[🐝U] 3 #s. 2 mistakes. 1 shift. 0 BS

Last time, we looked at Vanity Metrics vs KPI (Key Performance Indicators)

& we briefly touched on how vanity metrics can become KPI.

Understanding the difference (& how to use) all these numbers can grow your business…

Not to sound dramatic, but as you saw last time, it can make or break your success
... & your business

How marketers talk about numbers (& how many) make it SEEM it’s what you need.

It can be more vanity & short-terms wins that do nothing in the long run.

Stick with me …

There are a LOT of numbers lurking around in the reporting.
They can intimidate, confuse, and overwhelm.

& you’re going to come across companies who will take advantage.
They’ll talk about the results you can get
They’ll show you pretty charts

The good news is you don’t need all of them (or most of them)
BUT …
You do need to look at more than 1 at a time
& you don’t need to be a numbers geek to get them.

& for the most part, they can be helpful;
BUT beyond the vanity vs KPI, it’s important to understand long-term vs short-term

So, just how many numbers are we talking about?

1 number is a fixed point in time

It’s the easiest to talk about but gives you now context or comparison.
You got 10 visitors on your website today
100 people subscribed to your newsletter
$10,000 in sales last month

For some, those numbers look fantastic.
To others, they could be pathetic.

Compared to what?
You need context.

& the place to look for it is NOT outside your business.

No amount of comparing your 1 number to someone else’s is going to help you.

2 numbers are better because they give you a range …

website visitors: 10 today vs 5 yesterday
newsletter: 100 people ask this week vs 200 last week
sales: $10,000 this month vs $10,000 last month

You may be thinking, those are all worse … they’re all either down or staying the same.

Not necessarily.

It depends.
It always depends.

It’s not an answer most people want to hear.

You prefer certainty, especially if you’re going to commit your resources to doing something.

You want a positive return on your time & money
It has to be worth it.
Especially small bootstrapping start-ups like ours.

Every penny is hard-earned.
We’re taking time away from friends & family to build something.

That has to mean something.

& that’s a big reason why you hear about simplified before & after comparisons or numbers without context.

They’re easier to talk about & teach
It’s faster to get a “win”

That’s not all bad.
Everyone that talks about 1 or 2 numbers isn’t trying to scam you.

You DO need to START somewhere … with something simple.

But where you start (to learn something) is never where you should finish.

There’s more to it.

As a business-owner you know the vanity metrics help your ego more than your business … & you use the short-term numbers to guide you to long-term goals that impact your bottom line.

3 or more together is what you need for a foundation to build long-term success.

From a marketing & budget perspective, let’s look at running ads on social media.

Let’s say I wanted to use ads to grow the subscriber count for my newsletter.

To keep numbers simple, let’s look at 2 ads.
Each has a $10 a day budget for 10 days ($10 × 10 days = $100 per ad)

Ad #1 brings in 50 new subscribers in 10 days (a cost of $2 for every new subscriber)
Ad #2 brings in 100 new subscribers in 10 days (a cost of $1 per subscriber)

Which is better?

Ad #1 looks like it’s more expensive & didn’t work as well.
It’s tempting to choose Ad #2 over Ad #1 as the “winner”

If you said, “it depends”, you’re right!

You need more information.

The goal isn’t just to collect emails.
Your business needs quality contacts over quantity. (← 44-min podcast)
& it needs those contacts to buy things.
& the money that comes in has to be higher than what it cost to earn that money.

You want 3 things:
1. Lead Generation
2. Conversion
3. Retention

& this is where the numbers can start to overwhelm …

Bottom line, your business needs contacts that are engaged, stick around, & give you money.

So of those new contacts, you want to know things like:
- how many are still on your list a month from now? a year from now?
- who’s engaged (opening your emails & clicking links)?
- of those, whose buying?

So, on the surface, spending $1 per subscriber looks good on paper
& if you’re just starting out without a big budget, it’s tempting to “double down” on Ad #2

Dan Kennedy, a brilliant copywriter, marketer, & business-builder has a saying …

That’s been taken completely out of context …

You just saw, It’s NOT JUST about how much money.

You need to have 3 things:
1. the right message
2. using the right medium (media)
3. to the right market (people)

Dan calls it the “Marketing Triangle.”

& it’s about spending the most money on THAT.

Note:
A follower on social media isn’t a customer.
A contact on your email list isn’t a customer.

A contact that constantly clicks your links isn’t’ a customer.

A customer is:
- someone who gives you money in exchange for something you have/do
- & doesn’t ask for a refund
- & ideally refers you to people like them

That’s another set of 3!

It’s time to shift your thinking.
there’s 0 BS or hype in this
1 number is dangerous
2 compares short-term (& should stay internal … never compared to others)
3 builds your foundation for long-term

What’s working?
It depends!

Make it a great “triple-threat“ week!
EG

PS:
Dan Kennedy has written dozens of books on marketing & copywriting, including 20 in a “No B.S.” series. Find his books on MagneticMarketing.com ← if you start there instead of Amazon you’ll get some free bonuses & some free trials that become paid (mark your calendars!)

& speaking of writing books … Nathan Barry’s newsletter covers how to get paid well from them by packaging, marketing, & selling them (without having a huge Dan Kennedy-sized) following

PPS:

Subscribe to the Alex & Books Newsletter for the best 5-minute book summaries I’ve seen … & his list of the top 100 life-changing books

PPS:
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