How The Authenticity of Yenis Monterrey, a Multi-Racial Bilingual Actress, and Writer has been successful with Influencer Marketing
Yenis Monterrey shares her story from getting rejected by casting agents to developing her own lifestyle Instagram influencer - and forging her path to acting her way.
The Interview
CreatrClass:
So hey there readers and listeners. My name is John Kyeremeh and I'm the co-founder of CreatrClass, where I interview amazing creators in the passion economy to answer the question for you of what do top online creators do, and what do they know that you don't? And how do they think and what kind of action do they take to reach their goals? Today's guest is Yenis Monterrey, film producer, lifestyle influencer, entertainment writer, and a blogger at VIP Discoveries. Yenis, good to hear from you and glad you're here. Thanks for being here.
Yenis Monterrey:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm thrilled to be here and be your guest today. And yeah, I'm here to inspire other people. I am a bilingual, but I don't use a different language. Right. And I'm trying to make the community create and encourage the bilingual community to speak in both languages. If you speak another language, I speak Italian as well. So this is a beautiful way to inspire other people. Since the pandemic, we have been commanded through so many apps, the speaking apps like Spaces in Twitter, right? We have Clubhouse, it is incredible. When with we were speaking a universal language. The universal language is English, right? But it's lovely to talk in our languages as well, to reach more audience.
CreatrClass:
Different people want to connect in many different ways. So let's talk about your journey here. How did you find yourself doing the work in terms of online content creation and lifestyle influencer? Can you talk about that?
Yenis Monterrey:
Absolutely. I am an actress in Austin and LA. I was doing a lot of commercials. So here in Texas, since I have my accent and everything, sometimes we don't see the representation of who you are on TV. So, I felt a little frustrated when going to casting for the role. Like me, they were saying, "you don't look like Latina, or you don't look like Mexican.” It's because I'm in Texas. Where are you from? what are you? So many people asked me that question. I was frustrated about not getting the commercials. When I got my agent, I said, Why because I’m brown Latina, but you don't look Latina. So I say I am a person who is mixed with different races, but many people look like me. So in the commercial world, I got very frustrated. So for something that I love, I love advertising, I love marketing, and it's my passion. Then I went into acting, and I did some films in Hollywood, and you can find my IMDB with Yenis Monterrey. I enjoyed performing and doing all the stuff. So then, I got the opportunity to be a creator and inspire people. I'm creating my ads on Instagram. So I noticed then, that people loved it. I'm sharing my own personal experience. And I'm getting out the exposure because of my creativeness. And my audience has been very, very responding. And I'm making sales and everything because I am just myself.
CreatrClass:
I think there's something to that because when I went to look at your profile. I'm a big data person. And it's said you have super high engagement. And there's just I think there's something real about the authenticity of you being yourself. As you say, people are interested and they want to consume your content. You mentioned its during COVID, that is when people started kind of reaching out to you, can you walk me through that experience?
Yenis Monterrey:
Yeah, I noticed that I started to have so many subscription boxes and inspiring people, especially with food. I have my kid and my husband at home, so I inspire people, you know. I noticed that I started selling more and pushing more of my affiliate marketing. I was like, connecting with my feelings when I was at the beginning of the pandemic, you know, so I was like promoting happiness, I was like everything should pass. So it was terrific to get how the economy opened up online, opened a new world, and created new businesses. And it mainly was about self-care. During the pandemic, I was not into alcohol because I saw so many people having alcohol, and I am still a little resilient. I want to promote spirituality, self-care, healthy eating, and self-love.
CreatrClass:
That's awesome. So could you talk a little bit about yourself? Did you ever think you would be like an influencer creator or works online?
Yenis Monterrey:
Well, actually, for that, I recently got an agent in Austin, The Boysen Talent Agency in Texas. My resume is my Instagram; my pictures, videos, and reels through Instagram it's my resume. But, let me tell you something. I loved inspiring people. Whenever I was in the store or I was in a school with my son, many people tell me, "Oh, I loved your sweater," "I loved your hair," and "I love this." And I say, oh, one person told me, “Yenis, you should be an influencer.” I also have done many interviews with many celebrities and A-listers. And they were doing influencer marketing, but they weren't writing anything in their captions on Instagram. I also noticed. They were using tons of filters. I encountered some actresses in person and said, Oh my gosh, they don’t look the same in the picture on IG. Yeah, all those actors and actresses used filters. And they don't look the same. I used to have a private account, Yenis Monterrey, but now it’s public. I started posting about the products I love during SXSW a few years back. I talked about different brands on my social media channels then people started reaching out to me. There is a website in Israel, and they wrote something about me. I always look for myself on google, and I find out the outlet said I don’t use filters and mentioned I was very authentic, for example.
