September 16, 2009 43 Comments

The Right Numbers Matter

opt outs I took a strong right turn last monday with my email newsletter. It’s moving beyond social media and into what I believe will help us do better with understanding how human business works. I knew when I wrote it that it was definitely NOT a newsletter about how to tweet or why facebook is cool. As such, I lost 349 subscribers.

I’m SO thrilled.

I also gained 278 new subscribers in the last six days.

What this means is that I’m better defining my newsletter to appeal to the people who will follow me through the next big story arc, through the next big change. It means that people are self-defining, and that they are along for the ride for what we’re experimenting with, and what findings I’ll share with them.

If you’re counting to see who has the most, and if you’re counting only growth, you’re missing an important point. Growth isn’t important. Valuable growth is important. Getting your email newsletter tuned up to serve your desired community is what matters.

Make sense?

What do you like (or NOT like) about the newsletter? What are you doing with your own communities? How are you tuning everything up?

Related posts:

  1. Does Size Matter
  2. The Right Numbers
  3. Blogging is Not a Numbers Game- Or Is It
  4. The Matter of Scale
  5. Moments That Matter

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  • EC

    One suggestion is making newsletter content different from your blog post that day. I don't necessarily even open the email newsletter if I'm crunched for time, because I know I can just visit your blog later and would rather declutter my inbox. Anything that could differentiate the two would be pretty sweet.

  • http://twitter.com/LisaYallamas Lisa Yallamas

    Carried out the four actions you suggested to change habits. So overcame my aversion to putting photos on Facebook at put photos up. Still don't feel comfortable about it. And have taken action after forgiving myself something. The opportunity suddenly arose to do something about it. Perhaps it just jumped up at me because the topic was at the forefront of my mind. And I am feeling a new consciousness or awareness about the way I interact with the world. So I consider your suggestions helpful. Thanks Chris.

  • http://twitter.com/Ed Ed Shahzade

    Hm. Direct feedback from those who unsubscribed would be best, obviously.
    And there's probably a mix of 'why'.

    But anyone who unsubscribes [or unfollows, etc]
    quickly, because the current big thing wasn't beaten to death,
    loses out on the parameters that makes what hot topics you do cover,
    relevant and valuable; perspective and context.

    Personally, I think some of your most recent newsletters were
    far above industry average, and thankfully, original content.

  • anniebanannie

    This is fabulous. I've never cared how many hear my message; I just care who hears it. Thanks for confirming the direction I'm taking with my newsletter, and also now I don't feel so bad about waiting to launch it until I have something useful to say.

    Annie

  • AmberNaslund

    Yes, yes, yes. And yes. :) Good for you. I love that you're leading and blazing trails, yet again. So happy to see this.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I'm so glad you're part of it, Lisa.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    You must not read my newsletter. It's pretty darned different from the blog.

  • EC

    Oh shoot – I was confusing it with the email I get everyday! Busy day and I spaced on what you were talking about!

  • http://www.johntwang.com John Wang

    What do you use for your newsletter? Campaign Monitor? MailChimp? Something else? I'm currently trying to pick a newsletter “platform” to use for my own.

  • http://beyondfreelancing.com Jeffrey Tang

    You know what, Chris? I love your latest newsletter. It's different in a good way. It's personal and engaging in a way most email newsletters aren't. It makes me feel like part of a group, instead of just someone on an email list. So maybe it doesn't showcase the top 10 ways to become the best Twitter-er ever – I like it anyway.

  • nsavides

    Hey Chris,
    I like that you're not afraid to do things that make the numbers drop. Statistics don't tell you everything, and the people who are slaves to the numbers generally don't have a compelling vision of what could or should be.

    The style and content of the newsletter works for me so far.

  • Gary Powell

    I actually enjoy the newsletter better than your Tweets, especially since they all seem to revolve around selling your book. We all get it….you wrote a book and you want to sell a billion copies.

