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A TABLE AT THE BACK

A TABLE AT THE BACK

By Branka Injac Misic and Laura Luck

More of a chat than a podcast, we share our experiences, learnings, laughs and *cough* wisdom as we recount stories from our lives as comms specialists, UX and CX advocates, marketing tragics… and our quest to finding a flow between our titles as ‘mum’ and ‘business owner’.

We can already tell we’re gonna be great pals. There are no formalities here - you’re invited into our conversation where things are super relaxed so you can take off those shoes!


Co-hosts:
Branka Injac Misic
Laura Luck
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Currently playing episode

S1. E8. - Man-ergy and Launches with Kirsty Fanton

A TABLE AT THE BACKJul 20, 2019

00:00
50:02
S3. E8. - Whatcha been up to? A casual chat.

S3. E8. - Whatcha been up to? A casual chat.

This is the last episode of season 3! 

Pretend you're in a coffee shop, sitting down with us (remember sitting in a coffee shop?).. and having a casual chat about: 

- Laura celebrating a milestone this week! 

- Branka needing a drink (haha desperate times) 

- Is the black hole of quarantine swallowing us up? 

- Laura chats about current work projects and starting a new role

- Branka dives deep into her concerns around superannuation and sole traders during COVID

- How we're coping (or not coping) working from home with kids

- What our work days actually look like at the moment (it’s not pretty) 

- Why we haven’t been active on socials 

- Yes, we both just need to chill the eff out

Recs:

- Normal People TV adaptation 

- The Danish Way of Parenting


Contact us:
Hello@lauraluck.com.au

Branka@gigsuper.com.au

May 06, 202041:10
S3. E7. - Crisis Comms with Anna Rogan

S3. E7. - Crisis Comms with Anna Rogan

Apr 22, 202050:29
S3. E6. - Conversion Design with Matt Hall
Apr 08, 202050:59
S3. E5. - Accessibility and Inclusivity with Veronica Camara
Mar 25, 202040:05
S3. E4. - Ethics in product design and UX writing
Mar 11, 202057:35
S3. E3. - Closing the gender pay gap with Meggie Palmer and Peptalkher

S3. E3. - Closing the gender pay gap with Meggie Palmer and Peptalkher

In the lead up to International Women's Day 8 March), we spoke to Meggie Palmer, founder of PepTalkHer.  PepTalkHer's mission is to close the gender pay gap. The PepTalkHer app helps you track your career successes through artificial intelligence: building confidence, negotiation skills and through giving you a pep talk when you need it most. We spoke about: - Meggie's background as a Walkley-winning journo and what led her down the entrepreneurial track  - The inspiration behind PepTalkHer (and some frightening stats about the gender pay gap...) - Our own money stories and how they can hold us back from a young age - How freelancers can use the PepTalkHer app to increase their rates and fight imposter syndrome - The PepTalkHer app launch process – the importance of testing and iterating - Salary surveys and why women with 10+ years experience tend to get less $$ Our recommendations: - The Loudest Voice (TV show on Stan in Aus or Showtime overseas) - Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez - The Crown on Netflix - Girl, Stop Apologising by Rachel Hollis Find Meggie and PepTalkHer: @Peptalkher www.peptalkher.com @MeggiePalmer

Feb 26, 202055:49
S3. E2. - Employee Experience with Kerrie Brown

S3. E2. - Employee Experience with Kerrie Brown

Talk about a ripper topic — Employee Experience (EX) is all the rage this year.
BUT it shouldn’t be mistaken as another business buzzword.
It’s actually one of the elements that businesses of all sizes can use to differentiate themselves in an age where standing out is getting harder and harder to do. That’s why we called in EX expert! Kerrie Brown is a seasoned Employee Experience professional who has spent the last decade (and some!) of her career helping companies build inspiring workplace cultures. She knows how to play strategically and tactically, and is most happy when challenging the status quo in organisations.

She’s worked her EX magic in big complex organisations like Colgate-Palmolive and GWF, fast-paced fin-tech startups, and an award-winning employee experience company.
Kerrie blends her commercial smarts with a human-centred approach to deliver engaging people solutions for all things people, performance, safety, leadership and communication.
In this episode we chatted to Kerrie about:
• What is Employee Experience (is it basically CX for employees)?
• How EX is linked to CX?
• Why do businesses need to pay attention to EX metrics?
• Does belong to any one department?
• What part does EX play in the hiring process?
• How does EX work for remote workers?
• Tips on setting up solid EX foundations within an organisation.

