To blog, or what to blog? 50 ideas for creative businesses

Over the past several years blogging has evolved from personal journal to marketing platform, given the rise of social media. While platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook may come and go in popularity, a blog is home to all your platforms. A directory for your portfolio, podcasts, products, services, and information while creating additional online visibility.

Given that blogging is slower and more expensive than social media, the key is quality over quantity. Below is a list of 50 blog topics to inspire you to create original, authentic content for your client base, while building community. Whatever your creative business or niche, you will find inspiration for your blogging content.

Ok, here we go!

Image: Christina Lowry

1. Restate your brand vision. Your why.

2. Q&A - They ask, you answer. Comb through your client emails for your most commonly asked questions, or use social media to put a call out for client questions, then answer them in this post. Invite readers to leave further questions in the comments.

3. Create a library of free training – a one stop post for any tutorials, how to’s, lists of tips etc

4. Include client testimonials and photos of clients using your products – the more creative the better

5. Share behind the scenes of look books or photoshoots – shout out to the team, the location, relay stories from the day

6. Create a mosaic of your nine favourite images from Instagram with a call to action to follow you on Instagram

7. Share your successes – awards, features, published work, do a recap on your/ your businesses achievements

8. Travel diary – going away for the weekend, heading overseas on a holiday or buying trip? Create a travel diary with tips from your experience

9. Summer reads – books that fit your niche that they may not have heard of and will thank you for

10. Curated gift ideas – Create a collection of products from your range that would be perfect for a special occasion, like Mother’s Day. Or, inspire with a selection of local makers products for a Christmas wish list

11. ‘Meet the Maker’ interviews – take five with a crafter you employ or represent, interview a staff member

12. Recipes – whether your brand is food related or not, recipes often add a sense of connection

13. Seasons – from seasonal products, to imagery of the seasons, nature is always a great starting point

14. Tips or advice – your favourite apps, the best way to do something, how to get a job in your industry, share your knowledge

15. Behind the scenes – everyone loves to take a peek behind the exterior and see the details of how things are made

16. Insider’s guide – share the secretes of your niche, your hometown, styling etc.

17. A studio/ workshop/ shop/ office tour – allow the audience to connect with and be inspired by your spaces and what they say about you or your brand

18. How To – use a product, make something, fix something. People love to learn.

19. The making of – a step by step visual of how something is made

20. Sneak peeks – create excitement about an upcoming collection

21. For the love of – share beautiful images relating to your audience. For the love of linen, gardens, lipstick, stationary

22. Highlights from the previous year, season or market – create a round up of images and info

23. Launch details – whether it is a book, product, event, share share share

24. Half yearly check-up – open up on how you working towards your goals, or encourage others to make plans for the next half of the year

25. Summer bucket list – things to do this Summer

26. Brand history – what has changed, what has stayed the same. When and where did you start out and where are you now?

27. Personal or funny stories – what you wanted to be when you grew up, how you thought Tasmania wasn’t a part of Australia, how you got a nick name

28. Create a regular feature – you can create a monthly challenge, feature a maker each week, a weekly editorial, a collection of inspiring images and quotes

29. Future plans – what are your big dreams? What direction do you see the business going in? If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?

30. Write a list of your favourite accounts to follow on Instagram/ podcasts

31. Travel essentials – what do you pack when you go away overnight, overseas, with children?

32. A ‘day in the life' post – people are always fascinated by a day in the life of an entrepreneur or business owner.

33. Your routine – morning/night – do you wake at 5 am to do yoga and write your diary, or are you a night owl?

34. Share videos – video content is getting bigger and bigger. You can make a video out of most of the topics in this list.

35. Celebrate your businesses birthday – do a giveaway, celebrate your achievements, thank your customers

36. Your must-haves – what’s on your rider? Is it kombucha and lip balm? Coffee and a great bag? A certain pen, organiser or night cream?

37. Overcoming a creative funk – how do you find inspiration? What is your go to for self-care?

38. Explain one of your services – imagine a client came across your page for the first time and you were explaining what you do, or how a product works.

39. Your road to success – the path to overnight success is usually a long one.

40. Overcoming failure – think of a time when you used a failure to achieve a bigger goal, or to motivate you to do even better.

41. Things you won’t ever do – perhaps you won’t sell your originals, perhaps you will never buy caged eggs, we are as much what we do as what we don’t do.

42. Organisation hacks – do you batch production, are you a compulsive list keeper, are you terrible and being organised and have found ways to make it easier?

43. Create a roundup of your best content – save them from reading the whole blog and create a post that has the best of the best in one place.

