 I am here with Rachel K. Albers. Some of you might know her as RKA, and it's so much fun to be talking with you, Rachel. I'm so glad to be heard. I had to unmute myself because in these days, these pandemic days, I just preemptively mute myself. I feel like am I alone in that? Do you ever do that when you're on a Zoom call? Oh, for sure. I mute myself most of the time when I'm not talking. Also because I've got a dog, I've got a cat. Who knows what's going to happen around here? But just so that folks who haven't yet gotten to know you, just a little bit about what I know about you is that the basic is this. I think you make marketing fun. You make marketing really entertaining, really fun. And I think that perspective is going to be so well uplifting for a lot of the folks who are here when so much of the time we see marketing and we think of marketing. I mean, most of the people who are watching this, I mean, some of you watching this actually like, think, you know, have good thoughts about marketing, but a lot of us who are watching, you know, you're in this conversation right now, think marketing, oh, it's so heavy. It's like, oh, I got to like, I got to like, make sure my message gets out there so that I can finally do the work that I'm meant to do. So the marketing is like a means to an end. It's a necessary evil. It's like, but that's not how you do it. And I want to make sure, you know what? I'm just going to go ahead and do this right now. Is that OK? Can I share my screen and show people how you do marketing? So this will be an adventure. Yes. So OK, check, check out, check out Rachel's website. Look at this. OK, so this is one of her two websites. I want to show you both, right? And so look at this and Rachel, each one of these is you. These aren't five different people. Well, there are five different alter egos, but it's you, right? And it's me. There you go. And so look at this. So this is this is, you know, Rachel makes marketing fun. This is her other website. So Rachel, you have you have two websites. You've got RKA, Inc., which is where you actually that it's a done for you service. So you do the branding to tell us what you do here. Well, we'll go here and then we'll go to the other one. You know, like you said, you're you know what? You can come on board and just be just follow me around and be my explainer, my hype guy, because you did it perfectly over here at RKA, Inc. We help businesses specifically like visionary rule breaking businesses who are in a reinvention. They're growing. They're like they, you know, we help them rebrand and we help them with their brand strategy. We help them with their visuals. We help them with their web design and tying all that into their business strategy and making sure it all is connected. So that means we work with people for six months, nine months, a year to make these transformations. That's what we don't do over here. I'm excited. I just re, I just launched this a month ago. So when I look at it, I'm like, I'm still like, look at my beautiful tree. It's beautiful. It's really cool. I love it. I love the one, two, three. And do you guys do the copywriting as well? Yeah, we do have a group of copywriters that we bring in and work with and match make with our clients based on their niche in their industry. Yes, I love that because I have worked with so many copywriters that even though they're wonderful people, it's just not the right match. And I love that you use that term. I think it's so important. I mean, you're brilliant with your brand, the style of it, the visuals, of course, but also I like your writing. So that's why I wanted to ask. So, okay, so this is the done for you. So those of you who are like, oh my God, I would so love to have a brand that I'm so proud of that I, that, you know, really expresses who I am. RKAink.com, RKA stands for Rachel K. Albers, set your name, RKAink.com, okay. And then the other one. Okay, and this is where it really gets fun. This is where it's like, yes, this is, yeah. So this is my, I mean, this is the brand where I get to like show you what we can do with you at RKAink, but this is where I get to do my stuff, you know. So it's just fun. Right, right. And you have this thing called awkward marketing, which is really funny. And you have these great little YouTube videos that are so cool. And I, you know, this is entertaining stuff. I mean, this is infotainment, right? Cause you're both communicating a message that people can really, you know, kind of shift their mindset about marketing. And at the same time, you're here to entertain them. So that's really cool. You got it. So, so what do you, so obviously people can subscribe via email or on YouTube to get your messages. Do you offer like courses? What do you, what do you offer here for? Sometimes I do. You know, when I was planning, when I was doing this rebrand, the most important thing about this was that I created a container for offerings that allowed me to explore marketing with my audience over here, right? But when I decided to lunch, as I said, you know what? I wasn't going to, I have had courses and I do have courses, but right now, I don't have anything I'm selling over here. And that was kind of a conscious choice with this brand, you'll see that. Like there's nothing to buy. Yeah, it really is. Just like I invite you into a conversation with me because that's where I'm at. It's like