Connect with Kerrie on LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/kerrie-brown

Recs:
How it feels to float by Helena Fox
Rowan of Rin by Jennifer Rowe
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Writers of Silicon Valley podcast (episode with Tamara Hilmes from Spotify) by Patrick Stafford
Feb 12, 202055:46
S3. E1. - Welcome to 2020!

S3. E1. - Welcome to 2020!

This is season 3!
Today we're having a casual chat about what we've been up to, we dissect our favourite eps from season 2 and what we've got planned for this season (and 2020).
Of course, in Australia we've been facing some horrific natural disasters. We'll also talk about how we reacted to this news over the festive season and the different approaches by small business following it.
Jan 30, 202030:16
S2. E7. Give and get good feedback with Susan Reoch
Dec 04, 201957:27
S2. E6. - What is Content Design? With Sarah Stanford
Nov 20, 201901:05:16
S2. E5. - Customer Experience vs Customer Service
Nov 06, 201955:24
S2. E4. - What if work is your self care?

S2. E4. - What if work is your self care?

Eeeek! This week we took a deep dive into understanding ourselves and our attitude towards work. Taking time out to practice self-care in an always on world is incredibly important. But what happens if the way that you are wired as a human, your work actually becomes part of your self-care? We also explore the meaning of the word ‘hustle’ (don’t shudder, hear us out) and where it fits into the overall picture of work. Come along for this rollercoaster around our brains and let us know your thoughts, feelings, and vibes after the chat. 🙏🏼 Mentioned in this episode: • The Education Series: https://www.valleyloves.com.au/the-education-series • The Digital Picnic: https://www.thedigitalpicnic.com.au/ • Craft Coaching & Development: https://craftcoachinganddevelopment.com/ • Sister Scout Studio & Craft Coaching & Development Workshop: https://www.sisterscout.studio/sss-events/purpose-and-values-workshop/ • Clare Wood Coach: https://clarewood.com.au/ • Two Girls & A Laptop: https://www.twogirlsandalaptop.com.au/ Books: • The Danish Way of Parenting • Company of One - Paul Jarvis • Building A Story Brand - Donald Miller • Get To Aha - Andy Cunningham Articles: • https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/ux-writing-for-designers/ • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/have-you-heard-notorious-rbg-totally-ux-writer-katherine-karaus/
Oct 24, 201951:46
S2. E3. - How to become a UX Writer with Patrick Stafford

S2. E3. - How to become a UX Writer with Patrick Stafford

Our first guest for Season 2 is Melbourne-based UX writer Patrick Stafford. Patrick is an ex-journalist-turned-UX writer, content strategist and podcaster. With almost a decade of experience with online news outlets like Smart Company, Rolling Stone and Vice, he’s been a UX writer for MYOB for over 4 years and has a freelance writing business called Stafford Content. He also runs UX Writers Collective, which is a UX and CX writing course and produces/hosts the podcast Writers of Silicon Valley. Here's what we covered in this episode: - How Patrick broke into UX writing via journalism (and the many different backgrounds of UX writers!) - What it takes to become a GREAT UX writer - How to impress UX hiring managers  - An indication of UX writer salaries (based on a recent survey the UX Writers' Collective ran)  - The differences between UX writing in-house vs freelance - What it's like interviewing some of the biggest UX writers in the world in Patrick's podcast: Writers of Silicon Valley Our recommendations: - Endorsal: https://endorsal.io/ (really great and easy way to collect testimonials and embed them in a cool/interesting way on your site with no IT help) - UX writer jobs newsletter by Gordon Macrae: http://www.uxwriterjobs.com/ - Radical Candor by Kim Scott: https://www.amazon.com.au/RADICAL-CANDOR-KIM-SCOTT/dp/1250103509/ref=asc_df_1250103509/?tag=googleshopdsk-22&linkCode=df0&hvadid=341744909748&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3762038390647270709&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072357&hvtargid=pla-432939647199&psc=1  Aaaaand here's where you can find Patrick and his projects: - UX writers collective: https://uxwriterscollective.com/ - Patrick’s website/s: http://www.staffordcontent.com/ http://pdstafford.com/ - Writers of Silicon Valley podcast: https://www.writersofsiliconvalley.com/ - Twitter: @pdstafford 
Oct 09, 201901:07:44
S2. E2.- Comms guides and messaging strategy for customer-centric businesses
Sep 26, 201901:02:19
S2. E1. - Collaboration in a CX / UX role
Sep 12, 201937:30
S1. E10. - Personality and CX in eCommerce with Ami Williamson

