Stop Caring About How Many ‘Views’ You Get — Do This Instead
I have a confession to make..
I care about my page views too much. In fact, I tweeted about it two days ago and was quite proud of my accomplishments.
But then I woke up the next day, and I realized something..
Views are great, but us bloggers glorify them too much.
Let me explain.
What “Page Views” Actually Are
Look, I’m not here to bash page views. I think they’re fantastic, but I also think they’re a bit overrated.
Like a good-but-not-great NFL quarterback, views sometimes get more of the spotlight than they deserve.
That’s right, page views are kind of like Joe Flacco or Jay Cutler.
They’re alright, but for some reason both have ridiculous contracts despite not having any real X-factor at all.
Trust me, I’m a Ravens fan.
“Views” Are Just A Proxy For Something Else
Here’s how it goes in our minds..
Page views = Traffic = Email Subscribers = Income
This is cool, right?
Page views basically just equal income, and it’s true!
Bloggers write online for a variety of reasons — to unleash their creativity, connect with others, and make a living sharing their expertise.
And trust me, we aren’t writhing our hands together writing our posts, figuring out ways to trick everybody into buying something from us.
If that’s what every blogger was doing, none of us would be making money.
But, somewhere along the lines, some blogger made the connection that page views actually equal email subscribers, money, etc…
And they — along with everybody else — have been shouting from the rooftops about it ever since.
And this has no doubt changed everything.
The most tragic change is in the WAY bloggers write out headlines, posts, and call-to-actions. We’re now (myself included) trying our hardest to get clicks, reads, and yes, views, because we know it means more engagement, notifications, and yes, inadvertently, money.
But now our priority is on writing posts to maximize popularity instead of writing them to maximize learning.
I think most successful bloggers have found a happy medium between learning and striving for popularity, but I also think that one sometimes gets sacrificed for the other all too often..
What Matters More Than Page Views
I recently had an epiphany about audience-building that must’ve been bubbling to the surface in my brain for quite some time..
One person matters more than a thousand.
Gary Vee talks a lot about going deep instead of going wide — this is a message that needs to be talked about WAY more often.
I recently wrote a piece on Medium that included a link to a Facebook Group. About 20 people asked to join that group out of thousands who read the article.
This can be seen in two different lights:
- Page views weren’t a clear indicator of how engaged people really were with my content.
- Those 20 (and growing) people are like GOLD.
The first point requires no explanation — the second point does, so here it is:
When somebody reads YOUR article, gets to the end, and clicks out to join a Facebook Group YOU created, that’s a lot of freakin’ action they just took to engage with you.
Just by clicking out to join a Facebook group, they become about 20 times more valuable.
These people are so inspired that they’re taking action.
And ACTION needs to be celebrated more than page views.
Why Action Matters So Much In Blogging
Audience building is a lot like inertia.
The law of inertia states that an object in motion tends stays in motion.
When someone joins your list, or claps for your article, or joins your Facebook group, they’re putting themselves in motion.
It’s your job as a creator to keep them in motion via nurturing, teaching, and not to mention CARING.
It’s almost like your audience just hit a baseball into play and is going to first base. You don’t want them to get thrown out at second.
Keep communicating with them, providing value, and being thoughtful.
This will help them round second and go to third.
Do some Facebook Live sessions, webinars (without a pitch), and not to mention blog posts.
This will keep them sprinting past third to home.
And now is the moment we’ve all been waiting for..
What’s at home? A course? A paid community? A book for them to buy?
Nope, none of these things.
What’s at home is something way more valuable than a course purchase, or a book purchase, or a reservation to your paid community.
What’s at home is one person who will do anything for you.
They’ll read everything you write, share your posts occasionally, and comment on all your articles.
What’s at home is the power of one, not one thousand.
And this is much more valuable (and fulfilling) than a viral article, or a course purchase, or an invite onto some podcast.
As bloggers, let’s start glorifying the one instead of the thousand.
It Doesn’t Matter If You Have A Facebook Group Of 1
So what do you do now?
If you have a Facebook Group of 1, congratulations, you’re in business.
Seriously!
Nurture, nurture, nurture. Do a Facebook Live for one person. Be thoughtful. Provide value.
Stop Reaching For Thousands Of Views — Be Ecstatic For The One
I must admit a lot of the blame for the glorification of thousands rests on my shoulders.
I’ve talked about the thousands too much. It’s time to be thankful for the one.
Don’t just be thankful — be ecstatic.
There’s much more value in the one. There’s much more fulfillment in the one.
The one is why I blog in the first place, and it’s ALL you should be shooting for yourself.
I hope this helps YOU.
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