Benefits of sending imperfect emails

Are you spending way too much time trying to make emails perfect? Same. I actually think I might be a perfectionist, like a lot of other marketers My attention to detail is so insane, but I also think it's a big weakness of mine But here’s what I’ve learnt (the hard way): Perfection is rarely the thing that gets you forward I’ve seen emails that: → looked incredible from the surface → were 'perfectly' built → signed off by multiple people …do absolutely nothing And I’ve seen emails that were: → a bit scrappy → not perfectly designed → probably had a typo in there somewhere …perform really well. Because people do not experience your email the way you do They are not: → analysing your spacing to the 1px → judging your font choices → noticing every tiny detail They are: → scanning → deciding if it’s relevant → moving on We can spend hours debating things that do not materially change the outcome, like whether to add an emoji or an exclamation point When I work with teams, I’m not trying to get them to: “make better looking emails” I’m trying to help them: → send to the right people → set the right expectations → build the right journeys → protect their deliverability Because if those things are right, a slightly imperfect email will still work And because the marketers and teams I work with have very little time, are doing WAY too much, are under-resourced and given crazy objectives to hit So my job is to help you make the most impact with the capabilities, resources and time you have This doesn’t mean small details don’t matter though, they do But there’s a difference between: → quality and → perfectionism Perfectionism is slowing things down So if you needed a sign to: → stop overthinking that one email → stop chasing “perfect” → and just get it out This is it because an email that aligns with intent, your audience, has the right exclusions, and strong messaging that might be a little rough around the edges will outperform everytime

I used to rewrite emails 12 times before hitting send. Then I realized I was optimizing for the wrong metric. Here's what changed everything: The day I stopped caring about perfect grammar: I sent a LinkedIn message with a typo to a potential business partner. Instead of ignoring it, they replied: "Finally, someone who sounds human." That "mistake" led to a huge collaboration. The truth nobody talks about: Your audience is drowning in polished, soulless content. They're craving authenticity, not perfection. What I discovered after tracking 1000+ interactions: 📊 Posts with minor imperfections: 34% higher engagement 📊 "Perfect" posts: Often ignored or forgotten 📊 Raw, unfiltered thoughts: Sparked the best conversations The perfection trap ruins more than just content: → You second-guess every decision → Opportunities pass while you're still "preparing" → Fear of judgment paralyzes action → Analysis replaces execution My breakthrough moment: Instead of asking "Is this perfect?" I started asking "Is this helpful?" Game changer. The 3-question filter I use now: -Does this solve a real problem? -Would I want to read this? -Am I adding value or just adding words? If yes to all three → Publish immediately. Here's what happens when you ship "imperfect" work: ✓ You get feedback that actually improves your next version ✓ Your audience sees the real you (they love it) ✓ You build momentum instead of building anxiety ✓ You create 10x more than your perfectionist competitors The counter-intuitive truth: The more "flawed" you allow yourself to be, the more influential you become. People don't follow perfection. They follow progress. What's one thing you've been overthinking that you could ship today? #ProgressOverPerfection #AuthenticLeadership #ContentCreation #PersonalGrowth #Productivity

PSA: doing things badly is (usually) better than doing nothing at all. Most of the progress I’ve made in my business didn’t come from big, highly organised efforts. It came from doing small, slightly clumsy things waaaay before I felt fully prepared. We tend to convince ourselves that meaningful work only “counts” when it looks polished or strategic, which is why so many people: - wait until they've researched 200 prospects before sending a single message - hold off posting on LinkedIn until they’ve mapped out a month of content - refuse to pitch until they’ve rewritten their email template ten times ...even though none of these self-imposed standards are actually required to create results. The reality is that connecting with three people today has a measurable impact, while the hypothetical “perfect outreach system” you’ll build ~someday~ has none. Publishing a single post gives you data, visibility, and feedback, while waiting for the right moment or the right calendar gives you... nothing. And sending an 80% refined pitch gives you a genuine chance of a reply, while sitting on the 100% polished version that never gets sent keeps you exactly where you are. When you look at how businesses actually grow, you’ll notice it’s usually the accumulation of many small, slightly imperfect actions. They're things that maybe took a few minutes or didn’t feel impressive. They're things you might even forget you did that ultimately create the opportunities people later describe as “breakthroughs.” In a lot of cases, perfectionism is simply a form of procrastination that blocks us from taking the smaller, more immediate steps. In other words: doing something “badly” is still doing ~something~, and ~something~ beats nothing.