S1. E10. - Personality and CX in eCommerce with Ami Williamson

SEASON FINALE!
Thanks so much for joining us for Season 1 of A Table At The Back. We have loved creating this so much, so if you loved hearing it... please leave us a review and rating :)
For our last episode of Season 1, we spoke to the inimitable Ami Williamson of Damn Write.
Ami focuses on personality-driven e-commerce copy, plus she’s a wildly talented writer, strategist and extremely funny human being. We like her.
She gets her rocks off on consumer psychology and neuro-marketing and she’s got one of the best damn websites we've seen in a while…
Here are just some of the things we covered:

Her new website rebrand (it's soooo beautiful)
Personality-driven copy doesn't mean you have to be loud and bold
How the personality of a brand impacts our purchase decisions
Ami's process to extracting your voice (mad scientist, perhaps?)
Why we can’t all sound like Go-To Skincare (wahhh!)
How CX plays a HUUUUUGE role in eCommerce (and how to improve it)
How to grow an eCommerce business by focusing on more than just getting new customers
The different types of emails you should write for your eCommerce businesses
Why horoscopes are our guilty pleasure
Listen to us struggle pronouncing Enneagrams
The power of repelling customers that aren’t for you

Here are the links to our recommendations:
Ami's website:
www.damnwrite.com.au
Friction by Roger Doole: www.amazon.com/FRICTION-Untapped-Force-Powerful-Advantage-ebook/dp/B07HRZ7PDJ
How UX influences sales: uxplanet.org/ux-is-all-about-sales-db659a1fd853
ALPHALETE eComm growth hacking article: www.veeqo.com/blog/alphalete-ecommerce-teardown
Aug 03, 201952:36
S1. E9. - User Research For UX/CX Messaging
Jul 28, 201947:15
S1. E8. - Man-ergy and Launches with Kirsty Fanton

S1. E8. - Man-ergy and Launches with Kirsty Fanton

Jul 20, 201950:02
S1. E7. - Conversational marketing with Aoife O'Connell
Jul 14, 201901:07:31
S1. E6. - The Golden Days of Insta Pt. 2: Brand Reps & Influencers

S1. E6. - The Golden Days of Insta Pt. 2: Brand Reps & Influencers

We took another trip down memory lane this week and talked about how businesses used to use brand reps/influencer marketing to grow during the golden days of Instagram. Most of these principles still apply today and we cover off what you can learn from how things use to be done and how you can apply those learnings today. Four goals to consider when working with influencers: 1. Top level - there’s social proof. • Big accounts. • Pay for the post so you can get social proof (aka credibility) for your business. • You’re paying for getting seen as a legit business rather than a garage project. • This can be worth it because big names are connected to other big names and you become a trusted source. 2. There’s reach & brand awareness. • Very similar to paying for social proof is paying for reach & brand awareness. • Even accounts that are “only” in the tens of thousands can play a big part in helping you get reach and raise brand awareness. • Show up in that person’s feed a few times and already your reach and brand awareness is stronger than paying for a cold advertising audience. 3. There’s content creation. • This is a great option for time poor businesses. • Unlike the two strategies we previously mentioned, this one doesn't need to involve accounts with big followings. • What you're looking for here is content creation skills that are better than yours. • The idea here is to offload the content creation work. 4. There are sales. • Sales are a bi-product of all of the above + the quality of your product. • Be careful tying yourself to sales as the end metric. • You need to build trust with an influencer's audience, before they start buying from you in bulk. Also mentioned in this episode: • Sister Scout Studio - https://www.sisterscout.studio/ • The Shed Women - https://www.instagram.com/theshed_women/ • Story Match - https://www.storymatch.com.au/ • Paperform - https://paperform.co/ • Write On - https://writeon.io
Jul 07, 201901:13:13
S1. E5. - UX Writing Pt. 2 (CX)
Jun 29, 201901:02:14
S1. E4. - They Never Said It Would Be Easy: Business & Motherhood