44. Staying motivated – what keeps you motivated when business is slow, or you haven’t reached goal, or someone has copied you

45. Charity – do you support an organisation, do you fund raise, do you work with a company that pays living wages in third world countries?

46. How to style – a dress, a cushion, an office

47. Which _____ is the right one for you? This is great if you offer several similar products

48. Re-publish your email newsletter with a call to subscribe

49. Share something new – a product, team member, idea, business cards. People are attracted to new things.

50. Steps you have taking to have less environmental impact – recycled packaging, non-toxic dye, compostable mailers, timeless style.

Now, it’s time to get writing! Grab a cuppa and a notebook and brain storm some of the ideas on this list to create blog posts of value, with personality, that connect with your audience. Use you blog to inform, entertain and ultimately, give them the details that help them decide to work with you.

Working with a Business Mentor

Ever wondered what it’s like to work with a business mentor? We ask Jane Vandemeer, CWC treasurer and board member for her advice.

Jane Vandermeer is a creative & entrepreneurial thinker who doesn’t thrive under red tape or lots of rules. Having worked within the Fashion industry for 30 years, you can definitely say that fashion and small business is in her blood! Her strengths are to problem solve, particularly with a small budget, and to look into a small business to see what areas need help and guidance. Read Jane’s advice on working with a business mentor, and what you can get out of it.  

Part of my story

Not sure about you but I often found it challenging to cost up my garments. There was also the difficult task of promoting myself. Whether I was producing a range, making one-off pieces or providing a service (they were harder actually!), there was always the conundrum:

How do you price something when you are not sure how long it might take?

Perspective customers need a price or price range. So many times, I wanted the sale so I guessed the price, hoping that I was close to right. But it can be hard to remain competitive, cover your time, costs & make a profit!

Having a professional mentor can help

A professional mentor will look at your business from a different perspective. It is so hard to do that yourself when you are in the thick of small business.

Life gets in the way. It can be hard to keep yourself accountable. It is easy to push things to ‘next week’, particularly the things you don’t love doing.

One of the benefits is that having regular meetings with a mentor creates accountability and deadlines. It is one big way that can help propel your business forward, and significantly quicker.

Who is mentoring suited to?

• You are at the start up stage and not sure where to start. This includes important things like where to focus or spend money first.

• You have been in business for a while, feeling like you are working around the clock but can’t seem to get ahead and not sure why.

• You are looking at an exit plan but not sure how to do that

• You are passionate about so many things

• Those who are willing to take advise & learn

• Those who are brave to grow

• Many creatives’ are multi-dimensional but this can be overwhelming. Then comes paralysis…so you do nothing! A mentor can keep you going.

Tips when selecting your mentor

I often describe selecting a mentor as like selecting a councillor. Working one-on-one with a mentor is such a personal experience. If you are going to invest in a mentor, you need to connect and align with the right person.

A good place to start is to spend time at an initial meeting to ‘get a feel’ about a perspective mentor before diving in. If after the first meeting you don’t think you’re the right fit, that’s totally ok. Be upfront - they might also be able to recommend someone who is. 

Do you want your perspective mentor to be someone you admire?

Are they someone who has achieved or brings experience within the areas you need help & support?

Considerations for offerings/packages

In the initial meeting together, whether that is online, on the phone or in person, ask lots of questions. Make sure you are both clear on things like fees and what the mentoring service involves. 

Mentors might have different fee structures depending on the type of service you require. Here are some examples:

• An hourly rate. This is good for casual mentoring where something is project/problem based. 

• A program with a set number of modules. This type of structure gives perspective clients an idea of prices up front, so there are no surprises.

Some areas to consider:

• Appointment/meeting duration

• Frequency of meetings

• Does it include support such as emails, resources, phone calls outside of meetings?

• Are there certain days you can communicate?

• How is the payment system structured?

• Many do offer payment plans. This is often great for cash flow for small businesses.

Don’t be afraid to ask for clarity if you are not sure and get everything in writing. 

Expectations

It is good to set some expectations between yourself and your mentor too. Do you want someone to ‘teach you’ how to do various tasks/aspects of your business? Or do you want someone to ‘do it for you’?

Different mentors will have different approaches. For me, I have always come from the space of teaching & sharing knowledge, so that you are empowered to know, understand & grow. Everyone works in their particular way and there will be a mentor which will suit your style. 

Here is an example of what a mentor does…. 

A beautiful client of mine had been in business for over 5 years (so not a start up). She was working very hard yet not making enough at the end of each month.

