Do It Ugly
Perfection Is Hurting Your Creative Business
It is a beautiful false fall day in Denver. I’m wearing a sweatshirt and it’s going to hit a high of 80 degrees later today. Tomorrow summer returns and we’ll be in the 90’s again. Whose kids have gone back to school? As we begin shifting out of summer mode today I thought I would share some food for thought in order to get our heads back into focus mode.
Last week’s Paid Subscriber Monthly Office Hours were awesome and I’m sending good vibes to Bri and Paulette who had some big things happening that they were working on.
Podcast Movement Denver
People have already begun to arrive in Denver for Podcast Movement and I’m so excited about next week. I have a TON of stuff that I need to get done between now and then so that I can be 100% present during the event. I’m sharing tips and best practices on my Twitter feed every day until next Monday. You can check out the thread here.
Announcements
The “How to Get Brand Partnership Workshop” that I hosted in June is available for purchase again from now until August 14-Friday, August 25, 2023. I haven’t decided if I will continue to sell it after August 25, 2023. If I do the price will go up.
In-Person workshop: $97 (Hosted on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 10:00 am MTN/12:00 pm EST-Ask me questions, etc.
Several years ago, I created a free resource called “Do It Ugly” I’d noticed that there were a number of incredible creators who were talking themselves out of the following:
Launching their first course
Running that workshop
Pitching to speak
Recording their first podcast episode (video or audio)
Hosting their first in-person or digital event
These folks were so in their heads about how pretty their product looked, asking for feedback that they were missing some key parts of creating products, goods and services.
Lesson #1-Things Will Change
The first version of your product will be different the current version of your product. Think about the first version of McDonald’s, Starbucks and any Apple product. They are all different now. This works the same with creative work. Your first ebook/book, guide, podcast or other item that you’ve designed will change over time.
Lesson #2-The Best Feedback Happens In Real-Time
What I mean by this is that once you’ve released whatever it is that you’re working on you’ll get feedback from the users of whatever you’ve designed. Your customers, community or fans will tell you:
If the graphics don’t work for them
What they love about the product
What they dislike about the product
What they wished was included in the product
How they learned about your product/good or service.
There is NO WAY you can perfect what you’re working on without user feedback in real-time.
Lesson #3 Perfection is the Enemy of Done
Last week I asked if you’ve ever wanted to write a book. Your book could be a creative work or non-fiction (I write both). This weekend I uploaded two books that I’ve been thinking about working on to a sales platform. One is a romance novel and the other is a non-fiction book (you’ll hear about that one sometime this week)
Here are some things that you should know about these books:
The covers were made on CANVA-I will be purchasing the romance cover (from an independent cover designer) once I find one that I really like. But, I wanted to get that project going ASAP.
I’m currently working on and writing both books now.
I will ask people for feedback on the book premises and what they would like to see in them.
YES, I am pre-selling those books-In fact, I started pre-selling those books before refining those projects because it can take awhile to build momentum behind pre-sales.
By moving a little faster than it feels like I should I eliminate the following:
Thinking too hard-Talking myself out of taking action
Self-doubt-Who am I to do whatever it is I’m doing.
The Analysis paralysis loop-Where I constantly research and double-check something instead of just trusting my gut.
We are often our worst enemies when it comes to designing and releasing products and services related to our online brands.
Lesson #4 Repetition=10,000 Hours
You’ve likely heard of the 10,000 of work to become an expert conversation. If that’s the case there’s NO POINT in waiting to release the projects that you’re working on. Those projects are the hours that you’re putting in to hit your 10,000 hours of focused work in an area of interest .
Perspective
Beyonce began her career when she was 9 years old
Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994
Mr. Beast (on YouTube) has almost 800 videos
Taylor Swift started singing professionally at age 14
Podcast Movement was first hosted in 2014
What you see from these people/businesses/experiences is not what they started with.
Lesson #5-People Will Buy What You’re Selling
Food for Thought from a Consumer
I wanted to share a different perspective. My personal perspective as a consumer of online creators goods and services.
I’ve purchased candles from creators online-I would do it again…even though it wasn’t a perfect experience.
Courses-I’ve learned a lot from other people because I don’t know everything LOL!
Frequently read romance books from independent writers-now my #1 resource of romance works. If it weren’t for those authors-I wouldn’t have access to the number of books that I do with a Black female main character.
Frequently read non-fiction books written by thoughtful creatives online. There are so many experts that might not get traditional book deals because of gatekeepers at publishing houses who might not value the content, messaging or understand the value of the work.
I’ve found that more often than not-these products are just as thoughtfully produced as “Traditionally” produced works. I will also buy because I “like” the creator and their brand mission.
Think about how you purchase-this is not unusual.
I hope this was helpful. We have 5 months left in this year and A LOT can happen during that time.
Michelle
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