Impact

Today I recorded a podcast with Darren Beale for his show Knuckling Down. It’s the first time I’ve appeared on a podcast.

As the red light started blinking, the nerves hit. I fumbled my words and didn’t speak as coherently as the thoughts in my head. I can’t imagine anything more scary than listening back to that recording. Still, I had fun and I’m pleased I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone. Darren was a great host, too. He kept the conversation running smoothly and was forgiving of my lack of experience.

We talked mostly about writing, 30DWC, and mailing lists. I talked about how when I started out, my list had only 16 people on it. I said that it was hard to write for so few people, and it was. I then talked about how I grew my list to 238 by running a competition.

But there was something important I missed out and I wish I hadn’t.

It doesn’t have to be a numbers game.

“I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the numbers because if I did, I’d spend all my time trying to make the numbers go up,” blogger and author Seth Godin once said. “My goal isn’t to have the most popular blog, my goal is to have my blog. To be whatever I need it to be in that moment.”

When you focus on the numbers, you lose sight of the things that matter: writing with humility and authenticity, speaking your truth, and viewing readers with a sense of gratitude.

You could write to an audience of millions and affect no one. Or you could write for an audience of one and change their life. I know which one I’d prefer.

You only need an audience of one to make an impact.