Your business evolved. Your offers changed. You changed.

And meanwhile your website is still over there representing a version of you from two years ago like nobody told it there was a rebrand.

Leslie sits down with Rachel Seid, founder of Brightseid Design, to talk about websites, branding, copy, SEO, digital presence, and why your online brand should actually feel like the person people are about to hire.

Rachel and her team take a holistic approach to digital marketing, combining website design, branding, copywriting, and SEO strategy instead of treating each piece like it exists in its own little internet universe.

Because a beautiful website cannot save confusing positioning.

And great copy can only do so much if the rest of your digital presence doesn’t match.

In this episode, Leslie and Rachel talk about:

• Why your website needs personality
• How your website should reflect what it actually feels like to work with you
• Why branding, copy, website design, and strategy need to work together
• What happens when your business grows faster than your website
• Rachel’s concept of “duct tape web design”
• How often business owners may need to revisit their websites and branding
• Why your digital footprint matters before a producer, journalist, client, or collaborator ever contacts you
• Making sure your online presence matches how you’re positioning yourself in real life
• Whether swearing belongs on your website
• Why authenticity matters more than trying to make your brand look “professional”
• How Rachel built her business after struggling to find the right job
• The networking strategy that helped launch her company
• What happened when she emailed 500 people she had met and generated 25 leads
• Why entrepreneurs cannot build a business while being terrified of hearing “no”
• Staying visible enough that people remember you when they finally need what you offer
• Rachel’s vision for growing Brightseid Design into a larger agency

Rachel also shares one of the biggest things business owners underestimate about their websites:

It should be memorable.

Your website is one of the few pieces of your digital presence that you fully own. It is working for you when you’re asleep, speaking on a stage, meeting someone at an event, or sitting nowhere near your laptop.

So if someone lands there after Googling you, it should immediately make sense who you are, what you do, and why they should keep paying attention.

Connect with Rachel

Learn more about Rachel and Brightseid Design at brightseiddesign.com.

You can also find her on Instagram at @MrsBrightseid and on LinkedIn under Rachel Seid.

Welcome to the bfd show, hosted by leslie jefferson.

Welcome back to bfd.

It's me, Leslie Jesperson, here at Anchor Rock Club, and I am joined by Rachel Side, aka Mrs. Brightside.

That is your Instagram, right?

Yes.

Okay.

That's how I remember you.

Welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

I'm excited to be here.

Yes.

Okay, so the show is called bfd, and so I like to ask my guests, what makes you a bfd?

I mean, great question.

I am a BFD because I am so steeped in relationships being the most important part of my work.

I'm a web designer, so most people are, like, in the back with their computer is the most important part of their work.

Obviously, that's huge for what I do, but I think the most important piece is that I'm really getting to know people, understanding who they are and what they do, and trying to make sure that that is coming through authentically in their entire digital marketing experience.

I love it.

Okay, so you're a web designer.

What kind of web designer?

I feel like there's.

That could be, like, a million different things.

So tell us more about that work.

Yeah, yeah.

I build brands and websites.

I also do copywriting.

My team handles all of these things and SEO strategy.

So we're really doing a holistic look at your digital marketing foundations, top to bottom.

We really do the whole enchilada.

I like to say.

Yes, I love that.

Yeah.

And we specifically work in squarespace for now.

Okay.

All right.

So the whole enchilada.

Did you always want to do that, or you started, like, say someone comes to you and they're like, okay, I need a new website, and you start working on it, and you're like, okay, we need more things.

Yeah, that's happened more times.

So I started off kind of just building websites on the side on my own.

And then along the journey, I learned that actually, people need a lot more than just a great website.

There's all these other pillars that go into building the great website.

So, yeah, now my team is able to do all of that.

But before, it was just me, and I would try and fix the copy, or I would try and fix the brand, or I would try and fix the strategy.

And those things don't really work unless you do them all together holistically and intentionally.

So that's sort of where my business has been shifting.

Yeah, I love that you said intentionally, because, I mean, I experience the same thing when people come to me and they're like, I just want to get booked for stages and tv, and then I have like one call with them and I'm like, well, there's like 800 other things that we need to fix here.

