The Digital Brew

#25 - Running a business and staying married

In this episode, we're diving into something really personal - how we manage to run a business together while staying happily married. When we tell people we're married to our business partner, we usually get that look of mild shock followed by "How do you survive spending so much time together?" OUR JOURNEY We've been running businesses together on and off for over 10 years now, and we've been married for 13 years this year. Back when we started our first business, we were only 22 and barely adulting properly! We were newlyweds trying to figure out marriage whilst simultaneously learning how to run a business without a boss telling us what to do. Those early days were tough but also pretty wonderful. We got to spend heaps of time together - café breakfasts, beach walks whilst everyone else was at work (definitely pre-kids!). But we struggled with time management and switching off from work for ages. When we launched The Digital Brew, we were older, had two kids, and crucially, we'd figured out what roles we each played best. OUR TOP TIPS FOR WORKING WITH YOUR SPOUSE 1. SET GOALS TOGETHER Have really good reasons for going into business together that you're both committed to. Whether it's financial goals, flexibility for family, or career opportunities - these will carry you through the tough spots. 2. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS Don't assume who should do what based on stereotypes. We initially thought Angela would be the creative one and Stewart would handle admin and finance. Turns out Stewart's rubbish at admin! Now Angela handles the upfront project work and ongoing admin/finance, while Stew focuses on long-term client management and support. 3. GIVE EACH OTHER SPACE We split our tiny office down the middle with a divider. Sounds dramatic, but it's brilliant! We can still chat about projects, but we're not constantly interrupting each other. 4. SET BOUNDARIES Use tech systems to keep work conversations contained. We use Twist for async work chats and Todoist for task management. No more work talk over dinner (the kids quickly shut that down anyway!). 5. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST The beauty of working with your spouse is seeing the full picture of what they're dealing with. Support each other through the ups and downs. 6. MARRIAGE FIRST Marriage is forever - business might not be. If your marriage goes sideways, chances are your business will too. Prioritise your relationship above all else. WHAT'S NEXT? This wraps up season two of our podcast! We're taking a little break but we'll be back with season three and loads of fresh episodes already planned. Thanks for listening, and if you've got your own experiences or tips about working with your spouse, we'd love to hear them! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

#24 - Quality over quantity content

In this episode, we're diving into a topic that's been on our minds lately - quality versus quantity when it comes to content creation. With AI tools making it easier than ever to pump out heaps of content, we thought it was time to have a proper chat about why quality should still be your number one priority. WHAT WE COVER DEFINING HIGH QUANTITY CONTENT We break down what "high quantity" actually means by looking at it two ways: * Platform-specific comparisons (like one LinkedIn post per week being average) * Industry-specific benchmarks (B2C vs B2B posting frequencies) For context, we paint a picture of what extreme quantity might look like for a small B2B service provider - daily blogs, multiple social posts, and loads of stories content. Sounds exhausting, right? THE FIVE PILLARS OF QUALITY CONTENT Angela walks us through what makes content truly quality: 1. Usefulness - Does it actually deliver on its promise? 2. Uniqueness - Your own spin, not just copy-pasted AI content 3. Accuracy - Research thoroughly and back up your claims 4. Experience - Proper formatting, grammar, and user-friendly presentation 5. People-focused - Created for humans first, not just algorithms WHY QUALITY WINS EVERY TIME When you focus on quality over quantity, brilliant things happen: * You build a reputation people actually trust * Followers stop scrolling and start engaging * Search engines love your stuff and rank you higher * You have time to build real relationships with other creators * You create work you're genuinely proud of THE QUANTITY TRAP On the flip side, we discuss what happens when you prioritise pumping out loads of mediocre content: * Your brand values get lost in the noise * People start seeing you as someone who cuts corners * Engagement drops and algorithms punish you * You might even start hating the work you do OUR TAKE Look, we're not against using AI tools - they can be brilliant when used properly. But if your team is suddenly producing heaps more content with the same resources, that's a red flag. Always double-check that your content still ticks those quality boxes. For most small businesses, the reality is you can't have both quality and quantity without a massive investment. And that's okay! We'd rather see you create one piece of great content than ten pieces of rubbish. Bottom line: If you're not in a position to produce content consistently, choose infrequent good content over frequent mediocre content. Your audience (and your sanity) will thank you for it. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