If I could give one piece of advice to anyone struggling with outreach… Don’t obsess over the perfect message. Obsess over the consistency of sending them. Some of my best deals didn’t come from the most polished message. They came from the one I almost didn’t send. Why? Because action beats perfection. 10 imperfect messages > 0 perfect ones stuck in drafts 1 reply from the right person > 99 ignored pitches Consistency in outreach > waiting for the “magic formula” Keep reaching out. Keep showing up. The results don’t come from the one “perfect” message. They come from the habit of taking action.

Better done than perfect. I know why you're stuck. After 25+ years of being the person they called to fix things, you're now second-guessing every word you write. You've rewritten that LinkedIn message five times. You're still tweaking your resume. You're waiting for the "perfect" moment to reach out. But here's what's really happening: Every rejection over the past six months has chipped away at your confidence until you're terrified that one more "no" will confirm what you've started to believe: That at 50+, you're worthless in this job market. So you keep perfecting. Because if you don't put yourself out there, you can't be rejected again. But staying frozen isn't protecting you. It's proving your fear right. That "perfect" message you're crafting? The opportunity closed yesterday. That resume you're not sending until it's flawless? Someone with a "good enough" version just got the interview. That follow-up you're afraid isn't "professional enough"? The hiring manager has already moved on. You're not worthless. The process is broken. And it's beating you up so badly that it has you paralyzed. Trust me, Done beats perfect because action breaks the cycle. You spent decades being decisive, confident, and trusted. You didn't get there by waiting for perfect. That imperfect message? It might get a response. That "good enough" approach? It might land the interview. That awkward conversation? It might open the door. But perfection? It guarantees nothing changes. I've watched 55-year-old executives land six-figure offers with imperfect pitches. And I've seen brilliant professionals with flawless materials sit frozen for months, perfecting themselves into invisibility. So today, do one imperfect thing. Send one message. Make one call. Take one step. Not because it's perfect. Because you've earned the right to move forward. Done will get you hired. Perfect will keep you stuck.

Last week, I spent 3 hours planning the "perfect" cold email. Not a single reply. But here's what changed everything... I stopped overthinking and started executing. The shift was simple: → Spent 2 hours tweaking email copy = $0 → Sent 10 imperfect emails = First $1,000 client Success doesn't come from perfection. It comes from imperfect action. I've seen complete beginners crush it while 'experts' stay stuck in editing mode. The truth? Your perfectly crafted template won't make you money. Your endless email revisions won't either. What will? Taking messy action. Because here's what nobody tells you: A bad email sent today beats a perfect email sent never. The real difference between 6-figure founders and everyone else? They stop tweaking and start sending.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 ‘𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁’ 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸? We’ve all been there—rewriting the email one more time, overthinking a decision, or waiting until we feel “ready” to take action. But 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹. And here’s what the research says: 📌 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 because they delay action. (Harvard Business Review, 2023) 📌 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝟯𝟬% 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 than those who wait for the ‘perfect’ moment. (Stanford, 2022) So, let’s shake things up. This week, I’m challenging you to 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 ‘𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁’ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝟳 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Here’s how it works: ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭: Send an unpolished email. No endless tweaking. Just send. ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮: Make a decision in 𝟭𝟬 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. No overthinking. ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯: Share something publicly 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 ‘𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆.’ ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰: Ask for something 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 ‘𝗻𝗼.’ ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟱: Publish something 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀. ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟲: Take action 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻. ⚡ 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟳: Reflect—what changed when you let go of perfection? Here’s what I know for sure: 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀. Read the full breakdown in my latest Clarity Breakthrough newsletter below. Which day of this challenge feels hardest for you? Let’s break through it together! 🚀