The Good 'Nuff Theory: Why Perfectionism is Killing Your Marketing
- Jessica Schmitt
- Jan 20
- 4 min read
You've been working on that blog/article/thought piece for three weeks.
You've rewritten the opening four times. You're still not sure about the third paragraph. The conclusion feels weak. Maybe you should add another example? And what if there's a typo?
So it sits in your drafts folder. Unpublished. Unseen. Waiting to be perfect.
Meanwhile, your competitor just published their fifth piece of content this month. It's not perfect. But it's out there. And prospects are reading it.
The truth: Your desire for perfection is killing your marketing output.
WHERE "GOOD 'NUFF" CAME FROM
I spent a lot of my corporate career at firms where everything had to be perfect before it went external. Every word scrutinized. Every comma debated. Every piece reviewed by multiple stakeholders until it was polished to a shine.
And in those moments...nothing ever went out on time.
It wasn't until I had a manager who finally said to me: "Jess, it's never going to be perfect. You're going live on this date." Hard stop.
That was the first crack in my perfectionism.
The real breakthrough came earlier in my career when I was ghostwriting for a portfolio manager. He cared deeply about quality and accuracy — don't get me wrong. But he didn't fret over the small things.
Once I'd written for him enough and knew his voice and tone, I'd send him commentary for review. Often, his response was just two words:
"Good nuff."
Not "good enough." Good nuff.
At the time, I probably thought "Well, okay, I guess we're going with this." But way later in my professional career, when I was stuck perfecting something that needed to go out, his words would come back to me.
Good nuff, Jess. Time to move forward.
That became my mantra. And it's probably saved me hundreds of hours of unnecessary polishing.
So this isn't just theory. This is hard-won wisdom from years of watching perfectionism kill momentum, timeliness and results.
THE COST OF PERFECT
What are you actually losing while you're polishing that article to perfection?
Time: Three weeks on one blog post = zero blog posts published. Your competitor shipped five in that time and one of them landed a lead.
Momentum: The longer something sits, the more you overthink it. Perfectionism breeds paralysis.
Timeliness: That market commentary you're perfecting? The market moved. Your insight is now outdated.
Learning: You can't learn what resonates with your audience if you never publish anything. Imperfect content with feedback beats perfect content in your drafts folder.
Visibility: Content that doesn't exist can't be found. You're invisible while you're perfecting.
The firms winning at content marketing aren't the ones creating perfect pieces. They're the ones shipping consistently and learning as they go.
THE CASE FOR "GOOD 'NUFF"
"Good 'nuff" doesn't mean sloppy. It means:
Clear enough to communicate your point
Accurate enough to be credible
Polished enough to represent your brand
Done enough to actually publish (on your website, on your blog, on social)
Here's what I've learned after 20+ years in marketing: Nobody notices the imperfections you're agonizing over. They notice whether you showed up or not.
That sentence you rewrote six times? Readers won't notice. They'll notice whether your insight helped them or not.
The real question isn't "Is this perfect?" It's "Is this good enough to be useful?"
5 WAYS TO GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY
Set a Publish Date (and Actually Stick to It)
Perfectionism expands to fill available time. So don't give it infinite time.
Set a deadline: "This blog publishes on Friday at 2pm."
When Friday at 2pm hits, you publish. Even if you think it could be better. Even if you're not 100% sure about that transition.
Deadlines force decisions. Use them.
Use the 80% Rule
Get a Trusted Gut-Check (Not a Committee)
Don't ask 7 people for feedback. You'll get 7 different opinions and end up more confused.
Instead: Find 1-2 trusted colleagues who knows your audience.
Ask them: "Is this clear? Is it useful? Any glaring issues?"
If they say, "Yes, yes, no" → Publish it.
Not "How can I make this better?" Just "Is this good enough?"
Define "Good Enough" Upfront
Before you start, write down what "done" looks like:
✓ Makes one clear point
✓ Includes one example or data point
✓ Has a clear takeaway
✓ No typos or factual errors
✓ Passes compliance (if required)
When you hit these criteria, you're done. Stop editing.
Track What Happens When You Publish "Good 'Nuff"
Here's the secret: Most of your "good 'nuff" content will perform just as well as your "perfect" content.
Start tracking:
How long did this take to create?
How long did I spend perfecting vs. creating?
What was the engagement/result?
You'll probably find that the piece you agonized over for three weeks performed about the same as the one you published in three hours.
That's data telling you: Publish faster.
Important caveat: This isn't permission to skip your firm's review processes. If you need compliance approval, get it. If you have brand guidelines, follow them. But don't use "we need to review" as an excuse to endlessly polish.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Perfect is the enemy of done. And done is what builds your pipeline. Your prospects don't need perfect content. They need helpful content. Consistently. The firm that ships five "good enough" pieces beats the firm perfecting one piece every single time.
So here's your challenge:
Take something sitting in your drafts folder right now. The thing you've been "working on" for weeks. Apply the 80% rule. Get one gut-check. Set a publish date. Then hit publish.
It doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to exist.
Good 'nuff? Good 'nuff.
Stuck in an endless perfection vortex?
If you need help building a marketing strategy that prioritizes momentum over perfection, that's exactly what I do. Let's talk.
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