[🐝U] Vanity vs Value: are your #s BS?

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It’s the start of summer here … longer days also bring longer emails & the odd freebie (when the weather’s bad & I’m stuck inside) ← hint!

Let’s talk numbers.
Marketing numbers.

Are you tracking #s with value for your business … or just vanity to boost your EGO?

I met a woman in a Marketing Mastermind community last year. She wants to launch a business.

She wants more flexibility & freedom.
That’s something she can’t get from her job.
She has a vision for what that looks like.

In many ways, she’s like us.

The main difference is she’s already making a multiple 6-figure income.
& even though she lives in Hawaii (with the highest cost of living in the US), she saves most of her income.

& she’s willing to invest it in her business.

Sounds perfect, doesn’t it?

Just 1 problem …
& it’s a doozy!

She’s throwing all her money at the “right” things for the wrong reasons & in the wrong order.

She has a collection of tactics, no marketing strategy, & no way to track results (or lack thereof!)

Not really.

My friend thought bigger is better
→ $18,000 for 1 year of the Marketing Mastermind
→ Spend $10,000 on a sales page (NOT the entire website)
→ Invites to speak at 1,000-person events
→ “Lots” of impressions (& thousands of dollars) on Facebook ads

She kept throwing money at random advice things.

When she reached out to me, she wanted to learn about branding & posting for LinkedIn.

Who she wanted to serve … why … her brand … her messaging … needed to come BEFORE she invested in a sales page, Facebook ads, & speaking at events.

The challenge people without marketing experience don’t make that connection.
They’re different platforms.
& you usually get different people to work on them.

But they STILL have to work together.

Unfortunately, I burst her bubble when I started asking questions:
→ How many people are seeing your sales page? Of those, how many bought? & where was the greatest drop-off?
→ How many people from speaking events joined your newsletter or scheduled a discovery call?
→ What about your Facebook ads?

While it’s true that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, if you’re measuring the wrong things (the “vanity metrics”), you’re probably better off not measuring at all!

Think about it.

You have a compass & you’re constantly checking in to ensure you’re heading North.
You’re “on track.”
Right?

Wrong.

You’re supposed to be heading South!
& because you’re so focused on following the arrow North, you’re not stopping to question why you’re getting colder weather instead of warmer.

For her, the answer was always, “I don’t know”

When asked why, she said “___ suggested it”

What she knows is that after $50,000 (& more than a year of effort), she still didn’t have a client. Not one!

She didn’t understand why.

& she’s not alone.

My first retainer client as a copywriter & marketer was a musician. He’s been in the industry longer than I’ve been alive. (I’m closing in on qualifying for seniors’ discounts!)

He spent his entire career under a label & finally went independent.

The week before I met him, an agency “sold” him on using them to help build “awareness” & guaranteed views on YouTube.

Yes, you need more awareness to help increase views & streams & fans.

The agency took is 4-minute average watch time on YouTube…
(Average song length is only about 3:30!)

& less than 24 hours after his ads launched, the average plummeted to 40 seconds.

BUT

The agency did what they promised.
He got the number of views “guaranteed.”
(Guaranteed to put money in the agency’s bank account, not grow my client’s business)

The problem was that he didn’t know (& had no control over)
→ WHO was getting the views
→ WHAT the message was

Turns out, the agency ran ads to everyone.

Their focus was not on getting fans to help my client’s music career.
They focused on getting the count for eyeballs to help themselves.

I hear far too many stories like this.

They’re cautionary tales of not looking at the bigger picture … how does it all work together?

& what order should I work on them?

Because while everyone loves music, not everyone loves the same music.
Because standing on stage in front of 1,000 random people boosts your EGO, not your bottom line.

& paying for ads without putting them in front of the “right” people, using the “right” messaging, & the “right” platform, doesn’t work.

So the question is …

Which numbers boost your vanity & which build your business?

Does the number reflect action or just attention?
(Clicks, replies, sales = action. Views & likes? Not so much!)

Can I use the number to calculate ROI (Return on Investment) & adjust my strategy?
(ex. knowing cost-per-lead helps you budget vs knowing “reach increased 12%” doesn’t")

How does this number directly tie into my revenue, leads, or client retention?
(If it doesn’t, it’s probably not helping your bottom line)

If the number goes up (or down), can I track how it helps (or hurts) my business growth?
(or does it just make me feel good for a minute?)

Is the number growing … but conversions (sales) aren’t?
(ex. your email list doubles, but nobody’s opening, clicking, or buying = classic vanity trap!)

Would you share this number with a coach or investor to prove business health?
(ex. “35% of leads converted last month” = powerful vs. “a reel got 10k views” = fluff)

Does this number align with how I want to run my business?
(ex. a big audience looks impressive, but if you want a small, high-touch client roster, why are you chasing volume?)

These are just a few questions to consider. You’ll find more help from the guide I put together.
(Keep reading … I share how to get a copy below…)

On their own, some most numbers (without context) can be vanity metrics.

But, when you can string them together (connect-the-dots) from one to the next, they can transform into KPIs.

Nothing’s ever black & white.

The truth is ... It Depends!
(“It depends” should be the start to every answer you ask “experts”)

The more you understand your numbers, the less likely people can “sell” you on things that help them more than they do you.

Make it a great “Key Performance" filled week!
EG

PS:
Ready for more value & less vanity in your numbers? Download this guide for a breakdown of Vanity Metrics, Why They’re Misleading, Better KPIs, and Why They Matter.

It also includes questions to ask yourself to decide whether your numbers are Vanity (for you) or Key (for your business).
(I’m not a graphic designer. It’s not pretty. It IS effective.)

PPS:
📣 Tell me what you want to read about … here
🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn … here
👋 Invite others ready to be authentic, transparent, & sometimes disruptive … with this link

📈 Want to talk about better marketing results for your business by being yourself?
Find a time that fits your schedule.

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