  • jenniewhite

    Chris,
    Consider me a new subscriber. I was only subscribed to your blog, but if you providing even MORE great content, then I'd be crazy not to subscribe! I am not concerned with numbers either, I mean it's nice and reaffirming seeing good numbers, but it's the content that matters. Sorry you lost those subscribers though, you'll gain them back in no time!

  • ksoliv

    Recycle or change thoughts or the way we see things is very frightening but is something that must be done. New approaches are welcome, as well as some experiments and invitations to move on. Some messages will find an audience ready to understand them. Some of the public may be willing to change and embrace new ideas and points of view. Other important part is the public which disagree and question us. We have to adapt to the audience, so we can provide useful contents. We also have to challenge our community with new and personal approaches. This is what generates movement and meaning and growth. This is what makes our ideas worthy.

  • http://twitter.com/Ed Ed Shahzade

    I think he uses BlueSkyFactory

  • http://blog.optimalupgrades.ca Elie

    Hey Chris,

    I enjoy your newsletter as it discusses interesting topics, and is still unpredictable in that until I reach the end of the newsletter, I can’t be sure of what you’re going to say. There’s always something in there of value – regardless of whether or not I agree with your opinion, there will be something in the newsletter to make me think.

    For those who leave you, I would be so bold as to say it’s their loss. No, you don’t promise to deliver the next big thing, or to show someone how to succeed overnight, or to match your success. What you do is show what has been crossing your path, and help people reach their own success. People who aspire to be the next Chris Brogan and therefore subscribe to your newsletter will quickly learn that it won’t help them reach that goal, and then unsubscribe. Those who aspire to be successful in their own lives, however, quickly learn that your newsletter can help them reach such success.

    Wishing you much continued success, and looking forward to reading more of your articles and posts,

    Elie

  • http://jimbalaya.us Jimbalaya

    “Growth isn’t important. Valuable growth is important.”

    I was smacked in the face by this realization not too long ago while I was watching my follower count rise & rise on Twitter.
    I started noticing a trend in when people were following me, and also noticed a trend in who was following me – it was the auto-follow crowd that just automatically follow anyone who mentions a specific word or phrase.
    ‘Quality of growth’ is yet another interesting factor in all of this…

    I’ve just subscribed to your newsletter & I’m still very early on in my own community-building, so I don’t have any answers to your questions (yet) – sorry…

  • http://www.benspark.com BenSpark

    I like the newsletter. I tried changing up how I answer people with some great results. There is a wonderful woman that I work with. She and I pleasantly say hello every morning but today I really asked her what was going on with her and was interested to know. That lead to a great conversation.

  • deborahrichmond

    I enjoyed your latest newsletter. I love where you're going with your philosophy and am so happy that you are sharing it. This is the direction I want my own work in social media to gravitate toward. Keep sharing what's really on your mind. Your audience is finding you. I am inspired and know I will soon start adding more of my own personal opinon and philosphy to my own blog.

  • http://www.brendondavid.com/ Brendon David

    I had not signed up for your newsletter. Now I'm curious to read your take on how humans do business. I find myself discussing this same thing with peers and somebody always ends up saying, “regardless of what hard skill one possesses, interaction with people is inevitable and imperative for internal buy-in..” or something like that. That always gets a few hearty groans and table slaps.

  • Eadwacer

    Chris
    My problem is that I get far too much email as it is, and I find that tracking blog entries via RSS feed is far more efficient. I'd like to see your commentary, but not at the expense of a new email. If your goal is to use this as an additional filter, and I can see where one might, then it's working. Meanwhile, I like what's coming through on my side of the filter.

  • http://socialbutterflyguy.com/ DJ Waldow

    John – Ed is correct. Chris is a Blue Sky Factory (BSF) client. See his post from a few weeks ago: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/the-building-blocks-…

    DJ Waldow
    Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
    @djwaldow

  • http://socialbutterflyguy.com/ DJ Waldow

    Chris: You continue to outdo yourself. I love your confidence to talk about the number of lost subscribers in a positive way. I talk about email (and email marketing) all the freaking time (my wife would say too much), but this gave me something to think about. I think Amber said it recently about Social Media, “Remember This Is All Opt-In” – http://altitudebranding.com/2009/07/remember-th….

