The fear of criticism …
It can certainly discourage you from writing in the first place, and it also can disguise itself as perfectionism when you do attempt to create content for your business.
If you delay publishing your writing — while you try to improve your content before anyone else reads it — you are likely trying to avoid criticism.
The false belief associated with perfectionism is that if everything is “just right,” you’ll protect yourself from someone pointing out something you did wrong or something they don’t like (which is impossible to control).
The pivotal word in the sentence above is “false.” In the pursuit of perfection, you both perpetuate a false belief and prevent yourself from being as prolific of a writer as you could be.
So, how do noteworthy business blogs gain recognition for their remarkable writing without the perils of perfectionism?
Face your true challenge (it’s not criticism)
Let’s imagine a scenario where no one criticizes your writing.
It’s not that far-fetched of a concept because it happens on many blogs every single day … blogs no one reads.
The downside of a lack of criticism is that your blog probably doesn’t have a substantial number of readers yet or your content doesn’t meaningfully impact the people it does reach.
Criticism can be unpleasant, but it’s not the most harmful thing for your blog. Obscurity is.
The non-perfectionist knows …
When you create content that isn’t boring and forgettable, there will always be someone who doesn’t like what you do.
Keep creating anyway.
Embrace “good enough”
A lot of people say “there’s no such thing as ‘perfect.’”
Here’s how I like to elaborate on that idea:
When you’re passionate about your work, aiming for “perfect” may be necessary. But what you end up with is even better than “perfect” … because it’s a creation you’ve made that no one can take away from you.
You can care about quality and produce meaningful work without driving yourself crazy.
If you never publish anything because you’re worried about making it perfect, you never get to experience the benefits of having your writing available for others to read.
“Good enough” is not an excuse to publish sloppy or uninspired work, though.
It’s simply a marker that helps you assess when your content is ready to be published. With each new piece of content you create, you’ll have a chance to improve and fine-tune your style.
The non-perfectionist knows …
Prolific writers learn how to gauge when their final draft is “good enough.” Missteps or mistakes still might happen, despite your best efforts.
Keep creating anyway.
Build confidence
By now, we’re starting to get comfortable with inevitable things that will happen when you publish your writing:
- People will disagree with you.
- A typo will occasionally appear in your final draft, even though you proofread carefully.
- You’ll change your mind and cringe at something you wrote a year ago.
And as you continue to get comfortable with the uncomfortable aspects of publishing, you strengthen your resilience and build your confidence.
Confidence is vital for content marketers. It’s what enables you to stand for something that matters and attract prospects who identify with your brand.
The more you produce, the less afraid you are of mistakes. Your confidence takes their power away.
The non-perfectionist knows …
Each published piece of content might not be a masterpiece.
Keep creating anyway.
Befriend your blog
Professional business blogs set and meet publishing deadlines.
That’s a lot easier when you like the topics you write about and approach your blog as an outlet to help your community.
If you don’t have readers yet, help the people you want to help even if they don’t know who you are. That’s the only way they’ll eventually discover you.
You have to start even if you don’t feel ready and before anyone is paying attention to you.
Working on one idea always leads to additional ideas for future pieces of content — and new ways to solve problems.
The practice makes you a stronger writer and a better resource for the prospects you want to attract. There’s no substitute for consistent writing practice.
As a former perfectionist who wanted to avoid criticism, it took me a long time to learn that. I actually wrote my first ebook to avoid creating a blog on my business website.
I felt comfortable putting all my perfectionist energy into writing an ebook, because once it was finished, it was finished. A blog was open-ended, and I’d have to constantly put my perfectionist energy into it. It seemed nerve-racking and overwhelming.
But when I eventually made a commitment to my blog, it was a huge step in the right direction for my business. Blog posts resonated with my ideal clients — who previously had trouble telling me apart from other service providers.
Before my business website had a blog, it’s like I was hiding. My blog not only made me visible, it made me the only reasonable choice for many prospects.
The non-perfectionist knows …
Your best writing that connects with the right prospects emerges when you’re actually doing the work. Since you start to reveal more about your point of view, will the wrong people also decide that you’re not for them? Sure.
Keep creating anyway.
Don’t save your (best) ideas
If a good idea fits into a blogger’s strategy, why would they wait to publish a post about it?
It’s typically a desire to wait until they have a bigger audience. Avoid that attitude and remember that everyone starts by serving the audience they currently have (or, when you don’t have any readers yet, the audience you aim to attract to your business).
Follow through with your idea, rather than hold off until a seemingly more ideal time.
You’ll always have a chance to write about the topic again in the future — and with new insights.
Is your blog or a different website the best fit for your idea?
As you become your own content editor, you develop skills that help determine the best place for a piece of content. And if you have an opportunity to write a guest post for a site that has a larger audience than yours, you always want to submit your best work.
The non-perfectionist knows …
It’s smart to use ideas that fit into your content marketing strategy right away, even if you wish you were already a bigger influencer.
Keep creating anyway.
Spread your most outstanding work
When you use one of your best ideas and recognize the content is special, repurpose it in different formats to reach more people.
A blog post will attract readers, but your target audience might also search for videos on YouTube. A version of that blog post that leads viewers back to your website can be put on YouTube so more people can discover and connect with your story.
If you have an outstanding product or service, you should be proud of the content you create to market it.
The non-perfectionist knows …
Even though it may be your goal to build your audience, it can be scary to expose your work to more people.
Keep creating anyway.
Noteworthy bloggers overcome perfectionism
Content is your chance to creatively position information in a new way — a way that your prospects want to hear it.
Aren’t you more interested in finding the information you need from people you know, like, and trust? Those noteworthy bloggers write despite their perfectionist tendencies or fears of criticism.
So, keep creating the work that gets people to know, like, and trust you.
The post The Non-Perfectionist’s Guide to Noteworthy Blogging for Your Business appeared first on Copyblogger.
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