Why Done Really is Better Than Perfect – Especially When It Comes To Your Marketing

I used to delay getting anything done because I was waiting for some undefined moment of perfection.

I couldn’t send that email because I needed to test my subject line.

That video wasn’t ready to post because I didn’t have the right lighting.

I never sent my blogs out for article submissions because I felt like they just wouldn’t match up to other peoples’.

The problem with waiting for perfection, though, is that it never comes!

My idea of what “perfect” looks like is probably very different from my clients’ idea of perfection.

Perfectionism is a very elegant procrastination strategy. A really good excuse.

And the perfectionist trap means your work is “never ready,” which saves you from having to publish it and get rejected.

Sorry to burst the bubble, but the only way to grow is to get rejected so you can improve.

It’s not going to get any better rolling around inside your head.

There are three reasons that done really is better than perfect, especially when it comes to your marketing, and these are:

As my cousin says “perfection cannot be owned, only tasted” (wise man right there).

As soon as you get to your expected state of “perfection,” it’s out of date, the moment passes and you find yourself striving again.

The world is in constant movement and flow. Think of a sunset. Is there one perfect moment? If there is, it’s fleeting. And I bet if you ask 10 people you’ll get 10 different answers.

Instead, a sunset is made of millions of imperfect moments, that, all pulled together, make for a beautiful show.

That’s the way I want you to think about your marketing. A beautiful show of imperfect pieces, that on their own might not be quite right (and each of your clients will have a preference for one or another) but when it’s viewed as a whole, it’s just wonderful.

You have to fail to get the feedback to improve

“There is no failure, only feedback”

I’ve created so many things that have failed, it’s not funny. From my first launch of Authentic Marketing (zero sales), to a blog post that got no likes (ok, Phil and one of my clients liked it).

But from every single “failure” comes lessons.

I can use these lessons to learn what my audience prefers, which keywords ring a bell, and how better to communicate my message.

If I was scared of this failure, I would never start anything. Ok, yes, I would START lots of things, but I would never PUBLISH or finish any of them.

And that’s the worst thing. That’s the real failure.

Never trying.

You just don’t know what your clients are looking for. Yes, you’ve got an idea, but to really nail it, you’ve got to have a go.

And no, you can’t just ask them in surveys. Because what they *say* they want in a survey is very different to what they will actually spend their time and/or money on when it’s presented to them in their moment of need.

So the only true way to make your work “perfect” is to put it out there to your audience and see how they respond.

Then use the lessons to tweak and improve for next time.

It builds momentum to keep doing more stuff

Just like my blog posts where I follow the rule of “just write – don’t edit,” the momentum of finishing and publishing something is what builds the momentum to create more.

Instead of spending 2 weeks working on one blog post, or your lead magnet, or your website “about” page – just get it *done* in a day (or better yet, an hour!) and get it LIVE!

Then you can move on to create the next piece, and come back to your first project once you’ve got some feedback.

When I launched my first website, which I don’t even think is live anymore – Benchmark Business Coaching – I was so not happy with the home page.

In fact, since launching that first site (self-hosted, on Wix), I’ve gone through about 7 variations,  including paying someone to design it for me, moved to WordPress, and then I shelved that website completely and launched catholmes.net

And here’s the thing.

Most people would be going through those changes in the background of their site. Tweaking and perfecting and sitting on it until they felt it was good enough to launch.

Not me.

I launched with a really crappy website, and made all my changes as I went along, live.

And while that was happening, I still got enquiries from the contact form.

I still had people call me.

I still booked clients.

A half-completed but LIVE website is 1000 times better for your business than a perfect one that’s not even launched yet.

Get your marketing stuff working for you RIGHT NOW.

Which leads me to my final point:

Your clients aren’t waiting for perfection – they need you right now!

You have a gift that helps people.

You can solve a problem, in your own way, with your own experiences.

You have a unique ability to serve your chosen audience.

And they need you right now, just as you are.

They are not waiting for you to be “perfect” – they are waiting for you to be ready.

If you have something that can help people then you have a DUTY to start right now.

Your clients don’t care that the colours of your website don’t match, or that your font size is too big.

They need to hear from you. They want your story, your advice, your example to lead the way.

This is how I put so much out on social media.

This is how I’m going to push through my blog challenge (see this post here).

I don’t wait for it to be perfect. I barely even edit as I go along.

I just share what I know, in the way that I *think* it will help others.

And that’s why anyone who’s worked with me will know my catch phrase really is “done is better than perfect.”

It’s something that I live by, and something I encourage you to adopt as well.

Perfection is not the goal. Published is the goal.

Go for it!