On the Menu for This Week’s Tapas:

• [REFRAME] 🎬 Produced Doesn’t Mean Perfect
• [STAT] 📊 Lo-Fi: +40% views, +30% reach
• [CHALLENGE] 📦 Post It

I got this package in the mail from a friend.

Sure, I was surprised to get a package, but I was thrilled to peel away the brown paper wrapping to see what book was hiding underneath. Honestly, the plain wrapping was part of the fun! It peaked my curiosity even more.

Obscuring the packaging can help us see the content more clearly. We all judge books, content, and everything else by the container they're in.

And when we’re aiming to come across as “professional,” we tend to overthink how our content might be perceived before we even create it.

The Trap of Polishing

It's easy to get caught up in branding, intros, or polished production before you even start the process. But beware: These are red herrings that discourage us from creating altogether.

Most of us fall victim to this.

Let me guess, do any of these sound familiar?

• "I don’t have all the resources I need to get started" (procrastination)
• "If I can't make it right, I'm not gonna do it at all" (perfectionism)
• "I’ll post once I have time to really focus on it." (overplanning)
• "People will think I'm unprofessional if it’s not super polished." (fear of judgment)
• "If it’s not going to get me clients/customers, what’s the point?" (tunnel vision)

If you're thinking this way, it's time to leave that "stinkin' thinkin'" behind.

The Poet's Golden Rule

Back in college, my creative writing professor gave us a golden rule to get us out of this mindset:

Did you know that writing and editing require two separate parts of the brain?

When you try to do both at once, it slows you down because you’re constantly toggling between two different brain functions.

The same thing happens when you “edit” your content in your head before you even start creating it. That’s what’s happening when you focus on production value before you’ve made anything at all.

Create the content first. Improve the production quality over time.

Remember: YOU are the content being delivered.

• Your insight
• Your advice
• Your solution

The production quality is just the wrapping it comes in.

If your content is too heavily branded, people scroll right past it because they assume it’s an ad!

This is why the Creator Economy exists — to make content look and feel more authentic and less branded.

We’ve been sold the idea that “professional” content means spotless lighting, perfect audio, and polished scripts. But high production often comes across as distant or out of touch instead of official.

Your Challenge: If It’s in Your Drafts, Post It Anyway

If something’s chillin in your drafts because it’s “not polished,” chances are, it’s exactly the right amount.

That might look like:

• A screenshot of your texts, notes app, or email
• A blooper reel you were saving for a group chat
• A vulnerable story with no business tie-in (my friend Aseeyah does this really well on LinkedIn)

Why you should post it anyway:

• ​In this study by Dash Social, Lo-Fi IG Reels received on average 40% more views and 30% higher reach​
• You come across as more accessible (even luxury brands are starting to test this)
• Every day you wait for it to be polished, you force your audience to wait for help

Numbers aside, I'm giving you the green light to share the lo-fi cut.

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This week’s challenge: Post the thing that feels “too unpolished” and see what happens.

Show up imperfectly with me? 🫶