The famous Winston Churchill once spoke a great truth that can be easily applied in marketing, “Perfectionism is the enemy of progress.” There is no greater truth when it comes to creating content for social media, websites, and the like.
Many times, clients, and even ourselves (we admit it), get paralyzed while brainstorming content because we want everything to be perfect. Perfectionism isn’t inherently bad, but it can slow down the content creation process and sometimes bring it to a halt. So, better finished than perfect, as some would say.
If the perfectionism syndrome has crept into your content creation process, you might notice it in the following examples:
- During a brainstorming meeting with colleagues when you discard a perfectly good idea because you think it can and must be better,
- When you fine-tune the pixels in a social media post even though they are already clear enough,
- When you hesitate to try new trends and experiments like everyone else because you’re afraid it won’t be good enough or you won’t know how.
These situations are familiar to us because we’ve experienced them many times. And while we all know that perfectionism can be our biggest enemy and saboteur, we never thought much about how to combat it. Until now. So, here are our 3 ways to fight perfectionism.
But first…
Why is it important for creatives to let go of perfectionism?
For creatives, such as designers, marketers, or writers, adopting the “done is better than perfect” mentality isn’t easy. Moreover, they’ve become accustomed to it over the years of working on demanding campaigns and collaborating with demanding clients.
However, if creatives want to be successful, they still need to be fast and adapt to a constantly changing market. Additionally, if they want to stay on top, a large number of attempts to create something need to be better than just one. Balance is key, so it’s essential to learn how to conserve creative energy effectively.
3 Tips for Creating Content Free from Perfectionism
Perfectionism is essentially just deeply rooted fear. This fear clouds our vision, keeps us away from new trends, and keeps us stagnant. So how do we tackle entrenched perfectionism and prevent it from taking control? Below are our tips on this topic.
1. Set Clear Goals and Always Measure Performance
Perfectionism often leads to self-doubt, but with clear and measurable goals, you can assess performance and adjust your LinkedIn content strategy for example. Start by setting clear, realistic, and achievable goals. This way, when you create monthly posting plans, you’ll always have something to refer back to and tailor your posts to the goals you set.
You should always be moving towards those goals, not getting bogged down in current details. If larger goals need to be broken down into smaller tasks, do so. The focus should still be on elements contributing to the overall success of the strategy or campaign.
Smaller tasks and achievable goals reduce pressure and lead to easier overall success without the burden of perfectionism. To truly understand that everything is going in the right direction, monitor the metrics and what they tell you.
2. Set Time Limits for Tasks You Perform
You can spend hours, days, or even weeks brainstorming the perfect content. However, it often seems that you spend more time procrastinating than actually working because perfectionism hinders you.
Yes, the idea can always be better. Yes, the copy can always sound better. But there comes a moment when you have to realize that you’re investing too much time in one post for what you’ll get out of it. It’s crucial to understand where and how you’re spending time and how to improve this segment.
This may mean limiting the time you spend brainstorming an idea, the number of people involved, or reducing the number of revisions you make. The target audience needs to receive the message on time, so the moment is much more important than the details.
3. Incorporate Other Opinions into the Process
Sometimes, it’s not easy when you’re working alone, and all the pressure is on you. The best is expected of you, and not everyone (no one is) is always at the peak of inspiration. That’s why it often happens that we pressure ourselves to achieve the best results and carry all that burden alone.
However, successful marketing means collaboration and fresh perspectives. It’s essential to have experts alongside your brand who know the direction it should take and what kind of content to deliver. Titan knows this, and our brand experts can assist you in this. Contact us if you think you need help with brand strategy.
But above all, keep learning constantly
These were our 3 tips to help you overcome perfectionism and achieve the best results. However, one of the best ways to improve your content is continuous learning and keeping up with trends.
You can do this through our blog, which brings you articles from various fields: from brand building to graphic design, and even news from digital marketing. If you’ve read a helpful article here, be sure to share it with your colleagues and friends. Also, don’t miss our guide on creating high-quality viral content, which will undoubtedly help you create posts that everyone will love and become popular.