less, you can, you know, you can hire me to speak at your event. That is one thing you could do. But other than that, when I launched this, it really was to create a launch pad for future things. Yes. And, you know, also as a way of walking my talk for my clients of like walking, of really modeling, it doesn't, you know, when you're launching a brand you don't always have to have a gotcha. It doesn't have to be wired into some elaborate funnel. I don't have that, you know? Yeah. I am just showing up and wanting to have this conversation with people. And yes, I will give you ways to give me money one day if you want my help with something. But right now that isn't my top priority. That's really cool. Wow. So yeah, there's a lot that people can learn from and enjoy themselves along the way by coming here, Rachel K. Albrecht. Yeah, this is super fun. It's right now, it's just like a place to really dive into these videos that I've created and it's so real. And this thing was amazing. Okay, so you, okay, so this is something I haven't seen anybody else do. I mean, that I personally know, people obviously do this all the time, but create GIFs or GIFs, depending on what camp you're in, that actually people use on the internet and you have 1.4 billion. I mean, this is... Yeah, 1.5 as of today. I mean, this is unreal. So 1.5 billion uses or at least views of your GIFs and GIFs, you have a bunch of them, like here are examples of them. You create these and do you help clients create these too? I'm just curious about... I have a course. I do have a little mini course where I teach people how to do it, that I, you know, it's called GIF University. Yeah, it's called GIF it to me, baby. But if you go to GIF, university.com, you'll find it. But, you know, I sometimes help clients. I don't really, we don't really create things like this for clients, but we do show them how and really we're more about the strategy behind it. Let's help you create. Here's the thing, George, is that these GIFs, oh my God, this sales page needs to be reworks since my rebrand. Here's a really good example of just launch sloppy sometimes, George. That's okay. Just launch sloppy with little details behind the scenes that are... It's still better than most websites, so don't worry. But, you know, like these GIFs came from my videos, right? My longer videos, and I just basically can take a five minute video. I can theoretically turn it into hundreds of GIFs if I wanted to, and that's what I've done though. I've taken the funny moments from my videos, which I've already created, and I've turned them into GIFs, and then the GIFs take the life of that content and stretch it for me and give it more traction. Yes, allow me to use it in different places and to use it for, actually, honestly, to take the original content turns into new content, because I've taken the GIFs and then turned the GIFs into like listicles and funny stories. Yeah, so tell me about how you really use your GIFs. Like, you know, I imagine that obviously people on Twitter or wherever, if they find your GIFs, they use it. They're probably gonna go, oh my gosh, I gotta find this lady and hire her. It's probably not like that. No, not at all. That's how I even started it. I'll tell you what, first of all, I started creating GIFs out of the hilarious selfish desire that I wanted to be able to use my own face if I was using a GIF in my emails to eat clients or even like sending stuff to my friends and family. I thought it would be hilarious to be able to GIF myself and then like send it to my dad. And that's what I do now, by the way. I still find it hilarious. I'm such a dork, but I started that way of I wanted to be able to personalize my messaging and also I have these funny videos and I make funny faces, so why wouldn't I, why would I use a video of like the office if I could use a video of me, which is helping people, it's building a relationship, it's giving me, building my brand awareness, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, it's really. So I just started creating the GIFs that way. But then one day, one of my GIFs went viral. I got like a Google alert that one of my GIFs like took off and then suddenly random people are using my GIFs. And I was like, okay, wow. And you know, I had created this point, hundreds of GIFs that I didn't really care if anyone used them or not. But I had search engine optimize them just for the fun of it. And I had just made, you know, put my branding into them in terms of the keywords and stuff. And then people started using them. So, okay, no, there is no, this is a vanity metric, pure and simple, George. I love to be able to whip out 1.5 billion views at a cocktail party because nobody else can say they have a billion of anything. But the reality is the value to me is more about being able to use this form of communication that we use on the internet. Being able to use it in a personalized fun way. To stretch my content out, which I think a lot of you and to also it's basically here's the thing, George. My own audience finds me around the internet all the time and they'll text me or they'll message me or they'll email me and they'll say, look where I found you. So in that way. Yes, you're everywhere. So that's one that I really do believe is helpful. Well, I bet I try to do myself is so the ubiquity. It's like, you know, and I know it's, this is, I mean, you've done it in