Letting Go of the A+ Mindset

Hello Reader,

First things first, I wanted to highlight a few cool things my friends have been doing!

• My friend and former client Danbee Shin has launched an awesome new app for Kit (aka ConvertKit) users. It's the tool I've wanted to help understand my emails' performance better and I was delighted to beta test it. It's called Fetchbase and it's fabulous! She's just opening up sign ups for 100 users to start.
• Kayleigh Noele, a friend and former client, has just launched a new website template shop focused on specific industries. I think this is such a smart approach to templates, and I just had to share! Check it out here.​
• Finally, for all you web designers, my friend Christy Price is currently running a sale on her Web Designer's Playbook program and it's really outstanding. This is an affiliate link, but I'd share it even if it wasn't—Christy is meticulous in her attention to quality and detail.

Now onto the main newsletter event, so to speak...

I’ve been thinking a lot about why so many of us get stuck when it comes to marketing, and really, any of our “have to dos.” We’re great at what we do, and we want to show that excellence to the world.

But that desire for an A+ can become a trap. It's the belief that if you can't do everything perfectly, you shouldn't do it at all.

Sound familiar?

• "I can't start a podcast unless I have a full season planned and guests booked."
• "I can't launch that YouTube channel until I hire an amazing editor."
• "My newsletter needs to sound like it's from The Atlantic—no typos allowed!"

The list goes on. We want a perfect funnel, perfect branding, and perfect copy. We get so caught up in the details that we stop moving forward.

What if you just made a rough draft instead?

I've found that the best way to break this cycle is to embrace rough draft thinking. A rough draft isn’t just a quick sketch; it’s a complete first version of your work. It’s got a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s functional, even if it's not polished.

This year, I've made a commitment to myself to put more of my ideas out there in their imperfect, drafty state. And I want to encourage you to do the same.

For your marketing, this could look like:

• Sending a newsletter without spending hours on design. Is the message there? If yes, then hit send.
• Publishing that blog post that's "good enough." There’s always time to go back and add cool images and snappy headlines.
• Recording a video on your webcam and hitting "publish" before you overthink it. You’ll be so far ahead of most everyone else, a little rough around the edges does even matter.

Ready to let go of the A+ mindset?

Here's a gentle challenge for this week: Pick one marketing project you've been procrastinating on. Go ahead and give it the rough draft treatment.

Take the first step, get it out there, and see how good it feels to just be done.

Talk soon,

Sarah