Do you see all those pictures from Kim Kardashian? Yes, she was my biggest inspiration, but she didn't look the same when I saw her in person. So yeah, like right now, I'm with you, with no makeup, but just a little lipstick and everything. I like to show the usual how I look.
CreatrClass:
That's amazing. I think that's 100% people just want to consume authenticity. And if I like if you look at Netflix, right? I love how people just want to watch real people they don't want to watch anything fake anymore. I totally can relate. Could you talk about a day in your life as a content creator? I noticed when I was doing research, you're doing a lot of like subscription boxes. Just walk me through what a day looks like? Could you mention affiliates and different things? How do you manage that? What do you do when you wake up? Help our listeners?
Yenis Monterrey:
For me, my routine is to post every day. Even if I have felt sick, or whatever, it feels like it's something that you need to do, I post every day. Right now, when the pandemic is almost over, I decided to take off for the weekend. So I took this very seriously from Monday to Friday. Also, like a routine, I have the time to post at the same time every day because people will expect it. I noticed their insights on Instagram; you know when you can see and when you have more views. So, I figured out to post at the time. My time is usually California time. So you need to be aware of the insights. You can check yourself through the tool on your cellphone and see when would be the best time to post. With that, I was able to discover my best times. Before, I was very inconsistent; I was posting at midnight at some point during the pandemic, and I was getting more reach from Europe and other people. But it depends on what you want because, for me, the whole world opened to me during the pandemic.
I received products from Australia and Germany, and I feel like what's happening? So it depends. Now I have products from Korea. It is better to post based on the best time in Korea. So you need to see the timezone where the product is located. So right now, before the pandemic, I was posting for US products, while during the pandemic and the situation with Ukraine, up until now, I still receive products from all over the world. I have that routine, I post every day at the same time. And well, I still have people working from home. I'm working from home right now.
I have a paid collaboration and sometimes free collaboration when I have a relationship as an ambassador with the brand with affiliate marketing.
It's important to engage with the comments and answer my audience's questions. I also like to ask questions to my audience... I want to tell the new influencers out there to ask questions to their audience. Just like today, “I asked what are your skincare goals?” So always ask questions to your audience to get the engagement. Some famous influencers post, for example, "what a beautiful day, and just post a picture" when I have seen this kind of post on Instagram from big celebrities, I say, “what is this?” they are influencers who are getting highly paid by brands, but unfortunately they don’t put a lot of effort into their captions. They write a meaningless lines or emojsi.
I have asked myself how their audience will engage with a straightforward sentence, "what a beautiful day and emojis?" I have seen some celebrities who do not put a lot of work or enthusiasm into their collaborations and perform poorly. So when I have paid cooperation, I tried to engage as much as possible, I asked questions, and I always read the comments, or I tried to reach out through to them by answering their questions. I push my affiliate marketing sometimes; when you are an ambassador, you are not getting paid with an IG post, but you are making money through affiliate marketing. Engage with your audience. It’s essential.
CreatrClass:
Awesome. So mainly, you mentioned affiliate marketing, what is your goal, let's say for 2022? Well, things went so fast. So what is the goal for 2022? Like in terms of short term and long term for that? I know some creators I talked to, they are an affiliate but they want to like build a product of their own. Some of them just want to stay there. So can you walk me through what your vision looks like?
Yenis Monterrey:
I used to say yes to everything at the beginning of the pandemic because I had so much time, but now, I'm more selective. Why? Because time is money. And not all brands are the same. For example with skincare, I used a cream that burns my face. I learned after this experience that influencers need to be careful by reading the ingredients. Do your homework and research before applying the product. I had a bad experience once because I used this cream while I was taking the picture, I kept the cream on my face for so long, and I burned my skin and created dark spots on my skin for a long time. Do you know what I mean? So we need to be careful. So I learned that sometimes you take risks as an influencer, that it could be good or bad for you. Like the other day, I took a supplement, resulting in stomach pain. I reached out to them and said, "I'm sorry, I'm not going to do that supplement. I had an allergic reaction. How can I return the package to you?” Being an influencer it's not always so colorful and beautiful, and it's also a risk because you are using products and doing trials, especially when it's a new product.
CreatrClass:
Yeah. So, in terms of your short-term and long-term goals, like are you looking to keep being an affiliate or?
