50 writing prompts for service-based creative businesses

When someone commissions a creative service, it’s often for something important to them. Whether photography for their wedding, the interior design of their home or a new website for their business, your client isn’t just looking for someone who can deliver great results; they need someone they can trust with something that means a great deal to them. It doesn’t tend to be an impulse buy.

When I’m personally in research mode, I often look to see if a potential service provider has a blog or other kind of content to check out. I wouldn’t rule someone out for not tweeting or anything like that, but it can definitely help sway me in the other direction. It’s reassuring to see a real person behind a brand, and content can give you a good sense of a person’s knowledge and vibe.

And of course, it can also help to attract potential clients in the first place. With the right strategy and soul behind it, it can captivate clients-to-be and establish the trust that leads to a booking.

So what does this look like in practice? Here, I’m sharing five areas worth exploring when creating a content plan for your service-based creative business, along with 10 writing prompts for each one:

Helping clients understand what they need and what you do

1. What should people consider or what questions should they ask themselves before they invest in a service like yours?

2. When is the right time to [redesign your website; invest in branding; book your wedding photographer, etc]?

3. What is [copywriting; branding; graphic design; coaching, etc] and why does it matter?

4. How do you find a great [wedding photographer; interior designer; health coach]? What key things should we look out for and what are some potential red flags?

5. What things do you wish people knew/understood before you start working together?

6. How can people best prepare for working with you to get the most out of your time together?

7. What are your frequently asked questions about your process?

8. Explain the differences between two disciplines that are frequently confused in your field to help potential clients understand exactly what they need and how you can help them (eg web design and development; coaching and consulting, etc).

9. Take us through your client process so potential clients understand what to expect, and explain why you’ve made some of the decisions / how it helps you to do a great job every time.

10. What is a common misconception about your work or field?

Sharing your expertise and solving potential clients’ problems

1. Create a 60-second guide to something related to your expertise that would be helpful for the type of clients you are looking to serve (eg, how to resize an image in Photoshop; how to style a coffee table).

2. What are your frequently asked questions about your subject matter expertise?

3. Create a more detailed tutorial or beginner’s guide to walk people through how to solve a simple problem for themselves, related to your expertise.

4. What are the foundational principles of good [copywriting; portrait photography; business coaching; website design]?

5. Share tips or solve problems in other areas of your ideal customers’ lives that are relevant to the product or service you provide or the overall impact/solution they’re looking for (eg if you’re a web designer, you could share tips on how to attract customers to a website).

6. Create a helpful free resource that shares and demonstrates your expertise to offer to your email subscribers, such as a challenge, e-book or mini course.

7. Share some recommended resources (books, podcasts, apps, etc) that will help potential clients with the ultimate goal your service will help them achieve (eg creating an effective website, creating a peaceful home, building a remarkable brand).

8. Deconstruct a famous/great example of exceptional graphic design/portrait photography/copywriting etc and share some insights on why it works.

9. Search for topics related to your expertise on Quora/Google and see what questions people are asking that you could address through your content.

10. Share some of the standard do’s and don’ts for good design/writing/photography etc or examples of where these ‘rules’ have been broken with intention.

Sharing your ideas, values and what sets you apart

1. What principles guide you as a creative?

2. What would you like to change about your industry?

3. What are your USPs and what sets your business apart? How do you do things differently?

4. Any popular/commonplace things you do not do in your work/business and why not?

5. What mindset shifts have helped you evolve as a creative business owner?

6. What are your predictions for how your industry will evolve in the year ahead?

7. Share your philosophy or manifesto for the values that drive your work.

8. Analyse or predict the trends that will shape your industry in the near future.

9. What impact do you want to have with your creative work?

10. When it comes to your creative work, what won’t you compromise on?

Sharing your story and journey

1. Take us behind-the-scenes and document a day or week in your life.

2. What drives you to create? What is your vision or the bigger ‘why’ behind what you do?

3. Tell the story of how you got started and your journey so far.

4. Create a diary/series to document building your business.

5. How has your work or process evolved over time and why?

6. Ask me anything - invite your readers to ask you questions and share your answers.

7. What lessons have you learned about your work so far?

8. Share a moment, day or experience that changed or shaped the direction of your work.

9. What do you wish you had known when you first got started?

10. Share a weekly/monthly update on what you’ve been up to and your plans for the following week/month.

Showcasing your work and process

1. Share a case study of a client project or interview a client to tell the story of the work you did and the impact this has had.

2. Create a page for client testimonials or sprinkle these throughout your website and content.

3. How can people maintain/style/maximise the value of the service you provide after you have worked together? Feature examples of your work or client projects (with permission).

4. Create something new using your work, eg if you’re a wedding calligrapher, you could create a wedding planning checklist or printable ‘save the date’ card that features your work.

5. Create a time lapse of you working.

6. Share a sneak peek of an upcoming project (with your client’s permission).

7. Create or take part in a creative challenge to hone your craft and share the results on your website or social media (eg the 100 day project).

8. Take us through your creative process and give an insight into the thoughts, decisions and care that goes into the work you do.

9. What materials or suppliers do you use in your work and why?

10. If you work in the visual creative fields, how can you use your own images or create your own graphics to accompany your blog/social media posts?

A final note

Some of these prompts could fit into more than one of these categories, and that’s OK. Creativity doesn’t fit neatly into pre-defined boxes, and my intention with this post is not to encourage people to produce cookie cutter content. These are just five broad areas to keep in mind when planning your content strategy.

Also, while variety is often one of the foundations of a strong content plan, remember that you get to decide what sort of mix (if any) makes most sense for your business. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach and it’s all about experimenting to learn what works best for you, then adapting as you go. If there’s a post or topic that’s been covered a million times already, could you try approaching it from a new angle or doing something else? And don’t overlook the content you feel called to create, either. Sometimes the piece we feel most drawn to write is the one that someone most needs to hear.

Finally, keep in mind that ‘content’ can include all kinds of formats, from blog posts, podcasts, social media, emails, and videos, to the static pages on your website (‘Work with me’, ‘About’ etc), documents that improve your client process (Welcome pack, FAQs etc), and more. These ideas could be explored in all sorts of creative ways to craft a great experience for your clients and build your business.

Think about how you can do things differently, keep experimenting, and have fun with it. Good luck!

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