Conor Flynn is a writer and blogger who specializes in helping new bloggers grow their audiences and business. You can find him at his website or give a shout out on Twitter.
Being a perfectionist is one of the biggest obstacles that many people face when trying to build anything. Whether it’s redesigning the layout of your front yard or starting your own blog or business being a perfectionist can slow you down immensely.
That nagging little voice in the back of your head that keeps saying something isn’t quite perfect yet. Just one more revision or one more person’s opinion before I hit publish...
Today I want you to realize that perfectionism is keeping your blog from growing and teach you how to move on and create the blog of your dreams.
We Learn By Doing
The biggest problem with being a perfectionist is that it stops us from learning and getting better at the skills we need to advance. As human beings we learn by doing. The best way to become a better writer is to write.
The best way to become better at engaging with people on social media is to, you guessed it, engage with people on social media.
The best way to become better at any skill or profession is to regularly practice it and put it out into the world to be viewed and judged. If we spend all of our time trying to learn more and perfect everything before completing it we’ll just end up doing nothing. We have to be prepared to make mistakes so that we can learn from them.
I want to tell you a harsh truth now.
You’re going to fail.
You’re going to fail multiple times,
But that’s not a bad thing at all.
In fact the most successful people in the world fail all the time. They actually fail far more often and far more spectacularly than almost anyone else. The difference is that they always get back up again. Instead of looking at failure as the end they instead look at it as a learning experience.
This is the most important part.
That small mindset shift makes all the difference.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Albert Einstein failed his math class.
Tim Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Workweek” was rejected by 26 out of 27 publishers.
J. K. Rowling was a single mother living off welfare when she wrote Harry Potter.
Fred Astaire was told after his first screen test that he couldn’t sing, couldn’t act, was balding, but could dance a little.
And the list goes on.
Most people would just call it a day after that and give up but they persevered to become remarkably accomplished people who had a huge impact on society and the world.
Now, does idea of failing really sound so bad anymore?
Heck, most of us would be happy with even 1% of the success that these people enjoyed. So if they could rise from the absolute bottom of their fields to the very peak of them I think we can probably do OK.
Be comfortable with making mistakes as long as you continue to learn from them.
The important thing is that you just keep moving forward.
Write that blog post.
Record and publish that video. Try to make friends with that other big shot blogger. Just make sure that you get it out there and keep working. Don’t let perfectionism and the fear of failure slow you down.
Paralysis By Analysis
The main problem which perfectionism causes is paralysis by analysis. You find yourself constantly analyzing everything to ensure that it’s perfect and as a result you end up stuck. Either that or you feel that there is so much to do that you become overwhelmed and end up just doing nothing. In blogging this manifests itself the most in two areas; content and promotion.
Let’s take a look at both of these and how to fix them to keep moving forward.
1) Content
Nowadays we’re bombarded by information on the internet which is always telling us we have to produce content in every form imaginable. We have to have a podcast, an active Youtube channel, constant epic blog posts, and of course infographics.
But the reality is that we can’t possibly produce all of this content or we’d never even have time to brush our teeth, let alone have any kind of a normal life as well. And I don’t know about you but I got into blogging and internet marketing to escape the daily grind, not make it even worse. That’s why, especially in the beginning, you have to just pick one medium of production that you’re really good at and stick to just that one.
If you enjoy writing you should on focus on creating great written posts that really help and entertain your readers.
If you like to be more social and interview people you could start a podcast and build a following that way.
If you’re good with video you could focus on that instead.
The main thing is that you’re focusing on what you do well.
If you spread yourself too thin you’ll just be producing subpar content that won’t benefit anyone; neither you or your audience.
Also, by focusing on one thing exclusively you’ll really have time to perfect your craft and grow as an artist in whatever medium you choose. Later on, as your blog grows and brings in more income, you can hire other talented people to fill in the gaps in your content production.
But until that day comes just focus on what you’re good at and leverage it to the max.
2) Promotion
Another thing that paralyzes people is how to promote their blog. There are literally hundreds of different ways to build an audience and because of this it’s easy to become overwhelmed and not know which way to go.
Feeling like you have to do all of them when in reality you only need one that you do well to start growing your blog and gaining followers. We can take a look at social media first. The important thing is to choose a platform that’s right for your business.
Don’t try to be on all of them all the time but instead build a following on one that you feel most comfortable with. If you have a visual niche you could focus on Pinterest. If you want to focus on promoting written content and networking with other bloggers you could focus on Twitter. If you’re interested in experimenting with paid traffic you could try Facebook.
Another great way to build your own tribe is through guest blogging. Jeff Goins managed to gain 100,000 e-mail subscribers over the course of 18 months through guest blogging. That’s a huge following and enough people to launch a full six-figure business from. If you enjoy writing then guest blogging could be the promotional strategy for you.
Youtube is another way to build your tribe. If you’re comfortable with a little editing and own a camera or smart phone you’re capable of setting up your own Youtube channel. It may seem that Youtube is already flooded with people but in truth it’s still much less competitive than search engines like Google.
If you enjoy putting together videos and are comfortable putting yourself out there for all the world to see then Youtube could be your best bet for promoting your blog.
It really doesn’t matter which method you choose as long as you just stick with one and don’t think that you have to have everything perfect before you get started.