S1. E4. - They Never Said It Would Be Easy: Business & Motherhood

Wow! So excited to already have some reviews and feedback from you guys. Thank you! 🙏🏼 To everyone who has listened, reviewed, and subscribed - you are golden. In this week’s episode we covered the amalgamation of mum life and business life. This episode got a little deep, emotionally, as any chat would over coffee at a table at the back. 😉 We covered: - Working on weekends - Sleep training - Starting a business while on maternity leave/having a break from the workforce - How freelancing can give you the flexibility to start a family - Using work to escape postnatal feelings - Litmus testing clients & putting boundaries in place - Why flexible working conditions are the way of the future - The good thing about working as part of teams Also mentioned in this episode: - DaFont: https://www.dafont.com - Marketing Study Lab: https://marketingstudylab.co.uk/why-customer-research-is-so-important-with-branka-injac-misic-cmo-of-gigsuper-episode-64/ - A Study Of 2.7 Million Startups Found The Ideal Age To Start A Business: https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/a-study-of-27-million-startups-found-ideal-age-to-start-a-business-and-its-much-older-than-you-think.html - Boy Follows Universe: https://www.booktopia.com.au/boy-swallows-universe-trent-dalton/prod9781460753897.html - Everything Is Fucked: https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Everything-Is-F-cked-Audiobook
Jun 22, 201944:04
S1. E3. - The Golden Days of Insta Pt. 1: Competitions

S1. E3. - The Golden Days of Insta Pt. 1: Competitions

This week we take a trip back in time to the golden days of Instagram to talk about one aspect of how businesses used to grow using Instagram and what you can learn from it. We cover off Instagram competitions, in particular: - How they used to get set up - Some things to think about in terms of rules & mechanics - Why it used to grow numbers by the 1000s in 24hrs and doesn’t really anymore - Some ideas on what to try today Also mentioned in this episode: - Sister Scout Studio GET MONEY SMART event: https://www.sisterscout.studio/scout-events//sisterscout-fireside-chat-about-money - Girl Friday IP: https://www.girlfridayip.com - Tyler J McCall: https://www.tylerjmccall.com - Digital Deep Dive Podcast - 9 Perfect Strangers: https://www.booktopia.com.au/nine-perfect-strangers-liane-moriarty/prod9781743534922.html - Becoming: https://www.booktopia.com.au/becoming-michelle-obama/prod9780241334140.html
Jun 22, 201942:49
S1. E2. - UX Writing Pt. 1

S1. E2. - UX Writing Pt. 1

How fun! After some ideas, feedback, and exploration we’ve settled on a name for the podcast - yew! And this week Laura laid out some UX writing fundamentals (from a biz perspective) and what you should know/consider if you’re thinking about entering the field or you’re already in, but trying to find your feet. If you have any questions don’t forget you can reach out to either of us directly and we’ll be happy to chat - this stuff is our jam! Resources were mentioned in this episode: Laura’s FREE UX Writing course: www.lauraluck.com.au (OK, so this one wasn’t mentioned, but you should totally get your hands on it!) Joe Natoli: www.udemy.com/user/joenatoli UX Books: Simple and Usable - Giles Colborne Don’t Make Me Think - Steve Krug Content Strategy - Kristina Halvorson UX Blog: https://uxplanet.org Digital marketing podcast worth listening to: Digital Deep Dive - Luke Chapman & Lachlan Kirkwood Marketing book worth reading: Contagious (Why Things Catch On) - Jonah Beger
Jun 07, 201936:44
S1. E1. - Right Back To The Beginning

S1. E1. - Right Back To The Beginning

Welcome to our very first episode. How exciting! We’re super keen to chat to you about all things UX, CX, Comms, Marketing, and the mum/biz life balance. We wanna do this in a casual environment where you feel like you’re having a warm coffee (or tea) with us and you’re part of a raw, but insightful conversation. In this episode we go back to the beginning to give you a little background into who we are, what our individual journeys have looked like so far, and what we want to get out of this podcast. Hope you enjoy. x Laura & Branka
Jun 05, 201944:38