You’re starting a freelance writing, virtual assistant or [fill in the blank] services business and you know you need to blog, but what should you write about?

Should you write about your craft? Or should you start a blog around something else and slap up a hire me page?

Honestly, both can work.

But I think the latter is more enjoyable for you. And there’s a way to still incorporate what it is you do/offer on a more “personal” blog.

Today I’m going to share with you three reasons why I think starting a blog geared towards topics you’re passionate about makes more sense than trying to blog about your services business.

Ready? Awesome, let’s dig in!

 There’s only so much to say on any given topic.

So let’s say you’re a new virtual assistant.

• How many posts can you write about why someone should hire a virtual assistant?
• Or case studies on how you’ve helped other business owners?
• Or whatever services you offer?
• Or everyone’s default, productivity.

Are these topics important? Yep.

Helpful? Yep.

But my guess is while you enjoy offering these services in return for pay, you probably don’t enjoy writing about them. Over and over again.

You can, however interweave a certain number of posts throughout your regular content to:

1. Remind your audience what it is you do and that you’re for hire.
2. Try to get ranked by Google for certain keywords related to the services you offer.
3. Share with your audience how you make money online.

Now, it’s really going to depend on what your main blog theme is on whether writing about your VA (or other services) biz is relevant. Don’t worry – if it’s not super relevant, you don’t need to draw extra attention to these posts via a newsletter or your blog’s social media handles.

Heck, I’m pretty sure (Daryn?) there’s a way to “hide” these posts from your blog’s feed, but still have them discoverable on the internet and be able to hyperlink to them via your hire me page.

2. You’ll write more consistently on topics that you’re passionate about.

So now that you understand that writing about your services business isn’t the only option when it comes to starting a blog, it’s time to figure out what subject you do want to write about.

Take a few minutes to brain dump a list of topics that you could talk, read or research ALL DAY LONG.

• What are your hobbies?
• What can’t your family get you to shut up about?
• If you had a free afternoon, what would you spend your time doing?

Once you have a list of potential ideas, rank it in order of your passion level. Then it’s time to flesh out what your main theme is, your sub-topics, etc.

My friend Ruth has a great blog structure blueprint that can help with this BTW.

Consistency is KEY when starting and growing a blog. You can’t post whenever you feel like it and expect to grow a following. It really doesn’t work that way.

Does that mean you have to post everyday like many bloggers did back in the day? Nope, not AT ALL!

If you’re time starved, commit to writing/publishing a new blog post once every other week. So two blog posts per month. That’s doable, right?

Blogging is TOTALLY a quality game these days. The days of super short, keyword stuffed content are in the past. These days, Google wants to see you nurture your audience by giving them strong, relevant content that meets the needs of their initial search inquiry.

And again, if you’re writing about subjects you’re passionate about, it’s easy to be consistent in your publishing efforts.

3. It’s easier to promote yourself.

As a new freelancer, it takes courage to all out promote yourself.

You likely feel inexperienced, insecure and a bit like a fraud as you initially start building your business. It’s okay – we all felt that way once upon a time.

But odds are, you don’t feel that way about your passion topics. Because these are things you do have a fair amount of experience in. These are things you’re already talking to your friends and family about.

So if you start a blog around your passion topics, it’s much easier then to indirectly promote yourself. You can do this by:

1. Adding a hire me page to your menu bar.
2. Adding a banner ad with your headshot and some clever CTA to learn more about the services you offer to your sidebar.
3. Adding text on your about page in regards to what you do for a living (hyperlinking your hire me page).
4. Sprinkling testimonials from satisfied clients throughout your website.

In essence, you’re promoting your blog. And your blog is about a topic you’re super passionate about. It also happens to house promotional materials for the services that you offer.

See where I’m going with this?

In Conclusion

While it “makes sense” to think about starting a blog around the services that you offer, it’s not the only way to go about blogging or marketing your business via a blog/website.

This may seem hypocritical since I blog about freelancing topics, but starting and growing a business is actually what I’m passionate about. I never really wrote to potential clients as a writer/VA, rather my audience was always my peers or people that were just getting started in online business somehow.

So if I were starting a brand new VA, writing or [fill in the blank] services business, I wouldn’t write about that topic alone. I would instead start a blog around a topic I was super interested in or passionate about and then sprinkle in some content from time-to-time around what I did for a living or stuff that was more “client facing.”

I would maximize my website in an effort to promote my services business, however. I’d make sure to have a kickass hire me page, banner ad promoting my services, weave in what I do on my about page and sprinkle some testimonials from satisfied clients around the site too.

The biggest mistake you can make? Not having a website in the first place! Not only is a great way to “get found” and promote your new business, but it’s also a great way to grow an audience and build something that you might be able monetize down the road.

Don’t have a website and want one? Start a website for less than $100 today using our FREE tutorial.