Measuring what matters

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Hey honeys and hustlers,

Data isn’t as sexy as storytelling, but having the right data is integral to business growth (yes, even for creators). But which data should you be tracking? When we focus too much on easy-to-measure metrics (likes, views, sales), we miss the deeper patterns that tell us what our customers actually value (conversions, referrals, how customers discover us, etc). Today, I thought we’d talk about things we can measure in our business that will help us identify areas of improvement and things we should double down on. I’m running a little late with today’s issue; my body is still adjusting from a 3-hour flight today from a timezone that’s 3 hours behind (say that 3 times fast).

P.S. Before we jump in, I’ll be on Substack Live in just a few hours at 8PM EST with Corey and Michelle talking about how to use video to grow your creative business. We’re aiming to have 100 people in the space tonight, and viewers will get a special reward for helping us reach this milestone. So come through and bring a friend!

Here are some ways to measure what truly matters:

• Try to predict your top few customer headaches. Turnaround time for final products and services, bad weather on film/shoot days, issues accessing files, not knowing what files they need and how that can affect the scope of work, scope of work changes that may affect target deadlines — whatever tends to go wrong, have a plan and draft messages ready before they’re needed. A confident and timely response does more than any polished apology ever could. If 12 people complain about not knowing where to send folks who are interested in hiring you (your Instagram? your website? your email? your house?), there’s probably a messaging flaw. Get in the habit of digging for root causes instead of just recording issues.

• Track what people avoid. If a subscription product is constantly skipped or if customers keep saying “no” to an add-on service, ask why. There’s usually a clear reason: it doesn’t fit their needs, wants, budget, or time constraints.

• Track conversions. I see so many people talking about lead generation. They were talking about this when I started my business. They’re talking about it now, only with AI. A snake is still a snake. It doesn’t matter how many leads you get, if you can’t convert them to sales. Create a consistent sales process that validates a client or customer (are they looking for something you actually offer, and do they have the budget to spend what that product or service will cost?), educates them (what do you do and how do you do it? What can they expect?), and onboards them (once you’ve agreed on a scope of work and contract, how do they pay? What does the start of the process look like? What happens next?).

• Create an analytics dashboard that you check regularly and look for patterns. Month over month and year over year you should see trends emerge that will allow you to predict and make marketing plans accordingly. I use Notion for this, and tend to look for:

  • how input matches output (if I publish more videos, articles, or podcast episodes, do I actually get more views?)

  • how packaging matches output (if I make a themed campaign or post aligning with a cultural moment, do those perform better)

  • open rates and views relative to recent posts (yes, everyone hates the “# of 10” counter on YouTube, but there’s something to it. If a post is performing lower than other posts in a similar time frame, that may be your audience’s way of telling you they weren’t that into it).

  • month over month growth (does growth translate to more revenue generated? If not, how can I leverage increased attention for more revenue or deeper relationships?)

• Be deliberate about where automation and AI live in your business, if at all. AI and automation software (like Zapier or Make) are great at scaling repetitive work or tasks. But in moments of first impressions, confusion, emotion, or urgency, customers will still want a human. The businesses and organizations doing this best are handling low-lift stuff (i.e., automating a post to social every time they publish a newsletter) with automations so they can handle the moments that matter.

• Remember what matters to your customers. Every day, your customers share invaluable insights—preferences, life milestones, brands they use regularly, where they enjoy spending time, and their interests. Traditionally, these insights are lost in conversations. Use a notetaking app to capture and store these moments from your DMs, emails, and in-person conversations so that you can personalize future interactions effortlessly—without asking customers to repeat themselves (because no one likes to repeat themselves or feel unheard).

Use this data to turn insights into action. Once we know better, we do better. And we can do better. Many of the problems you’ll find by measuring the things above are solvable and will help you deliver more genuine, memorable experiences. And that’s the story you want your customers and clients sharing.