Fewer but better

Don’t make five average things. Make one really good one.

I’d say this applies to almost all types of creative work – ads, pages, emails, events, videos, etc. There is a strong temptation to make more and more and feed the algorithm. This temptation is only likely to increase as AI makes it easier to churn out “stuff.” But you need to resist it. Spend time making one or two things compelling, beautiful, and remarkable.

This is especially true if you are paying for media. Too often, marketers don’t invest enough in making sure lots of people see their marketing. Or they think that their audience needs to be seeing “fresh” creative all the time, or that they must be made aware of all ten product benefits at once, so they feel compelled to make more. Don’t. It’s better to make a great thing that lots of people see (and more than once) than five average things that a few people see.

The problem is often exacerbated by the misalignment of incentives between clients and their agencies, who get paid to make more stuff and will advise accordingly. It would be better if they were incentivised to make better stuff.

There is no shortage of average stuff out in the world, and it’s getting pretty easy to make something 75% good. Making killer stuff is hard, but it’s worth it.

In an environment where resources are constrained, you have to make hard choices about what you’re able to do. This can work to your advantage. If you don’t have McDonald’s-size budgets, this will force you to be strategic about what you are able to achieve. When you do have more resources at your disposal, you don’t need to throw that strategy out; you can focus on making what you’ve been doing even better and getting it seen by more people.

Takeaway

– Spend time and money making fewer things, but make them great and make sure lots of people see them.
– Most people don’t spend much time reading your websites, ads, or anything else. Give them multiple chances to see it. Assume no one remembers what you’ve done before.

Need help working out how to allocate your resources? I can help.