All the Subscribers
When I first started writing my bi-weekly newsletter I joked that I'd know if I was successful when I needed to start paying for my Mailchimp subscription. For those who don't know, Mailchimp gives you a certain amount of subscribers for free, but once you hit that threshold you need to start paying. In my mind, having all of these people signed up to read my content every other week was some sort of benchmark success metric. I thought, "wow, if all of these people are reading my newsletter, surely I'm successful."
Well, I'm sure you can see where this is going.
Quality Over Quantity
One thing I always tell my clients is that you're better off putting out less content that's valuable to your audience, than feeling obligated to churn out content that simply doesn't serve your message or your audience. So while, yes, people are hungry for content, in reality, they're hungry for GOOD content. Another trope that gets thrown around often in the content space is that people don't read. Newsflash! Yes, they do. They just read what interests them. Plain and simple.
Rabid Fans or An Average Audience
So when we go back to this idea of more being better when it comes to my audience, I had to think about how I was defining success. Yes, expanding my reach would be great. I'm out here trying to be a thought leader in the world of brand message and brand voice and it would be great if more people were receiving that message. (Look for more speaking engagements and podcast interviews coming soon.)
But at the end of the day, it's about quality over quantity. I'd rather have more people on my list read my newsletter (I see you open rates!) than just receive it and delete it or ignore it. Sending it out to thousands who don't read it won't serve me, my message or my wallet when I can reach hundreds that actually care and appreciate it.
Check Your Metrics and Your Measurements
Ask yourself how you're measuring success in your own life or your own business? Are you more concerned with numbers than engagement? With reach over resonance? It's ok if you are, but maybe you want to think about that and shift your mindset moving forward. Maybe you want to create more impact on fewer people than little impact on lots of people. Maybe it's time to take a look at your metrics, real or perceived, and think about how you can redefine success to create a happier you and a more rabid fan base. After all, those who serve everyone, serve no one, especially themselves.