Episode 110: The Numbers That Aren't the Point

Last week, I talked about community and why having the right people around you can make the difficult parts of the journey a little easier. This week, I'm pulling back the curtain even more and talking about something that can make those difficult parts feel a lot worse: the numbers.

Whether you're writing books, running a podcast, building a business, posting online, or trying to turn something you enjoy into something bigger, there is always another number you can check. Downloads. Sales. Revenue. Followers. Views. Rankings. The numbers don't necessarily lie, but they also don't tell the entire story.

When I recorded this episode, the previous episode had seven downloads after being out for six days. From June through August, this podcast had 73 downloads even though I barely released anything during that period. Those aren't massive numbers, and I'm not going to pretend they are. But there are still real people behind them, and that matters more to me than trying to make this podcast look bigger than it is.

The same thing has been happening with my writing. I had been averaging around $10 to $13 a day in book revenue, which would put me somewhere around $300 to $390 a month if that pace continued. Then I suddenly had several slower days back to back, including a day where I made less than two dollars. When you've finally started seeing some progress, watching those numbers fall can mess with your head quickly.

It becomes easy to start asking what you should change. Maybe I should run ads. Maybe I should only write whatever genre is popular right now. Maybe I should research what other podcasts are doing and start talking about the same things. There will always be something you can change in an attempt to make the numbers go up, but eventually you have to ask whether you're still creating what you actually want to create.

In this episode, I discuss:

Why constantly checking numbers and dashboards can become a trap

The actual download numbers behind The Books By Josh Audio Immersion

Why seven people listening still means something to me

How easy it is to compare your numbers to creators who appear more successful

Why I don't want podcast numbers deciding what I talk about

The temptation to chase whatever book genres or topics are currently popular

Why creating only for money can eventually pull you away from what you enjoy

My recent book revenue averaging around $10 to $13 a day

What it felt like when that suddenly dropped to less than two dollars on one day

Why I'm continuing to focus on organic growth before deciding whether to run ads

What years of working in sales and retention taught me about good days and bad days

Why several bad days don't automatically mean everything you've built has stopped working

The problem with turning today's numbers into a prediction about tomorrow

Why the value of something isn't always visible on a dashboard

I've been creating content for more than a decade and writing for almost two decades. I've had projects that went nowhere, things that made money, things that didn't, and plenty of times where the numbers made me question whether continuing made sense. The internet makes it easy to believe everyone else figured out some shortcut that you somehow missed, especially when you're constantly seeing videos telling you how easy it is to make money online.

The reality is that some people will make money and some won't. Some days will be great and others will be terrible. I've seen the same thing throughout my years working in sales and retention. You can have days where everything seems to work and then have another day where almost nothing does. You still have to come back the next day and try again.

Numbers are useful. I'm not saying to ignore them. They can show you what's working, what's changing, and where you might need to adjust. The problem starts when the number becomes the entire reason you're doing something or when one bad day convinces you that everything you've been working toward suddenly doesn't matter.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. How much attention do you pay to the numbers behind what you're working toward, and have you ever caught yourself letting a bad day convince you that you were failing?

The Books By Josh Audio Immersion is a reflective podcast focused on perspective, growth, and the quiet lessons we often overlook. Each episode is an invitation to slow down, think differently, and explore ideas that don't always fit into neat categories.