And that's why I really focus on the preparation and the foundation.

And the positioning of your brand is just as important as getting any kind of gig.

And I'm sure you see that on your end as well.

Like, everything has to be cohesive.

So obviously you're building websites and you're doing copy.

But what I love that you said about, like, the relationship building part with people, what is that driving force?

Because you very easily could be someone that just sits at.

At her computer the whole day.

And I know that, like, you were telling me a goal of yours is to, like, get more out into the world and like, be IRL face to face with people.

Yeah, I mean, I love in person networking.

I think no one has ever said that before.

My why is just that I think it's so important to have us control our stories and say what we want to say and have it be put online in a way that is, like, relatable and ultimately attractive.

Like, I'm helping people build their business, and usually when, when they're coming to me, they're not just like, starting out.

They have a proven concept.

They usually have a team of their own that they've worked on.

They've built something big and they're getting ready for the next big leap.

And so I feel like I'm so honored that they trust me to help them through this really massive transition in themselves and their business.

We go through cycles as business owners, I think, and when you change and your business changes, naturally, things evolve.

And when that evolution happens, you have to.

You have to like, kind of pause or at least slow down and implement that throughout your brand and your digital marketing strategy.

Wait, I love that you said this.

And I, I want to talk more about this because I am someone who feels like I need to rebrand, like, every year because I do so much work on myself.

And through that I grow.

And then my business grows and I evolve and I shift and I'm like, oh, my God.

I look at my website, I'm like, oh, that was.

That was like, who was that?

2025, Leslie?

You know, like, is that common?

Is it just me?

Like, do you get people?

Do you see this happening?

Yeah, it happens to all of us.

It's happened to me multiple times in my business.

I feel like probably not every year, but maybe that's just showing that you do a lot more work on yourself than most people.

I'm like, warp speed.

I find that it happens usually for me, every, like, two.

It's really bad after three years.

Like, after two years, usually my brand is still solid, but my website needs to be changed because, you know, my services have evolved.

They've become more sophisticated.

My team has evolved, it's grown.

My team is more advanced, my process is more advanced.

Everything has sort of moved along, and now the website no longer reflects what the business is like.

The business has grown and the website hasn't.

So you have to catch them up.

I like to call it duct tape web design, where, like, you started with something really beautiful and then you sort of just like, throw you duct tape a bunch of stuff on.

It's like a new service you just added on our new page.

And then suddenly, like two years later, maybe sometimes a year later, depending on what you're doing, like, it starts to look like a little janky.

Right?

Right.

Then you're like, okay, well, this.

All this copy needs to change.

But then all of this needs to change.

And I get it.

What is something you feel like people don't understand about the work that you do, that you want to be like, hello, listen to me.

Mine is like, my big one is like, your website needs to have personality.

So it's gotta have personality.

Like, if you have a boring, unengaging website that, like, isn't pretty or is like, oh, my God, hard to read, like, no.

If anything like that is happening, like, what are we doing?

Like, this is your.

This is your proprietary thing that you own that represents you online all the time.

So, like, make it good, like, and make it unforgettable.

That's how it needs to be.

I love that because I say, like, you wanna be when you're on stage, when you're on camera, you want to be unforgettable.

And then, like, this is just the first step.

I tell people, like, your digital footprint matters so much, especially with journalism, with tv, with producers, Chances are if they're in your inbox, they've already Googled you.

They've already been on your website for 20 minutes and vice versa.

So that's on the back end, but on the front end, anybody watching this, they're gonna go look you up.

And if what you're talking about isn't in alignment with what your digital footprint says, then it's gonna feel incohesive.

And so it's so, so, so important.

One of, like, the first exercises I give people is like, go Google yourself and see what, what Comes up.

Let me ask you.

Yeah.

Let me ask you this question.

How do you feel about.

And I feel like I'm gonna know the answer to this.

About, like, swearing on your website and curse words.

I think it's.

I mean, like, if it's your personality.

Yeah.

It has to fit your personality.

I have.

You know, for me, there's like, a mild curse words I think are appropriate for my brand.

Right.

I have some clients who are, like, exceptionally traditional, and that is not at all acceptable.

And then I have.

I have a.