a very clever way in that you create these gifts and therefore they see it everywhere. The way that traditionally people are everywhere is that they just post on all these different platforms, right, which is what I do. And not everyone has to. I tell everyone, listen, you can focus on one platform or two but you're, you know, you actually, with the gifts you have a far, far reach. I wanna show people your Instagram also. It's a lot of fun. You know, you could see how to, how to, how to get there. Rachel Kay Albert, just like it's spelled here. And yeah, I just encourage you to go follow her because she doesn't post too often, but when she does, it's like really good stuff. That's accurate, George. You're right. I've been going through it. I've been going through it. But yeah, I'd like to be an emblem for quality over quantity and now being to liberate my own clients from the expectation that you have to be like omnipresent and like talking all the time. Like you absolutely have to be. Yeah. And one of the things I saw early on as I was kind of getting reacquainted with you on Instagram is this thing that you have called brand crastination, which I love so much. And I want to spend just a few minutes talking about this because I know so many people who are here resonate with that. I mean, yeah. I've never met anyone who does not practice or have a problem with brand crastination. Okay. What is brand crastination? So, I mean, right in front of you. Here's a great, I've already done them job for myself. The act of delaying one's launch in order to perfect small and consequential. Okay. But the thing is, of course in consequential is the key word in that the people who are doing this, which I know, I know people doing this and I've done it myself, is like, we think it's important that one little thing is. Well, you know what? Yeah. Let me complicate. So yeah, it can be like the color in your logo that you're like, oh my God, no, I'm sorry. I need to spend another week getting this perfect shade of blue or it's just not going to work. So we have that problem. And that's an example of inconsequential. But I'm going to throw a wrench in the works and say sometimes it's consequential stuff. And it's the stuff that you need someone to step in and say, this is a great idea. I love this, we're going to do it after we launched phase one of this project or phase two, you know what I'm saying? Like I see a lot of people brand crastinating in the service to this fake, this false, this myth of perfectionism. So I am the queen with my own clients of saying yes, phase two, that's a phase two item. So even if it is a consequential detail, being able to say to yourself, in all things, I'm all about launching dirty. Like I just showed you, I've still got my own launch details that are still dirty, but I had to launch or I had to launch, I literally had to launch. Look at my- I mean, yeah, like this part. I mean, but it's okay, people who are, people are going to come here and they go, oh my God, I can't believe this isn't working. I'm leaving, no one's going to do that. That's what it is. No one's going to do that. I mean, they probably are here because they heard about it. And so they're like, oh, that's funny. That didn't work out. Okay, let's keep going. You know, that's usually the people's reactions to these kinds of things, you know? May it just be like, sometimes when I see other people that I admire especially or not, maybe, and they've made a mistake or their sales page looks like crap or something. I'm like, oh, thank God because they look super human. So thank God even this person makes, even this person has a typo in their email, you know? Yeah. So the bottom line, like what I see people do is they take like a year to build their website or longer or even to me, even six months, nine months, I mean, nine months because you're birthing a human being and maybe a website is like that, that complicated. But... Well it is. And George, we can have a whole conversation about that but yeah, I hear you. So yeah, people take a long time to birth their websites. Yes, I'm with you. Or like, and I think part of your message here is like once they birth their website, now they go through the, now they're like, okay, I got to change everything now. It's like, they just spend a year and a half but they're launching their website and it already feels outdated to them. And now they're like, oh my God, I've already evolved beyond this and then let me spend the next year and a half for rebranding. That's literally what happened. I mean, that is the natural evolution. That is the branding process. Scientists have studied at George, that's what happens in the wild. So many of us. But yeah, it is you're getting into your own head. Think about the website process that makes it tricky is this. What I've found, and I just kind of recently made this realization, George. So like breaking news, you're the first to hear this. What I've found is why does the website process take so long? Cause I've been trying to crack the code. My website process, I'm gonna be like full disclosure, takes a long time. Our team, when we work with a client going from start to finish, we're looking at between I would say six to 12 months. Like that's our average. Well, why does it take that long? You're doing an amazing job with it. I mean, that's, it's worth it. But here's the trick though. Here's the