Something that's consistently surprised me --
Often, something you dash off quickly does just as well as something you work painstakingly at.
I've seen "screw it, why not?" fast proposals get business, a quick phonecall or request pay huge dividends, and all sorts of quick "dashed-off" attempts do well.
Yesterday's blog post got really popular. Why? I don't know. It's not really predictable. But it does suggest that trying a lot of stuff without downside leads to results.