Should you make a lot things that are all decent, or fewer things that are all great?

Marketers tend to focus on quantity early in their careers and with new ventures. You have nothing and you need to prove yourself, so you create a lot of things quickly—blog posts, ads, videos, email funnels, etc.—to appear more established.

Marketers tend to focus on quality as they grow their brands and expertise. You don’t have to do everything, you just have to do a few things well, and the rest will take care of itself.

Nearly everyone’s answer to the quantity vs. quality debate eventually turns to an emphatic QUALITY. Apparently we’re all craftsmen at heart. I prefer quality, too, but the real answer (as with most things that matter) is: it depends.

It depends on what you want to accomplish—the 2 options lead to very different results.

Quantity creates linear growth. Quality creates exponential growth.

Let’s say you’re a CPA. You could only do personal tax returns, spend 2 hours on every return and charge $400 a pop. It’s easy work, quick cash, gives you what you need to support your family, and the path to growth is obvious—do more personal tax returns. Everyone needs help, so there are plenty of opportunities to grow.

Or, you could only work on mergers and acquisitions. The money is much larger, but so is the commitment—and there are fewer opportunities. The path to growth is questionable. You have to build a leading reputation, and you can’t control the timeline or strength of your reputation compared to other specialists.

Quantity is predictable. Quality is elusive.

Yes, quality does typically create more opportunities and more revenue long-term, because you stand out from the crowd (and everyone wants to work with the stand-outs). But no long-term plan is a guarantee.

So should you focus on quantity or quality?

Well, which life would you rather have?