You are dammed if you do…
And equally dammed if you don't... Or so the saying goes. You've created a product, written an eBook, and even finalized your blog post… BUT, you are not happy with it... and never will be more to the point.
Photo by Daniel Smyth on Unsplash
It's not that you are a perfectionist, it's just that you have standards and the work you've just finished "…could be a little better". Unfortunately, perfection does delay production.
Changing the word order, adding and then removing another sentence... for clarity? Is nothing but a delay.
So publish and be dammed...
So publish and be dammed - there I said it - and done it. It's not as hard as you think. You can always revise it once people have commented. Fear not - most people are understanding and they may point out an error - or simply wish you to debate. Grasp all comments with both hands - as these comments are the basis of your revisions.
What's the worst that can happen?
What's the worst that can happen? Your creation does not sell, receives a muted response or sells like hot cakes? More typically you'll get a steady and grateful response.
You see, as long as the product is 90% complete and as long as there are no glaring holes or omissions then most people will acknowledge the worth of your efforts in relationship to the expected price point.
There is something strange inside all of us...
There is something strange inside all of us that pushes us to perfection. Is it the fear of peer judgement or just a sense of doing it right? Whatever our mental position, we all strive to create a product that is perfect, but we can’t. Well not on our own, in isolation. Perfection is difficult even with a team of superstars. We all miss something - which is great - because that means we are all human.
Perfection paralysis leads to...
Perfection paralysis leads to most people never finishing their products. One solution to this may be to use an internet marketing tuition course, along with one of our relevant Aide Memoires, perhaps even blaze through one of our archived eMagazines allowing you to pitch where "acceptable perfection" really is, and should be.
Learn how to get your first product out there without worrying about making it perfect. This will free up your time so you can make more money with less stress!
Don't beat yourself up...
Don't beat yourself up - This problem is not only confined to the average marketer but is widespread throughout the world's population of anyone who has created something. It may be an artist, poet, author or even an economics forecaster. The only group of people who this may not apply to is children.
For some reason, children are immune...
For some reason, children are immune to this self-criticism as all they wish to do is create - whatever - and receive the adulation of their mom's (especially) - and their dad's (naturally).
Spend 95% of your time on Sales and Marketing
Did you know that most new entrepreneurs spend way too much time trying to get everything perfect even before they launch their product? We are all guilty of this - but the golden rule is to spend 10% of your time (and energies) on product creation, and 95% of you time on Sales and marketing.
(Yes - I know it doesn't add up - but you may spend a little more time than 5% of your time on product creation - BUT - you must spend 95% of your time on Sales and Marketing)
A Conclusion (there are many possibilities)
So what do you do? Well, if you are a perfectionist and it's been delaying your work to the point that production is stalled indefinitely, then make peace with imperfection.
Accepting "good enough" for now will save time in the long run. You may even find that once this mindset shift has occurred, your standards have actually decreased because of all of the saved time not spent on revisions!
If you're looking for an alternative solution, consider outsourcing some or all of these tasks so that they can be completed by someone else who doesn't mind working within those constraints.
What strategies have worked well for improving quality while still keeping deadlines realistic?
An abstract blog post...
We added this blog post to broaden our reach with regard to all aspects of internet marketing and digital marketing.
We have a growing curated resource of Internet Marketing focussed video tutorials, audio interviews for your listening pleasure, emagazines that you can browse and even study through, or simply be guided by one of our many Aide Memoires then select navigate to our membership page and select the subscription you'd prefer.
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