    My favorite quote from above is: “Valuable growth is important.”

    Keep doing what you do. Keep trying new things. Keep learning. Keep growing. Ha ha – like I have to tell you that.

    DJ Waldow
    Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
    @djwaldow

  • http://www.tollandassociates.com Leadership for Learning

    Chris, I am modifying my own newsletter due to my response to yours. You have differentiated your newsletter from your blog/web site. Your newsleter is personal and personable. Your voice is there. When reading my e-mail, I usually wait to read newsletters until I have read all the important stuff from “real” people. Your newsletter doesn't fit that category because you feel “real” in it. Thanks!

  • http://www.timjahn.com/blog Tim Jahn

    Your last newsletter was my favorite so far. I've really been enjoying your newsletter recently, as it's a big departure from this blog and a departure from the same old topics everybody is rehashing.

    You really are making it human, even more so with the last newsletter. I agree with you, it's a good thing those 349 people dropped out. You want the right ones on the bus, nobody else.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    And THIS is why I did it, Ben. Glad to hear your story. Thank you for sharing that.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    That's strange. I went back three pages and I find that most of my tweets are @ messages to other people. Maybe you mean @garyvee ? : )

  • http://twitter.com/khalilaleker Khalil Aleker

    I love your newsletter Chris, tells me alot about yourself personally and shows your desire to know more about me personally as well. It's totally different to your blog, and I appreciate it alot.

  • Brian

    Hi Chris,

    I've just signed up to receive your newsletter as I didn't know you were sharing more info this way, and not putting it on your blog.

    Is there any way I can look through a backlog of newsletters? Or maybe even the controversial one from Monday?

    Cheers,

    Brian

  • http://twitter.com/CluelessCrafter Lydia Barry Kutko

    I get hung up on growth, too. To focus on the subscriber that correctly fits the platform of my blog seems to be a much more rewarding, valuable demarcation of success. Time to focus!

  • http://ItStartsWith.Us ItStartsWithUs

    I agree with Jeffrey – I really like the personal and engaging format. And I really like the opportunity to reply back and talk about the things that make us human, rather than Twitter best practices. :)

  • Donna Baske

    Chris – I like your train of thought and the direction it might be heading. I use to read other peoples comments on blogs and keep mine to myself (unheard of for me, actually) but I now find myself leaving comments and offering my thoughts. Even contemplating doing my own blog.

    I think what it boils down to is that as we grow up we get confined further and further into a box. It starts the first day we go to school and get told to sit in one place and do things the same way everyone else does. That there's only 1 right answer (really?) From that point we get indoctorinated into just being one of the “well taught” masses of people that go through our education system, brighter, but not really able to think on our own anymore.

    Then comes the day we're looking for innovation and a new way of approaching our business or life and we're scared because that's not the way we've been taught to do it. Your newsletter was a great call to action to open our eyes again and try to be someone other than who we've been taught to be.

    You never know how cold/warm the water in the pool really is until you jump in. So come in, maybe you'll enjoy life a little bit more….

  • http://www.christinegreen.com/blog/ Christine Green

    Chris,
    I was pleasantly surprised at the expanded angle of your newsletter, especially since it's exactly the kind of stuff I am a bit hesitant to include in a “business” blog…but I now feel inspired to stay true to myself and my experiences and worry less about what some readers may think. Personal and professional “success” are achieved through many channels. I get excited when those channels widen and expand. Let's hear it for open minds and a richer life experience!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Afraid not. I only let you join on when you join. : ) It's part of the fun.

  • http://www.johntwang.com John Wang

    Thanks DJ and Ed. Will check that out.

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    I really like the personal and engaging format.Which gives an opportunity like to reply back and talk about the things that make us human, rather than Twitter best practices.There are so many questions are their so keep it up.Stay tune with us.Thanks a lot.

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    I am changing how I respond to some people tried with great results. There is a wonderful woman that I work with. She and I happily say hello every morning but today I actually asked him what was going with him and am interested to know. That lead to a great conversation.