Stop Sitting on Content
If my years in the newspaper industry taught me one thing, it’s this: content doesn’t get better with age.
Back then, strict print deadlines and distribution schedules meant we didn’t have the luxury of sitting on content. It was a case of good enough is good enough—publish and be damned.
Most of the time, that approach worked. The content did its job: informing, educating, and occasionally entertaining. And when the odd mistake slipped through? Well, today's news is tomorrow’s chip paper.
These days, errors are even less of a problem. Even if a typo or grammatical slip-up escapes the watchful eyes of spellchecks, Grammarly, or my editorial assistant Winnie (pictured), fixing them is easy.
So why, after decades in print and digital content creation, do I still hesitate before hitting publish?
Unless a deadline forces my hand (I do love a deadline), I struggle to publish content on the same day I finish writing and editing it. And yet, when I revisit it later, I rarely change a thing. More often than not, I look at it and think, that’s pretty good (yes, I am blowing my own 🎺).
Maybe it's about needing distance—creating space between writing and publishing to appreciate the work’s value.
When you spend too long on a piece of content, you start picking it apart, focusing on the challenges you faced rather than the quality of the outcome.
This kind of second-guessing is fuelled by imposter syndrome and catastrophising—things I suspect we all struggle with.
I might delay publishing for 12 hours, but I work with marketers who sit on content for much longer—sometimes indefinitely.
That hesitation doesn’t improve their work; it simply creates an opportunity for competitors to step in and steal the spotlight. And often, it's not even better content that takes their place—just content that actually gets published.
Proof, once again, that good enough is good enough.
Do you find yourself holding back from publishing, waiting for perfection? How’s that strategy working out for you?