After spending the time to understand her costs and sales. I discovered that she was only making 2% profit margin on many of her services!

We worked on a solution which gave her four options/strategies to increase profit within those existing services. The important thing was that they were all practical & easy to implement.

Her services were back up to 75-90% profit margin and best of all, it didn’t require that business owner to work any harder. 

A final note…

Different ideas can provide a different perspective to a business. Professional assistance can help set up ways to attract prospective clients who happily and joyfully pay for your beautiful and considered work!

Jane is the owner of Finesse Business and Style which provides services in business mentoring and styling. She is also the founder of Intuitive Whispers which provides intuitive products for the heart and soul.

How to plan a photoshoot

As a small ( or not so small ) business owner / creative there will perhaps come a time to consider hiring a professional photographer for a photoshoot. Whether it’s for a headshot / portrait, product photography for your website or social media, a market stall application, event photography, pitch to a magazine… but where do you begin?

There are many things to consider - including choosing the actual photographer, but first up is usually the budget - what can you afford? Perhaps you have the $’s to fly to the Maldives with a team of stylists, models and make-up artists - but realistically, most of us don’t!

Costs

After you’ve established your rough budget, most photographers will work in hourly or half day / full day rates. Their rates are usually dependant on their skill and experience, plus post production and editing time on your chosen images.

Communication with your chosen photographer is key - from the outset, know what you want and whether it is achievable in the time frame that meets your budget. Shooting 50 products in 2 locations in 1 hour is unlikely!

Licensing of images

There are usually licensing or usage costs per image - this will vary from photographer to photographer and the client. For example, the terms of usage for a big brand’s large scale advertising campaign would generally cost more than a small business product shoot. There may be usage limitations on the images, and a smaller usage will often equate to a smaller fee. Some examples of usage are:

• Usage for social media content only.

• Photography for use in a packaging / element of a new product or that will be a product for resale.

• Photography of your business / product for your website and branding.

Some photographers may also set a time frame limitations in licensing. One example is that you might have usage of those images for 12 months, then they will be available for you to re-license for an additional time and fee. Or they will give you total rights to those images for 6-12 months and then after that the photographer may license the images to another company or magazine.

How to find a photographer

Unless you have a good friend or a family member that is a professional photographer, it can be difficult to know where to start. Word of mouth is usually the easiest way - ask around your network. There are also many creative networking groups online where you can post a job and then go through the photographers profile/ website. Another good way is to look on social media at other brands/ imagery that you like and see who they have used. Many will include a photographer’s credit on a shoot. 

Questions to ask/ things to think about prior to booking a shoot

Location: Where will the photo shoot take place? Is it in your own home/ office/ studio? Does the photographer work from their own studio? Will your shoot be on location, in a public space?

Some locations require permits for a photo shoot, with approval and payment prior to the shoot taking place. As an example, see Heide Museum which has requirements for using their site. With this in mind, is the location/ studio hire an additional cost to add into your budget ? Is the location out of town, and will it incur an additional photographer’s travel fee?

Props: Will you be sourcing the props / backdrops yourself or will you be employing a stylist ? A photographer will often have an existing supply of props or backdrops, however there may be a need for prop hire for flowers, food, additional products, plinths etc. Who will supply what ? Can you borrow items from friends ? Many retail shops will also hire furniture and props for a fee.

Create a brief: What exactly are you after ? Try to include any image examples/ sketches /mood board /colour /vibe etc. Pinterest is a great tool for this. Here’s an example of a food mood board I created recently.

Set a time frame: Do you require the images under a tight deadline? Most photographers will have a 1-2 week turnaround on post production of images, if not longer. If you need images ASAP, there may be an additional fee.

Know what you want, so that you can communicate your needs to your photographer, then they can provide a quote.

Here’s an example…

I was approached via email to shoot a product range of 5 new artwork prints, with the possibility of photographing the existing range if time permitted. I met in person with the business owner of Gussy - Simone (who agreed to me including this shoot here) to discuss further and to provide a quote. 

Considerations were her budget, the time required for the shoot - we agreed upon a half day / 4 hour shoot. The chosen location was her home interior, utilising 6 different rooms. Each artwork required individual styling, using props from her home, my collection or borrowed from friends. So additional costs were minimal. We set ourselves the target of photographing her entire range of 18 prints in 4 hours, prioritising the new edition prints. We discussed that the images were for her website and social media/ promotion.

We created a Pinterest board and Simone organised a shot list, including which artworks would hang where within her home and with what props to suit each artwork, so time was not wasted on the day. 