little trick. What I've found is in this world of endless coaching and courses and strategy and tactics. And I'm gonna learn this new skill and I'm gonna learn about branding and all of this stuff. People need to have something tangible to apply their big visionary business and marketing strategy too. So what I will say is the secret is people come to me for the website but what I sell them is not a website. We sell them business strategy, brand strategy and marketing strategy and the website is a cherry on top. And why does it take so long? Because most people actually end up realizing when they're doing a rebrand process or doing a website, they haven't made decisions around these other areas. And they're forced to if they're gonna actually get through this process and do it right. Does this make sense? So I just kind of had this realization that the value of the website as part of a branding process, for example, is that it offers a tangible container through which to meaningfully look at a business's like overall business strategy and then overall brand and marketing and positioning strategy. And the website is simply a vehicle through which to do that. So that's for me a valid use of a nine month website process. But if you're just doing it because you can't fricking choose the shade of blue or because you wanna start all over because you want new photos done just because you like, you know saw somebody else did something that you liked that's another story, you know what I'm saying? Yes, yes, yes. I really like that. Yeah, I really, it's and it's kind of a little bit similar to and I'll stop the screen share now because I can't concentrate when I have that great video going here on your YouTube. I see business, the process. Well, sometimes I say this, the process of marketing is really the process of a business finding its own calling, you know? Like that's, and then further out, the process. That's a very beautiful thing. That's like the most poetic thing I've ever heard in my life as a client in marketing. And then further out, the process of business is really the process of a human being, finding their, you know, the process of personal development on the professional stage. I mean, it's, as you well know there's so much, so much personal development involved and we've really, everybody here. Totally, yes. So we have like two, three minutes left. Anything you want to be sure you, you know share with the audience something coming up for you, any other kind of parting words? George, this was every, this is, this was what was coming up for me was this conversation today in this moment. No, you know what? Head on over to awkwardmarketing.com and have some fun over there. There's some really, I would say if you want to know where to start, start with the office. You're right there on awkwardmarketing.tv. You can go to either one, awkwardmarketing.com. That'll take you to my hub. Yep. You can go and dive into the show if you scroll down a little bit, you can dive into, if you're like, where do I start? Going out a little bit more. And there is the office, right? And like, I think that's a good crowd pleaser if you're overwhelmed. Start there. It's a ton of fun. And just, you know what? Because I'm in the process of transformation in terms of how I help people. And so we're having a conversation. Like that's what's happening over here on the side of my brand. I'm really excited about it. As like an artist and as a marketer in pursuit of meaning. George is what I like to call it. Look at you. Look at you just like, this is like being on a news show where my clips are being, like you've got my clips going on. That's great. That's great. Oh my gosh. Do you, are you ever going to teach people how you make these kinds of videos? You know, yeah. I thought that could be fun. Oh, you have to. It's a requirement. That's part of your calling. How's that? Is it? Okay, I'm totally into it. Yeah. These are super fun. Yeah. Oh, because that's one of the geniuses that you do is have these videos. Anyway, so. You know what I was really proud of George, just like to give myself a plug because we all should be our own fans is that in this particular video's case, I literally built the sets. And when I say built the sets, I didn't just find the office background. I took a blank page and in Photoshop using stock imagery one by one by one built Michael's office specifically. Like I found the shades and I found a background, made the conference room. I made the, so even though it wasn't an actual set, this is a digital set made on a green screen. I essentially recreated the office backdrops myself using stock imagery and Photoshop. Isn't that fun? So cool. That's amazing. It's a work of art. And it's something that goes far. I mean, this is something, yeah, you could obviously really distribute this far on Facebook, YouTube, everywhere else. I could and I will and that's what my dad says. So there you go, George. Well, Rachel, I know I'm really glad for my audience here to get to know you and to bring some more fun and color into marketing. Earlier we were saying, I don't think we said this in the recording, but we have the same heart and a different style, different voice. And that's what diversity is about. That's what biodiversity and everything. So I love it. I love it. Love what you do. Thank you so much for the work that you do. George, thank you. Yeah, thank you.