Following on from my post entitled, Eliminate the Fear, today I’d like to share my views on being a perfectionist.
All the gurus say create a free “giveaway” and build your list.
They also say, create your own products.
It’s no surprise, both are great pieces of advice.
To make a blog income, you need a list and to get a list you have to give something away.
To build your own credibility and also make some money from your blog, you want to create and sell your own product.
However, not many bloggers follow-up on one of these pieces of advice let alone both.
Why?
Fear!
Fear of getting something wrong.
Fear of rejection.
Fear of someone asking for a refund.
They create their product but they think it’s not good enough. They think it’s not worthy of selling. They think it won’t sell. They think those who do purchase it, will immediately want a refund.
So they keep tweaking. Keep changing. And never launch their product. They are the perfectionists.
I am certainly NOT saying just create a load of rubbish. That is not what I am saying.
You still need to produce a quality product you are proud of but it doesn’t have to be perfect.
I’m currently receiving feedback on my new product, The Income Blogging Guide. I’m really proud of it but I wanted others to see it and provide feedback. They are. It’s great. They see all the things I didn’t. I’m getting lots of positive and constructive feedback. Once I implement the changes from individuals, will the product be perfect?
No!
But it will be a really great product, I’m proud of.
So quit waiting to launch your next product or giveaway. It will never be perfect.
Being a perfectionist is just an excuse and you are allowing fear to control you.
If this post hits a nerve with you, take action today and get your product out there for all to see.
Are you a prefectionist? How have you overcome the fear? Talk about it in the comments below.
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Andrew,
Great post! I must admit I have two book projects that I’m trying to perfect. Both are collections of cartoons so don’t really need perfecting – they just need publishing!
As an online friend Mike Litman says: You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going!
Best wishes,
Richard
.-= Richard Duszczak´s last blog ..B.E.A.R!(Believe.Expect.Act.Receive.) =-.
I love the quote, Ricahrd. So tell me…your timescales for publishing your books?
Andrew
Nice thoughts here. I read elsewhere that “The big mistake is not to make a mistake.” Even a big company like Microsoft always sell products with errors and you can see they usually release patches and service packs. Likewise, we can’t make perfect products and we don’t need to fear.
.-= Phaoloo´s last blog ..12 Best Tools To Find And Manage Proxy Servers =-.
This is exactly what happened to me with my free traffic ebook. It took me months to get it finished and it was only because I kept wanting to tweak it just a little more. In the end, I took out a ton of content and simplified it – I think it worked as it made it a more valuable resource in the end.
.-= Paula from Affiliate Blog Online´s last blog ..The Biggest Mistake We Made Blogging =-.
Excellent post Andrew; I’ve done this with just about everything.
The Microsoft example in the first comment did make me chuckle. There’s one company that really should tweak a few more months on all projects. lol
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.
Dennis,
So are you changing…so you no longer do it?
Andrew
I’ll let you know later, I want to be sure my answer is just right…
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..I Want You To Review Me. Part 1 =-.
Yes your post hit a nerve, thank you very much! LOL 😉
I have a free product an eBook that I have written. I guess I just need to take the leap and put it out there. Thanks for the shove.
.-= Ms. Freeman´s last blog ..7 Ways To Be a Sinful Blogger =-.
MS. Freeman,
Come back and tell us when your free book is ready!
Andrew
Your “overcome fear” post is right down my leap of action alley :-] I find the pursuit of perfectionism to be a frequent symptom [of fear]. “Perfect” can be the lowest standard of all. When it’s perceived as impossible to achieve, then it’s nothing but an excuse to not even attempt.
I should know, for having long suffered from the perfect malady myself … lol.
– Beat “claiming the right to be wrong” Schindler
Beat
I come across so many people who have the ‘fear’ for ‘perfection’. Then end up never launching their product / service.
Andrew