and so can you.
My hope is that you'll applywhat you learn here and one day
(01:02):
join the Power your Researchprogram where you can work with
me one-on-one.
The topic of this video the PhDsblueprint for building a brand
in the attention economy.
Wow, that's a mouthful, but I'mexcited about this because I'm
(01:24):
going to walk you through theprocess for PhDs to go from
where they are today to buildinga brand, becoming a notable and
confident public figure thatmakes an income of six figures
plus just off of your brand.
So I'm going to go through thisnine-step system with you.
(01:44):
I'm going to talk about thestages of this system that you
can implement, and the attentioneconomy means, you know,
getting someone's attention isvery valuable.
Your attention is valuablebecause if you're not paying
attention to my content orsomeone else's content, then I
can't provide value to you, andthere is a lot of competition
(02:07):
out there.
So if I want my target audienceto pay attention to the things
that I'm sharing, there arecertain things that I need to be
doing and I need to be doingthem well.
So we're going to go throughthese steps and you can always
jump on a 30 minute call with meto talk about your brand
(02:27):
building goals, or you can jumpinto the five day challenge to
get the first part of thissystem.
And so you know the power ofyour research process is all
about protecting your future.
A lot of PhDs are either inacademe and not making the money
they thought they would make,or they realize they've reached
(02:47):
their pay ceiling right Afteryou get tenure.
After you get full professor.
There is no promotion.
After that, you can either goadministration to make more
money which a lot of people doeven though they don't want to
or you can just rely on,hopefully, a cost of living
raise every year.
But I'm giving you a thirdoption which, in my opinion, is
(03:09):
much, much better, and that isbuilding your brand.
You already have the academiccredentials.
You need to be out herechanging lives and making an
impact at scale.
So the other thing about thepower of your research process
is that the average academic isnot the one with the microphone,
and what I mean by that is youare a subject matter expert that
(03:29):
doesn't have the audience, isnot getting the media coverage
and visibility you deserve.
However, there are people outhere who are not subject matter
experts, who have not put in thetime you put in in your field
or area of research, and they dohave the microphone.
They are getting the mediacoverage and visibility, they
are publishing best-sellingbooks, and I happen to believe
(03:50):
that society is a better placewhen my subject matter experts,
my PhDs, actually have theblueprint to being the one with
the microphone, so you canactually disseminate the
information that is true andcorrect and that will actually
change people's lives.
This blueprint is in threephases.
So there's the build phasephase one, there's the engage
(04:10):
phase phase two and then there'sthe publicize, monetize phase,
which is phase three, and sothat's how the system is broken
up, and so there are three stepsin each phase.
The first step is mindset.
We all have our own uniquemindset issues that are holding
us back, but there are somethemes that I see working with
my academics, which is why thisprocess is specifically for
(04:35):
academics and those with PhDs,because we have a unique set of
challenges and indoctrination,because we have a PhD and
imposter syndrome comes withthat.
You know, we learn things thatare completely opposite than the
entrepreneurship world, that wehave to either unlearn or learn
entrepreneurship side by sidewith the academic success and
(04:56):
skills that we have.
So the first step is mindset.
We don't want to be pouringwater in a cup with holes, so
mindset looks like helping youunderstand that you need to
increase your speakingengagement rates, consulting
rates and reframing the way youthink about self-promotion.
A lot of my academic friendsare scared of self-promotion and
(05:18):
they're scared of trolls.
One of the number oneobjections I get in this first
mindset step is you know whatare the ramifications of people
online saying nasty things to me, and so we have to overcome
those limiting self-beliefs.
If you can make it out of yourlimiting self-beliefs, you can
make it anywhere.
So the first step is mindset.
(05:38):
The second is vision.
A lot of my PhDs, either becausethey're in academe or because
they tried to be in academe, oryou know, they have one foot in,
one foot out, especially mytenure track folks.
All of your goals are connectedto academe in some way.
Right, all of your professionalgoals are connected to getting
a tenure track or getting tenureor just some way connected to
(05:59):
academe.
You need to have the space tothink about what you want your
life to look like, not alwaysconnected to academe.
A year from now, five yearsfrom now, what do you want your
life to look like?
Could look like a lot of alittle bit of teaching.
You know, I don't teach thatyou should just completely
abandon your academic job, but Ido teach that you need to build
(06:21):
your brand in a way whereacademe can be an option where
you can say, hey, I can leavethis job if I want, because my
brand is paying me more thanwhat any institution can pay me
anyway.
So give yourself the space tocreate a vision and don't keep
it in your head.
Write this vision down what youwant your life to look like six
months from now, a year fromnow, five years from now.
And then I want you to getclear on what amplifying your
(06:44):
platform means for you, notsomebody else, not your peer,
not this other person you seeonline doing it well, but for
you.
Understand that you will haveto get out of your comfort zone
in order to build your brand,but also you can do it in a way
(07:05):
that best resonates with you.
That includes choosing thesocial media platforms you want
to be on and all of that goodstuff.
Get the clarity you needbecause you can be intentional
about building your brand in away that best resonates with who
you are.
