Your Content Doesn’t Have to be Perfect

Have you felt impostor syndrome when writing your blog posts?

“I’m not a good writer.”

“I don’t know SEO.”

“Is my audience even interested in this topic?”

“My last blog didn’t do well, so why would this one?”

These thoughts may very well be true.

Not everyone is a good writer.

Some people don’t know what SEO stands for, much less how it works.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what will resonate with your audience.

Not every blog will go viral.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t post your imperfect content.

Published is Better Than Forever in a Draft State

It’s amazing to me how many people have a stack of drafted blogs that they’ve never published. Some of my clients have dozens of blog posts marked as drafts in the backend of their websites that they’ve never published.

I literally beg them to book my blog update package so I can finish and publish them. Because it’s GOOD content!

Sure, the drafts might need a little clean-up, but they’re perfectly acceptable blogs to publish. They still answer readers’ questions and showcase their expertise.

But they’re holding back because it’s not 100% perfect.

Maybe it’s too short.

Or they have ideas for additional content.

Or they don’t have time to edit it.

Or they want to finish an SEO course first.

Or they forgot they even had a draft and just never published it.

An imperfect blog is better than no blog at all.

Content Can Always Be Updated Later

You can always go back and edit your posts when you have time. Blogging is not a “set it and forget it” strategy. You should be going back and updating old blog posts from time to time.

I build time into my schedule to edit and review my posts. There’s always something I can add or change! (I also do this for clients.)

Actually, updating posts later can actually improve SEO performance. Search engines prioritize content that reflects current information. Updating statistics, examples, links, images, or recommendations shows that the content is still relevant, which can help improve rankings for certain search queries.

Your Audience Doesn’t Notice Every Detail

You know how they say that most readers only skim content? They usually only read headers, bullet points, and bolded text because they stand out from the rest of the text. (So if you’re reading this right now, hiiii)

Most people are looking for an answer or useful information. If they get that, they’re usually happy. They aren’t going to be nitpicking your blogs.

They won’t notice if you forgot to include a screenshot or made a typo. Actually, I think people appreciate typos because they’re confident the content wasn’t written by AI. (Should I make a typo just to prove a point?!)

Consistency Matters More Than Perfection for SEO

Maybe you’re thinking that your blog content has to be perfect for SEO. Search engines would prefer you consistently publish valuable, authoritative content rather than the blog being “perfect”—whatever that means to search engines nowadays, who knows.

A library of helpful posts tends to perform better than a few “perfect” ones.

Good Types of Imperfect Content

Here are some good types of imperfect content you can confidently publish, even if they’re not completely polished. These formats often perform well because they focus on value, authenticity, and the quick sharing of ideas.

• Early ideas and thought leadership
• Personal experiences and lessons learned.
• BTS content
• Quick tips or short educational posts (not every post needs to be super long!)
• FAQs from real client questions
• Timely content

Remember, everything can be updated later. You can add or update opinions, experiences, or insights later.

When Should I NOT Publish Imperfect Content?

Posting imperfect content does sometimes hurt you, though, so I want to give you a few warnings.

You should edit your drafts before publishing if any of these apply to them:

• Contains inaccurate information
• Reflects poorly on your brand
• Requires a higher level of care (legal, medical, financial, safety, etc.)
• Doesn’t provide clear value
• The writing is difficult to understand

In those cases, it’s best to do some basic editing or research before publishing. While posting imperfect content in certain cases is okay, you don’t want it to work against you.

Post Your Imperfect Content!

My challenge for you this week is to post your draft content. Spend 20 minutes cleaning up a draft and publishing it.

You’re going to mess up, and your content will never be 100% perfect. Don’t let your perfectionism stop you from publishing new blogs. You will improve the more you accept your mistakes and learn from them.

It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be posted!

And if you have a million drafts that are basically done and want someone to wrap them up, I’m your person! Check out my blog update package and let’s get those drafts out to the world.

FAQs About Imperfect Content