Here are some of the images from the shoot:

One thing to also consider with image usage is that we shoot in either and landscape or portrait mode, however posting to Instagram or your website design may be square - so images will need to be cropped. Remember to discuss this as an option in your usage/ editing or composition at the shoot. Also websites such as Shopify have their own file specifications / colour management. 

Find a Photographer you can work and communicate with, ask questions - it may seem daunting, but most of us are nice!!!

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Based in Melbourne, Australia, Natalie Jeffcott is a professional freelance photographer - specialising in editorial, interiors, small business lifestyle and product photography.

All images by Natalie Jeffcott.

http://www.nataliejeffcott.com/

How to prioritise when you're a solo business owner

When you’re a solo business owner you’re a one-man-band playing the drums, guitar, keyboard and singing all at once. It’s hard to keep the juggling act in the air and know where to start on your long list of competing tasks.

I always find knowing what to prioritise is the hardest thing about working for myself. But I’ve picked up some tips over the years that help sort out the ‘ticked that off my to-do list’ feeling, as opposed to ‘I went down the rabbit hole on admin’ or ‘got completely bamboozled and decided to look at Instagram instead’. Yep, it happens to all of us.

So instead of feeling the guilts, try out these 5 tips and you’ll get to tick things off, as well as do those fun, yet highly distracting, sneak peeks at Instagram. 

1. Write a list

I’m a massive nerd when it comes to lists (or maybe that’s all the time!) I love getting it all down on paper and out of my head. In fact, I’ve been writing myself a daily to-do list each day of my work week for a very long time. There’s nothing more satisfying that crossing out what I’ve achieved that day. I don’t even stress myself out if something just moves from one day to the next, as I’ll know that wasn’t a real priority to get done that day and it will be a key priority for the next day. 

So if you write your to-do list, you’ll then instantly be able to see what the priorities really are and what doesn’t need to be done right now. Take advantage and push out the stuff that’s not as important until later in the week. This will hopefully save you from the overwhelm feels and keep you focused on achieving stuff each day.

2. Break up your time.

Something that Madeleine Dore from Side Project Sessions has introduced into my routine that I find really works, is the breakup of focussed work for 45-minutes with a 15-minute break. Breaks are important, so that you can get up and move around and have a cuppa and a snack and then get back into more focused time. I find this keeps my brain fresh and focused for longer and really helps me kick goals on my to-do list.

You might like to use a segmented time approach and give yourself blocks of time with short breaks – whether 25-minutes working with a 5-minute break or 60-minutes working and 10-minute break – find your groove and stick to it. Giving your brain (and body) a rest and a stretch. Getting away from the computer is a must-do with your breaks.

3. Top 3 tasks

Only having 3 top tasks that you need to complete each day, takes a big load off your mind. This is a great thing about migoals notebooks as they have this integrated into each page and they give you lots of tips on how to get more done. Awesome.

I find that if I nominate only one task for each of my 45-minute concentrated work sessions, I get a whole lot done in half a day, rather than moving from one small, unimportant task to the next. That way if you get your top 3 things done in the morning and out of the way, you can spend your afternoon doing that thing you really want to do. Laptop window shopping, anyone?

Or you can get even more nerdy and split your day into 3 x blocks of two hours where you focus on 3 long tasks to fill your day.

4. Breakdown larger projects

Sometimes I have large projects that can take months to work through. This is when I need to breakdown larger projects into tasks I need to do right now. So there’s nothing like a plan and a timeline to help you focus on what’s next and not stress about that thing that’s happening further down the track. 

I write on my to-do list the first few things, and only the next steps, that I need to do that day or week, so I don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of a project. All big things are made up of a lot of little, tiny tasks that can become not so big if you work through it in this way.

5. Remove yourself from distractions 

As much as I love my house of furry creatures, they are not the best co-workers and don’t really let me get things done. I find getting out of the house and going to a cafe or co-working space is the best use of my time and allows me to really focus on my task. I find the buzz of people and background noise really motivating, but you might like the silence of a library.

If you work from home too, find some other spaces that work for you where you can remove yourself from distractions – a park on a sunny day, the library when it's pouring outside or a cosy cafe where people bring you pots of tea (yeah, that’s me!).

Depending on how you like to work, finding somewhere out of the home, where you can talk to some humans, other adults and just generally feel the vibe of other people does wonders for productivity. Well for me anyway!

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Sarah Lawrey is the owner of Collectus Studio, a Melbourne-based branding and graphic design studio. Creating beautiful brands for nice people with purpose, helping her clients achieve their branding goals, both visible and invisible.