Yenis Monterrey:
As I mentioned earlier, I've got exposure as an actress. Thanks to my influencer world. I was able to get back into TV commercials, Youtube, or whatever bigger audience besides Instagram. I didn't have an agent during the pandemic, but I was able to sign a contract for a new agent, The Boysen Talent, which is based in Houston. I also have my blog, VIPdiscoveries.com. Since I have been very busy with Instagram, I'm trying to revamp it. So at the moment, I'm just working more on my blog, having my own space where I can connect and review the brands. I monetize it more by sharing my experience with the products, especially about anti-aging. So, if I tell you my age, you won't believe it, right? But it works for me. I mean, it gave me happiness. Making other people happy is my primary goal because knowing that you make other people feel good feels good.
CreatrClass:
100%, I agree. One of my questions is about, let's say, if what would your advice be to someone who has, let's say, say 10,000 followers, what would your advice be for someone who has under 10,000 followers and then someone who's over 10,000?
Yenis Monterrey:
Okay, so don't put all your eggs in one basket for me. That is one thing. I had a glitch last week on Instagram, and it gave me a heart attack. I was like, "oh my gosh, I will lose my account." I also started going to work on TikTok, even if I keep on forgetting about it. There are so many social media platforms right now wherein you can do multiple posting, just keeping up with all of them. Don't put your eggs only in one basket because you never know one-day Instagram can disappear or that there are hackers out there. Right? So you need to be careful. Don't click on stuff that many people send on Instagram because we do not know if they were hackers. So watch out for those. Never click any post. Whenever someone reaches out to you, always direct them to your email. That is my most extensive advice. Be professional, don't contact brands through DM . If a brand reaches you through DM, always tell them this is my email. Always keep all records, even the IP address, because there are so many hackers out there.
CreatrClass:
That's I never thought about that. But that's good.
Yenis Monterrey:
Never give your personal information to anyone. I recently had a brand that approached me, and we had a half-hour meeting via Zoom. The person with who I had the meeting reached out to me through a DM on Instagram and asked me for my social security number. And I said, "excuse me?". Never give your personal information. Another situation in which we are constantly facing stalkers. Always investigate and Google brands and you need to get to know who they are because we give our home address to receive the products. In the beginning, I was very paranoid. You don't have any collaboration when you start, and it starts with your favorite products. When you have this product, you take a picture. Always put your email contact in your Instagram. That is one of the ways how people are going to reach me. Put your email in your bio when your bio is viewed. Those two lines that you have on Instagram are how you are identifying yourself. So always use your email. Honest communication with the brand is also essential, like when you are going to post. At this point, I have so many products, and they didn't. So now I want to be fair. Directly from my experience, I know when to say no or yes.
CreatrClass:
That's amazing. Did you have that stands that which?
Yenis Monterrey:
Yeah. Now, we have SXSW in Texas, and I'm getting a reach out to go into SXSW and talk about products. I did receive an email a moment ago, and I was, "oh my gosh." So I mean, on Instagram, if honest, they want real people to talk about products and your experience as an influencer. And I'll be speaking in SXSW 2022.
CreatrClass:
And I work in tech on my day job, and I would always want to go there. You are so lucky.
I noticed that you use WordPress, and you have a Link-in-bio, WordPress on your main website, are you kind of eventually building your own? Will you eventually build your brand? Or like, sell your products?
Yenis Monterrey:
Let me tell you what happened. I did my WordPress because I wanted to have my blog. And I learned it through YouTube. So I made my own thing and built it up. I talked to WordPress, and they said, "very good your website is working very well, actually." I'm getting a lot of reach with my website. I wanted to change it, but people liked it how it is. It has been on my mind about having my products, but I need to wait. It's like I love inspiring people. There are so many scenes, so many ways for an influencer to go. It could be a book about the influencer, and there's a lot to explain. I had no idea. You look at Google and say, oh, okay, maybe I can write you a book about how to be an influencer? So basically, my brand is my story. It is what I want to share. Don't be afraid of your accent, of where you came from. To inspire people is about how far you can go. When you have that consistency, you know.
CreatrClass:
I think that is the important keyword, inspiration, and consistency. How do you stay consistent? Because not everybody has. So what kind of habits do you have that help you make be consistent?
Yenis Monterrey:
Well, I always listen to podcasts. And listen to people who inspire me—also, being a mom of a teenager. You know it's so hard to encourage teenagers. Oh my god, you know what I mean? So for me, it has always been like that I'm always on fire. Once I woke up, started working. First, I immediately check and read all my emails. After that, I worked out to give myself away, nourishing being an influencer. Staying in shape has been a motivation to look suitable for my pictures. So I motivate myself.