Hey, everyone, real quick.
I don't run any ads on thispodcast, so I have to rely on
word of mouth.
If this podcast has helped youin any way, please share it with
(07:26):
a friend and follow me, drSheena Howard, on LinkedIn,
where I give more free contenton building your brand as an
academic.
If you tell me you came to myLinkedIn from the podcast, I'll
make sure I accept your request.
Third step is brand building.
You need a brand statement, youneed your brand adjectives and
you need your brand archetype.
These are your brand assets.
(07:47):
So before you go out and do thecosmetic stuff of spending
money on a color scheme andlogos and brand style guide, you
need to have this first phaseof clarity figured out.
You need your brand statement,brand archetype and brand
adjectives.
Think about it A lot of usdon't do the steps in order.
So you're going to a freelancerto get your logo kit.
(08:07):
You're just like, ah, I kind ofwant it to look like this, I
kind of want to look like itlike that, but you don't know
who you are as a brand.
Imagine having your brandassets and then saying, hey, I
need you to design a logo.
This is who I am, this is whoI'm trying to help.
They can then match the colorsup with your brand, your brand
adjective, brand archetypesright.
So you got to do things in theright order.
So phase one, that buildingphase, is about clarity.
(08:31):
Right, go in the steps in theright order.
Phase two engage.
This is the media coverage andvisibility strategies.
Now I'm going to go throughthis phase quickly only because
I don't have enough time to giveyou the specifics of what you
need to do in each step, but I'mgoing to tell you what the
steps are.
To get you started off on theright foot, so you need a media
strategy.
(08:51):
Get you started off on theright foot, so you need a media
strategy which we teach youempower your research.
You need a media placementstrategy which we teach you
empower your research.
No-transcript, and we teach youthat in the program.
And so these are all the thingsthat are going to cut out the
fluff and just get you the theresults that you need when
(09:12):
someone types in Google the keyterms that represent the field
or area you want to work in.
Because here's the thing onGoogle, people don't scroll past
the first or second page, right?
And so when someone types inthe keywords related to your
field, you need to be coming upon that first or second page,
whether it is within an article,whether it is an article that
you wrote, whether it is an oped that you wrote.
(09:34):
You need to be coming up on amedia blitz, which is just kind
of part of your social mediastrategy, and letting people
know, reminding people thatyou're getting all of this media
and visibility coverage Right.
Some of you are only posting aninterview or an op ed once, and
(09:57):
then you're like, oh, a coupleof people liked it and that's
great, but you actually have topost multiple times.
And so we talk about that inphase two, with that engage
phase and incorporating yoursocial media strategy in there.
Right, social media is astrategy, it's not something
that you just do haphazardly.
And then phase three ismonetize.
So publicize and monetize.
(10:17):
This is all about that sixfigure roadmap.
My roadmap is documented on mybrand strategy guide, and so
monetization looks likeimplementing a system to get
consistent speaking engagements,and by consistent, I mean
consistent based on yourlifestyle.
Some people have little kids.
They're not trying to fly allover the place for speaking
(10:37):
engagements.
Some people can do more, somepeople can do less but
implementing a speakingengagement system where you're
actually respecting your timeand charging what you're worth
and seeing your knowledge andyour presentation as valuable
enough to charge at least $3,500.
None of this honorarium stuff.
We need to cut that out.
(10:59):
And you need to have a systemfor when and why you will do
free speaking engagements.
And when I say system, I meanyou will do free speaking
engagements.
And when I say system, I meanthese things need to be
documented and you turn it intoan objective process.
If the opportunity matchesitems one, two, three and four,
I can do it for free.
If not, I cannot, and so youwant to learn more about what
(11:19):
that looks like, jump on a callwith me.
Okay, so that step seven ismonetize.
Step eight is build equity, andthis is just helping you
understand that you don't need50 streams of income.
You don't need to beconsidering building your brand
as a side hustle.
It's actually something that'sconnected to your mission,
vision and purpose.
Otherwise, why are you doing itif you're not trying to help
people and make an impact?
(11:40):
So building equity in yourbrand, which is step eight,
means the money you make is notjust about you do something and
you get money in return.
It's about the long-term equityin your brand.
Your brand should be worth morethan just the single
transaction that you're makingto do a speaking engagement or a
consulting gig.
(12:00):
This has to do with addingvalue.
This has to do with doing twothings really really well.
Okay, so for me, I have mywriting business, I have my
power, your research business.
Those are the two things that Imonetize, and it's all funneled
through Dr Sheena Howard, mypersonal academic brand.
Step nine is about protectingyour future, so when you get to
(12:21):
the end of this blueprint, youneed a documented brand strategy
guide which basically documentseverything that I just told you
, and it is personal and uniqueto you.
And so that is the blueprintfor building a brand in the
attention economy, specificallyfor my PhDs, and I truly hope
(12:46):
this helps.
If you're new here, my name isDr Sheena Howard.
I'm the founder of Power yourResearch, an academic branding
company where I help academicsand educators increase their
visibility, authority and incomewithout the expense of a
publicist, and I hope you havean amazing day.
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