Ship Early, Ship Often
There’s a weird feeling just before you begin to put yourself out there and publish content on the internet.
You may feel scared of what people will think of your work. How will they judge you? Will they think less of you?
Do you really want to go from hidden to seen by putting yourself out there?
It’s sort of funny that our biggest fear with publishing content is people viewing our work. Wouldn’t that be a great thing???
If people see your work, that’s a win. Odds are, your initial work will only be seen by a handful of people. And it’s entirely possible no one may see your initial work.
So what do you have to lose by publishing?
The worst thing that happens is that a few people see your work, and as we discussed, that’s a good thing. Or, nobody views your work, and you just published your first content on the internet for anyone to eventually see. Also, huge success!
When you’re just starting a creative journey, the best advice I can think of is:
Ship early, and ship often!
It’s easy to never publish. It’s easy to takes weeks to work on the perfect piece. Why is this easy? Because we feel secure and comfortable before we put ourselves out there. We don’t want to leave our comfort zone.
But, by shipping when you aren’t quite ready, and shipping again as soon as possible, you gain several important things:
First off, you gain momentum. Which is this invisible force that pushes you along once you start.
Next, with each piece that you publish, you begin to see yourself as a content producer. You become more confident in your craft.
And lastly, with any content form, practice is key. By being relentless about pushing content out there, your work improves. It’s inevitable.
The internet is arguably one of the world’s best inventions ever created.
It is literally connecting 7 billion minds in real time.
Most of us sit on our phones and scroll. We consume the narrative and conversation.
We are born creators.
Once we start to publish online, we join the conversation.
Do you want to continue to listen or are you ready to speak?
Hey, Aidan,
I recently found your blog. I must say your way of writing is enticing and attractive. I am just starting here at Substack. Reading this post, the points that resonate the most in me are
1. "You may feel scared of what people will think of your work"
2. "By being relentless about pushing content out there, your work improves. It's inevitable"
It inspires me to keep working. Sometimes it's difficult, both in creativity and in quality. I hope to improve.