“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” G.K. Chesterton
If you grew up hearing grown-ups say, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well,” then the above statement must seem like heresy.
But think about it. We do things badly all the time, and the reason we do so is because they are truly worth doing.
For example, you’re hungry. Really, really, about-to-faint hungry. Sure you should sit down and have a healthy meal; but, besides being about to faint, you need to pick up the kids. So you grab a granola bar or a Snickers. Why? Because your body needs fuel immediately, and you need to be somewhere. It’s truly worth it to eat poorly.
Or imagine your co-worker cuts himself in an accident. He’s bleeding profusely. Do you think, “I don’t have sterile bandages, nor am I trained medic. I can’t do it well, so I’m not going to do it.” Of course not, you take off your jacket and you stanch the bleeding. It was worth it to do badly.
I was in a museum, once, looking at pictures of the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It was interesting to see numerous makeshift stands where people were selling food and other necessities. These entrepreneurs didn’t hold back because they couldn’t build a proper store. Many of them probably became very successful retailers with what started as a “badly setup shop.”
So what does this have to do with websites, social media, and Internet marketing?
Well, sometimes I hear experts telling people you have to do everything right. Your Internet marketing all has to be strategized, synchronized perfectly, every single metric measured, blah, blah, blah. And they always have a very high monthly fee tied to it.
When someone like that approaches you, just tell them to chill.
Easy Furniture Web Tip #138: The Internet is the New World. There is still a lot of unchartered territory. Feel free to explore and try stuff out. Internet marketing is really worth doing. Even if you do it badly!
Katherine Andes specializes in copywriting for SEO and web content development — including page customization for storefront and franchise web sites. You can phone her at 559.589.0379 or email at Kathy@AndesAndAssociates.com.