How Creator Marketing Built a Scalable Business Model with Ryan Davis

What if your entire go-to-market strategy had to change overnight?

In this episode, you’ll hear how Ryan Davis, co-founder of People First, pivoted from political influencer marketing to public health campaigns at the height of the pandemic—and used that momentum to scale a thriving agency.

Ryan breaks down how they won high-budget clients, built strong referral pipelines through white-label partnerships, and used newsletters and case studies to close million-dollar deals—without chasing every shiny object.

If you’ve been trying to figure out how to pivot, position, or power up your agency or service-based business, you don’t want to miss this conversation.

Keypoints & Chapter Markers

00:00 – Launching a business… right before the world shut down
04:00 – Finding a “blue ocean” in an overlooked niche
08:13 – Turning case studies into real campaigns
14:35 – The long sales cycle and building trust through newsletters
20:04 – How AI is changing the agency model (and hiring)

Want to connect with Ryan?

People First: https://peoplefirst.cc/

Influencer Impact: https://people1st.substack.com/

The Month In Digital: https://monthindigital.substack.com/

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About The Hosts:

• Tim & Cindy Dodd are the Co-founders of PEMA.io, based out of Miami, FL. Connect with Tim and Cindy on LinkedIn and Instagram:
  • Tim’s LinkedIn, Tim’s Instagram
  • Cindy’s LinkedIn, Cindy’s Instagram

About PEMA.io:

PEMA.io is an Inc. 5000 Outbound Agency specializing in helping Marketing Agencies scale with pay-for-performance lead generation. Need more sales meetings? Learn more and schedule a call here: https://pema.agency