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# The first draft is supposed to be bad — Kelford Labs Daily
- URL: https://kelfordinc.com/the-first-draft-is-supposed-to-be-bad-kelford-labs-daily/
- Published: 2026-02-11T11:24:51.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-11T11:24:50.000Z
- Description: Because you’re supposed to rewrite it.
- Author: Joel Kelly
- Tags: content, creative, Daily Labs, effort, optimization, practice, style, voice, workflow, writing

In creative conversations, between copywriters and art directors, or on screenwriting teams, or within author circles, you’ll often hear someone say:

“Okay, bad idea, but what if...”

Or, “I know this is terrible, but...”

Or, “So not this exactly, but what about...”

**Creative types know that the first idea is *supposed* to be bad.**

So they often announce it upfront, to say, in essence, “Don’t judge this on its *quality*, judge it on its *potential* to become something better.”

And this is how I want you to start thinking about your marketing content.

**I want you to recognize that the LinkedIn post you can’t bring yourself to publish is bad because it’s *supposed* to be.**

That’s what the first draft is *for*. The problem is not doing the second draft. Not [editing](https://kelfordinc.com/kelford-labs-daily-edit/). Not [waiting](https://kelfordinc.com/wait-your-way-to-better-content-kelford-labs-weekly/).

That piece of marketing content you wrote but hate is doing *its* job.

Now, you’ve got to do the next part of *yours*:

**Rewrite it.**

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[***Kelford Inc.***](https://www.kelfordinc.com/) ***shows you the way to always knowing what to say.***