Like, a vendor and a business friend of mine who I work with, and, like, her copy is, like, really colorful.

Like, spicy.

Yeah, spicy.

That's a good way to say it.

And I think that.

I just think in general, like, your copy and your visual, like, brand identity.

Those are moments where you're.

You have an opportunity to show what's unique about you.

Like, why would you flounder that and not make something incredible?

You know, curse if you want.

If that's what basically my shtick is like, I want the website.

I want people who are visiting your website to feel like what it feels like to actually work with you.

It's like, if you're using swear words, then put them on your website.

That's why I'm like, my show is called, like, I catch myself censoring myself.

I'm like, my show is called bfd.

Like, what do I think I'm doing?

Who am I trying to impress?

I love that so much.

I want to know, how did you get started in this?

I mean, how did I get started?

I mean, it all started because I couldn't find a job.

But that is so important because so.

Many people start their dream businesses because they're like, okay, I could sit here and keep applying for jobs and know that I'm overqualified.

This salary is not going to cut it, or I could just chase my dream.

And.

Yeah, that's like.

That's, like, kind of what happened to me.

So I was applying for jobs, so I also sort of knew in the back of my head that I might start a business.

Yeah.

And so I basically, like, spent a year testing it out.

I ended up going to one networking event a week for an entire year.

And when the time came that I was like, I was getting bad job offers, I wasn't getting the right offers.

It was just like, oh, such a. Yeah.

I, like, eventually was basically just, I emailed all of the people that I met at all of those networking events.

I emailed 500 people, and I walked away with 25 leads.

And I've basically just been like snowballing that momentum ever since.

Wow.

And how long ago was that?

Almost nine years ago.

What?

That is crazy.

Wait, but that is.

So this is definitely going to be a sound bite on social media because shoot your shot.

Like use it.

Like don't be afraid to send 500 emails.

Yeah.

Hell yeah.

Especially like how are they going to know?

I, I personally don't like email marketing and I know this is not what you do, but I think it's important to say.

But I'm like Old Navy is not afraid to be in your inbox four times a day.

No.

And, and I think that like it sort of subconsciously works because if you.

Even if I'm not in the market for buying new clothes right now, like I seeing them as a reminder, they've become my go to.

Where do I get new clothes when I'm right.

You know, when I was postpartum and couldn't really think straight, like my brain just immediately went to Old Navy.

Whereas, you know, now I have a little more space in my head.

Maybe I'm doing a little more research.

Right, right.

But being mind.

Yeah.

And also like the thing about being an, like I think about being an entrepreneur is you can't really do it if you're scared of people saying no or people thinking you're annoying.

Like it's not gonna work.

Like you have to be.

It's your job to be out there selling and so do it whatever you need to do.

And I didn't even do like an official email marketing launch by the way.

I literally BCC emailed like 500 people.

I had a spreadsheet.

Wow, that's incredible.

Case did them all in the BCC.

Field and nine years later.

Yeah.

And I still do that from time to time.

It doesn't really get me leads quite so much because I wasn't positioning myself that way.

But like from there are.

There are reasons when and appropriate times when like I can send a BCC email to every single person I've ever met in my business.

I love it.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

I mean I'm running like a real agency, a big agency.

Five years from now.

I hope to have an in house team.

I hope to have some flexibility to help my kids with like back to school season.

They'll be so old, they'll be like ready for help with transitions.

Now I have like babies that are just in preschool and daycare.

So yeah, I'm hoping to be able to do bigger projects.

I also hope to be able to maybe try new web builders.

Right now I only build on Squarespace.

Would love to be trying others.

Maybe even would offer like some social media in the future.

Okay.

No yet.

We'll see.

I'm more of a plan, one year at a time kind of gal.

Love it.

I love it.

I love it.

Amazing.

Rachel, where can people find you?

Oh, yeah, you can find me on my website, brightsidedesign.com S E I D. That's my last name.

And you can also find me on Instagram, Mrs. Brightside, or on LinkedIn under Rachelside.

Awesome, Rachel.

Thank you so much for being on bfd.

Yes, thanks for having me chat with you.

It was so fun.

Yay.

All right, thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time.

See ya.

Bye.