Stop waiting for the perfect number. People need you.
In this era of social media and accessible analytics on virtually anything and everything, numbers — or the lack of — can sometimes get the better of us. I've met many small biz owners who tell me things like, "I'll start my email once I have X subscribers" or "I don't do much on social media, I mean I only have X followers so what's the point?".
Can I tell you something?
When I decided to start this weekly newsletter, I had a grand total of...9 subscribers.
Yes, 9.
I didn't know any of them because I wanted to truly test which channels worked best to acquire subscribers, not just rely on a bunch of (well-meaning and lovely) friends, clients and family signing up.
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These 9 people had used a URL I had linked on my instagram account (which at that time had a grand total of about 21 followers). I didn't have a fancy funnel set up, I simply used a free email collection tool called TinyLetter. This enabled me to customise the sign up page without having a website and then transfer those email addresses (all 9 of them!) to my email platform of choice — at the time, Mailchimp.
Did I slack off on the first email because I didn't have a big enough number? Nope.
Did I hold off on sending the first email until my email list had grown? Nope.
I tried my best to provide value and help those nine people in that first email and in every email that has come afterward. Likewise, when I started @mydailybusinesscoach on IG I tried to show up, every day, with a thought, insight, quote or small biz owner profile that I thought would help others feel inspired and enthusiastic about the day. I've been able to grow both channels organically through showing up and putting in the same effort then as I do now.
I've worked in marketing and content for close to two decades and I completely get that analytics and numbers are important. But its when numbers prevent us from even taking action in the first place, that we need to ignore them for a while. (Yes, I did just say that.)
If you're finding yourself stuck in a spiral of "Ill start when..." try to focus on what you already have, not what you don't. For me, thinking of nine small biz owners in a room all asking for me to give them some tips, helped me write an email that resonated. For you, it may be nine new homeowners who need your tips on decorating a bathroom on a budget, or nine new mums who need to hear that others have been in their shoes and survived, or nine performing artists who need to know what to look for in a producer, or nine women looking for a fashion brand that's made locally and ethically, or nine tech start ups who would love to know how they can get international PR. Whatever your business is, there are people who want to hear from you.
You see, behind every email subscriber and social media follower is (usually, apart from some bot accounts!) a REAL person, who has allowed you into their life and has chosen to hear from you. Seth Godin calls this permission marketing, and it's something we, as small biz owners, often take for granted. People have literally granted you permission to communicate with them...and you're not.
So, as you go about your work this week, consider the people (customers, clients, strangers) who have said "yes" to you and your biz. Then, consider how you can truly engage with them, in the same way you would engage if you were to meet them in person. The more we remember that we're serving humans, not just numbers, the better businesses we will build.