Stop trying to make your videos perfect.
I just want to write very quickly about something I've been hearing a lot lately.
People around me are continuously saying, thinking, deliberating about things like…
I will make a video when I have the perfect script…
I will start my YouTube channel when I have everything perfectly sorted…
Or I will make regular content when I've got everything down to a perfect process…
Hmm. Sounds like you?
Look, it's NOT about being perfect.
I'm going to tell you a quick story. But before we delve into that, if you want to enjoy this story visually head over to my YouTube stream.
Watch How Perfectionism Almost Cost Me 6 Million Views
A story to change your outlook on ‘a perfect time to start something’
This is the 10th Anniversary of my very first viral series on YouTube called Boomer's Day Off and you know what? I almost didn't shoot that series. The reason is, everything that could go wrong with that project went wrong.
The night before, the makeup artist quit and we had planned everything around this amazing makeup artist that was going to do this beautiful Zombie makeup. I decided, you know, I could cancel this project, but there's all these actors, all this crew, who were SO dedicated to making this project happen.
I had written it with my awesome co-writer, Ben Paddon, and I was dedicated to just make it happen, come rain or shine. And so we decided, we're just going to do it, even if it falls flat on its face.
How we did it…
Well, what I had to do was get all the actors to bring all their own makeup because even the Party City, which is a party supply store wasn’t open for a few hours into the shoot. So we couldn't even go buy last minute makeup.
Surprisingly enough, everybody showed up. The actors literally just came with whatever Halloween makeup they had lying around. On top of that, the poor actors had to try to figure out how to do their own Zombie makeup at the last minute.
All this time all I felt was, gosh, I thought this project was going to be perfect. I don't know if we should even continue, but I'm just going to persevere. I'm going to be a leader and I'm going to put my best foot forward for the team.
But you know what happened?
That was the first time on YouTube that I had a video go beyond a million views.
Yup! And then I ended up having a whole series of videos with millions of views.
People loved the project.
You know why?
Because they loved the acting.
They loved the writing.
They loved the concept.
And they thought the characters were adorable.
Even now, ten years later, people come back to those videos and say, “I was only six years old when I watched this, and now I'm 16 or I was in college and now I'm married.”
No joke. People still remember that series.
I almost didn't shoot it because I thought it had to be perfect.
Guess what? Here's the best part.
Never have I seen a single comment about the makeup. So it didn't matter that people used cheap Halloween makeup because it was about the project.
It was about what it was about, the story, the content.
That's what your video is about. It's about you, your content and your message.
So don't worry about being perfect. It's not about being perfect. We're all imperfect anyway.
It's just about being you and sharing your message.
So, start today.
Does this give you some ideas?
Perhaps and hopefully, some inspiration?
Let me know in the comments. What are you thinking?
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Michelle Osorio is a singer, filmmaker and content creator turned entrepreneur sharing her secrets to growth on social media and livestream.