Affirmations are the key. So, I get my headphones as you have and start walking or running while listening. It keeps me positive. Like when we have the black life matter BLM in the United States, many influencers were so depressed that they shut down their accounts and couldn't deal with that. There are some influencers that they don't show their faces. That's another thing. They put pictures of the products and don't show their faces. You need to show your face. So I was asking people what's going on with you? They were depressed. So I told them this was an excellent opportunity to create paid content. After black life matter BLM, I said Yenis, I want to get paid because I worked so hard for what I do. Like those white chicks on some platforms. I had that; it's just I didn't get selected. I had the brand, and they only accepted white creators, no black or Latinas or colored Latinas or mixed creators like myself. So when Black Lives Matter happened, I asked myself, "Can I do that? No, I was not in my box, right? So when it happened, a new world opened for me. More paid opportunities came to me. So I realized, okay, this is many influencers were depressed; I was just inspired. I want to be there. I want to show the world that Yenis Monterrey will be there, and I want to inspire Latinas or Black-Tina's like me that we are powerful women and Latina women or daughters of Latinas. Oh, we consume a lot, you know. So it was a moment of reflection for me. But also a moment of personal growth and awareness of what was happening in the world.
CreatrClass:
I remembered that period in terms of that awareness, and just seeing the shift in what people want and consume. Like, after that. I felt like people didn't want to see, like, every time I'm watching like a Marvel or something. And I saw, like the typical Caucasian male, I was like, No, I want to see something authentic, you know, and now even with the New Avengers, like what is the Simu Liu, who is a Canadian guy. It's like people want to see authentic real stories, they don't want to see the same story. So definitely. I love that point that you have. What actions can our readers take in the next 24 to 48 hours to start moving towards their goals?
Yenis Monterrey:
First, I like writing. Write why? Why do you want to do meditation? What do you want to be? Taking action, keep moving like what happened to me last week with my agent. I was like, I want to do this. It was in my mind. I want to do this. Then I realized how I would do it if I didn't have an agent? So I take action. The first thing I did was to send my Instagram or my PR. And then, a week ago, I got an agent. It took me like two years to get an agent. Do you know what I mean? Because people like me, who were in the fire, I was at some point here in Austin, Texas, there was a famous director who told me, “you're too dark for being a Latina.” And I said, “what?” When you were looking at the TV shows or movies from that director, they were all into white Latinas, and I'm not. And even when you go to Mexico and all those soap operas, they're all white and no dark Latinas. So from that, I started taking action.
Start motivating your audience. In the beginning, people were telling me Yenis, "you need to have a niche concentrate and only on skincare.” I said, “no. I like to be a lifestyle influencer because I like to eat too”. Sometimes I get fat, and I need to lose weight. I take vitamins. So I like to do everything because we can do everything. Right. So if you want to do it at all, it's a lot of work. Yes, it's a lot of work. But you need to have consistency. How do I tell the world you establish as to what? Express your feelings when you are doing a post on Instagram. Try to connect with as many people as possible. I love listening to Clubhouse sometimes to gain inspiration, and I also listen to Twitter Space and Spotify to find out what's happening in the world and be aware of what people lack. So that part of marketing is getting the information to get inspired, to create.
CreatrClass:
I like that. Find out where things are lacking. I think that makes sense. I'm just going to look here so we're just a bit over. Do you have a few more minutes? So if you had a magic wand, one thing that you love to do or make for yourself, you'd be more productive as an influencer creator, blogger, what would you have that would help you with this?
Yenis Monterrey:
I would create communities. To complete your connection, because so many people lack real connection. Many people during the pandemic got so alone.. Here is a trick that I tell people how I gain followers: Instagram has a QR code. I go to parties. I ask people to scan me during South by Southwest SXSW, and I get real followers.
CreatrClass:
Wow.
Yenis Monterrey:
I'm sharing with you one of my biggest secrets. They don't know that QR codes and Instagram exist. So people never forget. And I have seen people buying and making money on an affiliate on Amazon. I have many Amazon sellers reaching out to me. And they buy through me because I say, oh, this person, so sometimes I get the name from affiliates who bought from me, and they say, “Oh, I met a person at a party. Or, oh, I met this person at a yoga class. Oh wow. The girl that I met while walking the dog bought from me.” So it's exciting. I am building personal connections and adding them to your social media.
CreatrClass:
That's a really great point. I haven't heard of this tip actually. So thank you so much for that.
Yenis Monterrey:
So the magic wand is getting connections and connecting with people, personal, physical, even here and soon from all over the world. This is what I want, just real connections.
CreatrClass:
I love this so much. Thanks for taking the time to chat. Its been such a pleasure.
Yenis Monterrey:
Absolutely. Free feel to reach out and talk again. Hopefully I see you in 2023 by SXSW.
CreatrClass:
That would be a serendipitous moment. I would love that.