Why imperfect content is still better than no content

A common creative block that I see that a lot of feminine entrepreneurs face is the tendency of waiting for things to be “perfect.” This can look like waiting for the perfect time to create, the perfect idea to hit, the perfect way to write when it comes to content creation.

Although this may seem like a strategic business plan (because you are only letting people only see what’s perfect and polished), what I’ve come to realize is that perfectionism stops flow. It stops the flow of more (and better) ideas from coming in, it stops the the flow of our intuitively-led actions, and therefore propelling forward within our businesses.

I’ve been a perfectionist myself, and in fact I even noticed her resurfacing earlier during this blogging process. Below is a snippet of her from a previous journal entry:

Earlier today I was publishing 20+ blog posts in bulk, most of which I wrote in the past few months. While some of them were okay, others felt somewhat cringy, perhaps too dramatic and over-explained. My inner critic was screaming “What were you even thinking when you were writing them?” Yet I faced my fears, took a big gulp, then hit…. publish.

And what I've learned is that every time I hit publish to a piece of content, even when I do not think it’s sooo good, so many shifts begin happening, within not just myself but also my business. And below are some of the reasons of why I think that’s the case:

Your imperfect content will serve clients more than no content

This first idea is inspired by a fav blogger of mine, Danielle from DefyCreative Co. She said “an imperfect blog will serve my business x1000 times more than no version of blog.”

I can’t agree more to that because even if a post does not go viral like we hope to, it still has a chance of helping one person who can turn into a client/customer.

And I believe that when we do land a client, that client is also more likely to be a better fit client because they resonate with your teaching, even the kind you channel on the “not so good days.”

You gain more data & refine your intuition

Especially when we are in the beginning phases of our business, having lots of content to ‘test things out’ can be extremely helpful.

Because the more content we create, the more feedback and data we get . We get to see what lands with people and what doesn’t, and refine/sharpen our content as necessary. This is way better than being paralyzed by the “right strategy” to implement.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like “data” either (statistics is the least favorite subject of mine). And I know a lot of feminine beings would rather rely on our feelings than data because the latter feels demanding and overwhelming to look at.

But what I have come to realize is that data can help strengthen our intuition, when we use the data to back up the inner knowing we have already. As long as we don’t get bogged down by details and let it impede our creative flow, I believe analytics and data can help us refine the potency of our content.

You become more connected with your audience

These days, whenever you read something on the internet, it can feel like everyone is trying to craft a perfect pitch to sell you something.

With perfectly curated images, perfectly angled photos, and perfectly poised copywriting language.

But to me, that takes away the human connection. From the point of the audience, it feels superficial— honestly, even boring because every internet marketer is over perfecting themselves to get in sales.

And as a business owner, it can feel like you’re walking on eggshells when it comes to your expression because they fear people not buying from you if they see the real, imperfect you. It can feel like there is a barrier between your heart and your audience.

Which is why there is something way more magnetic and connecting in writing/creating content just as you are— without overquestioning, overfiltering, and overcurating.

In fact, I notice this within myself— when I am reading posts from bloggers who speaking in ways that are natural, unforced, and honest, I am way more likely interested in what they have to share/offer. But when I see posts that are only trying to sell with overly-curated highlight reels, I may click once out of curiosity, but without the human connection through realness/imperfection, I may not come back later.

You get to face your fears

Sometimes, (in fact often times) our fear of posting imperfect content can be coming from deeper fears– such as, fears of being rejected, disliked, devalued, unnoticed. 

Entrepreneurship will surface all those fears within us… no joke 

Which is why posting something that you don’t think is good enough can feel unthinkably intimidating and vulnerable. I know that fear because when I first got started, I would not post even one video on youtube for over a year, even though I had so many ideas because I was afraid of not being good enough

However, when we make the post/ publish the content, even it seems imperfect, we get to stand deeper in our power and our big, bold truths. You become more able to accept who you are, love all of who you are, regardless of how people perceive you. And that, to your people, is magnetic.

You find your own unique voice (magnetic essence)

As business owners, our voice is a siren that set ups apart from the sea of other creators to our soul-called audience. 

Our voice is what makes the right people drawn to our teachings, our insights, our stories– even if the same idea are already spoken by someone else 

However, in the world of social media, it is easy to not know what our voice is and not let our unique voice come through, because we are constantly reading/looking at what other people have created which makes us speak like them

And I understand, finding your unique voice is not easy. It is not something that someone else can tell you nor you can learn by watching others. I’m still in the process of finding my unique voice myself.

But what I’ve learned is that we find our voices way more clearly when we are creating, not consuming. We develop our unique style, a unique flair, a unique tone of voice when we are liberally writing/creating ourselves.

In fact, I’ve noticed that through writing 30+ blog posts on this site so far, my voice has vastly shifted and developed. And I wouldn’t have gotten there if I had been waiting for my perfect voice/ way of speaking to arrive. I had to channel first, and let the voice develop within me.

~

So to sum it all up, does it mean that you have to churn out less than quality content in favor of quantity? No, I think not. Rather, my message for you here is to find where your heart is leading you to— which for most of you, deep, soulful beings is likely to allow quantity.

Because quantity can help us find who we are— our voice, our shadows, our desires, our hearts, and our truths (and therein construct quality overtime). Through allowing an abundant quantity of creations to flow through us, we let those creations direct us business/ our soul paths.

However, the important piece here though is not to force quantity, for it is also a way of perfectionism and inacceptance of the natural creative flow. Instead, true prolific creativity is when we let our creative ideas simply come through us, without hurry yet without hesitating either.