Should your marketing be “good enough” or perfect?
There are two ways to do anything:
- The “done is better than perfect” way, or
- The “anything worth doing is worth doing right” way
And at different times, I advocate for either idea.
Sometimes, done really is better than perfect. Giving a last-minute gift to a loved one is better than giving nothing at all, for example.
But there are also times when doing something poorly is worse than doing nothing at all. Surprising your partner to dinner at McDonald’s for your 10th anniversary may not be the best idea (or maybe it is?).
When you put time and care into something, you tend to get better results in the long run. So, when it comes to your marketing, what is the perfect balance?
It’s reasons like this that there is no “one size fits all” advice you can take for every situation.
But with your marketing, I lean heavily towards the “put it out there and make it better as you go” way of thinking.
It’s so easy not to write that blog post, not to publish on social media, or not to send that email marketing campaign because you’re worried it will be bad.
Too many people are trapped by their fear disguised as perfectionism.
Doubt creeps in and they either don’t take any action at all, or they try to make it absolutely perfect, by which time it’s too late. Opportunities are lost forever.
My advice to you
If you’re not at full steam with your marketing yet, and uncertainty (disguised as perfectionism) is holding you back, then just ship it.
Send out your marketing and make it better over time.
When you force yourself to “just ship it”, your uncertainty will be replaced with experience and your fear will be replaced with confidence. Best of all, you’ll have momentum.
But if you have momentum already, and if skills, knowledge, and resources aren’t your issue, then yes, make it as good as it can be. Hire the right people. Make it excellent.
But don’t try to make it perfect, whatever you do. It’s a trap that will squash your momentum.
Momentum is what makes good marketing possible.