#23 - Tools we use - websites, productivity, content creation

In this episode, we're sharing our tried-and-tested toolkit that keeps our digital agency running smoothly. We've been refining these tools over 10+ years! CONTENT CREATION & WRITING Google Docs [https://docs.google.com/] - Angela's go-to for pretty much everything writing-related. AI Transcription Tools - We've used Otter AI [https://otter.ai], Temi [https://www.temi.com/], and Happy Scribe [https://www.happyscribe.com/] to turn client calls into content gold. Claude AI [https://claude.ai/] - Our favourite for development help and content brainstorming. WEBSITE BUILDING & DESIGN WordPress [https://wordpress.org/] - Still our CMS of choice. Bricks Builder [https://bricksbuilder.io/] - Our current visual builder. Great balance of flexibility for us and simplicity for clients. Figma [http://figma.com] - Where all our designs start. PRODUCTIVITY & PROJECT MANAGEMENT Todoist [http://todoist.com] - Our task management lifesaver. Twist [http://twist.com/] - We ditched Slack for this gem. Zoom [https://www.zoom.com/] - Still our reliable choice for client calls, especially with that handy Google Calendar integration. SEO & ANALYTICS Mangools [https://mangools.com/] - Our budget-friendly SEO toolkit. Google Analytics [https://www.google.com/analytics/web/] & Search Console [https://search.google.com/search-console] - We use them, but let's be honest, GA4 is a bit of a pain compared to the old Universal Analytics! TECHNICAL TOOLS WP Umbrella [http://wp-umbrella.com] - Keeps all our WordPress sites monitored, updated, and secure. GridPane [https://gridpane.com/] - Our WordPress hosting management panel that makes server management actually enjoyable. Gmail + MXroute [https://mxroute.com/] - Our clever email setup that gives us Google's interface without being locked into their ecosystem. CLIENT COLLABORATION UserBack [http://userback.io] - Absolute lifesaver for getting website feedback. Fluent CRM [https://fluentcrm.com/] - Our WordPress-based email marketing solution. ScreenPal [https://screenpal.com/] - Perfect for quick how-to videos and client walkthroughs. DESIGN & GRAPHICS Canva [https://www.canva.com/] - Essential for quick graphics when you're not a full-time designer. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

#22 - Website maintenance - all the things you should be doing

In this episode, we dive deep into the nitty-gritty of website maintenance - all those essential tasks that keep your site running smoothly but often get overlooked. Whether you're managing your own website or just curious about what your web team actually does behind the scenes, we've got you covered with practical tips and real-world insights. WHAT WE COVER Uptime Monitoring - We start with the absolute basics. Set up monitoring to ping your site every few minutes and alert you if anything goes down. We recommend Better Stack [https://betterstack.com/uptime] (10 monitors free) or Uptime Robot [https://uptimerobot.com/] (50 monitors free). Don't forget SSL and domain expiration monitoring too! Backups (The More, The Better!) - Never rely on just your host's backups. We recommend at least two backup methods, ideally three or more. Make sure your backups are stored off-site - you don't want all your eggs in one basket if your host implodes. Broken Link Checking - Nobody likes hitting a 404 page, and Google doesn't either. Regular checks of your internal and external links keep both users and search engines happy. Software Updates - The golden rule of security: keep everything updated. We chat about using staging environments, checking changelogs, and why major version updates need extra caution. Vulnerability Checks - Stay ahead of security threats with systems that compare your plugins against vulnerability databases. We mention Patchstack's [https://patchstack.com/] clever "virtual patching" feature. Form Testing - Simple but crucial. Test your forms regularly because there's nothing worse than missing leads due to a broken contact form. Google Search Console Monitoring - Set it up and monitor those notifications. Most are noise, but that 1% of genuine issues can be goldmines for fixing ranking problems. Visual Checks - Nothing beats good old-fashioned human eyeballs. Jump on your site in incognito mode every few days to make sure everything looks and works as it should. THE BOTTOM LINE If you're feeling overwhelmed by all this (and fair dinkum, it is a lot!), remember that many web agencies handle all these maintenance tasks for you (check out our website hosting and support plan [https://thedigitalbrew.com.au/web-hosting-support/]!). Sometimes it's worth investing in professional help so you can focus on running your business. Got questions about website maintenance? Drop us a line [https://thedigitalbrew.com.au/contact/] - we'd love to help! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

#21 - Why you shouldn't get too creative with your website (UX)

Hello and welcome back to The Digital Brew Podcast! In this episode, we dive into why getting too fancy with your website's user experience can actually hurt your business more than help it. WHAT WE MEAN BY "TOO FANCY" We're talking about websites that break away from what users expect - unusual navigation placement, strange scrolling behaviour, creative image and video usage that leaves visitors thinking "that looks cool, but how do I actually use this thing?" OUR BIGGEST UX PET PEEVES HIJACKED SCROLLING Two main culprits here that drive us absolutely mental: * Forced smooth scroll - when your page swooshes down instead of moving normally * Snapping sections - where one scroll wheel movement jumps you to an entirely different section, often before you've finished reading OVERUSED ANIMATIONS We're not anti-animation, but not every element needs an entrance animation! Use them sparingly and tastefully, and always respect users' reduced motion preferences for accessibility. POINTLESS LOADING SCREENS Unless you're showcasing a massive portfolio with tens of megabytes of content, there's no excuse for a loading screen on a business website. If your site loads that slowly, fix the performance issues instead of slapping a preloader on top. AUTOPLAY EVERYTHING Just don't. No autoplay video, no autoplay audio, and definitely no background music (especially if users can't pause it). It's not the MySpace days anymore! THE COMMON THREAD All these issues share one problem - they take control away from users. When people feel uncomfortable or confused on your website, they're more likely to leave. OUR ADVICE Keep it simple and within standard expectations. Menu and logo at the top, easy-to-scan headings, plenty of breathing space, and straightforward navigation. You don't have to make it ugly - just make it normal and user-friendly. Remember: function first, creativity second. Always ask yourself if your fancy ideas will negatively impact what you're trying to achieve with your website. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.