I will once again “step” over theoretical knowledge – just “caught the wave”, sorry.

I am often asked for specifics, numbers. And I, heartbroken, sometimes give them. Although I understand their value, how much effort, fruitless attempts, sleepless nights I spent just coming to the idea that these numbers are needed. Not just to measure them. Any number is not a sign, it is a story.

Let’s take a simple figure: 20%. This is a conversion when transferring customers with a free version of one of my past products to a paid version. You can convince yourself that this is – well, very valuable information. But in isolation from the whole process, from the questions and emotions that arise, this figure is perceived as an abstraction.

For me, this is not just an understanding that every 5 product installations I received one real client. For me, it meant that for one $ 3 installation, I had to spend $ 15 on each client. And combined with the 3% conversion of traffic from Adwords to Pump, I had to bring 35 people for each installation, meaning I had one client for an average of 180 visitors.

And the main thing for me in this figure is the understanding that the issue is not in traffic. This figure did not appear by itself, but grew 20 (!) Times by two-week optimization of the whole process. And for me, then a stupid boy with a $ 29 product, that meant a profit of $ 12 (minus commission) on every sale that came out of an initial loss of $ 150 per customer. And the reason why this figure grew – I had no control over others. And for me, that $ 12 was a “thing a month” at a time when it was unrealistically cool for almost yesterday’s student.

Figures in isolation from the process – nonsense. That’s why you should collect “your” numbers – the only way you understand their real meaning. Only then do you see them as an element in a chain of interrelated events. You remember stories, and new ideas come after stories.