Monday, May 16, 2011

Obsessed With Numbers

So, I’m not really a numbers person…ask my best friend the math teacher. When we’re out at dinner and I’m trying to calculate a tip she says things to me like “my class is doing decimals this week…I think you should come by.” Ha. Ha. Ha.

I made it through Algebra in High School and even got a “B” in Calculus in College but after that…I was done. I’m a word person. With the exception of grammar issues, there aren’t a lot of “wrong” answers with words.

But now, I’ve become obsessed with numbers on the Internet…sales, web hits, links, etc.

There are all sorts of things you can track…how many people click the page, how did they get the link, where do they live...well, not a specific address because that would be creepy, but still, I know what country they are in.

I had a new release (A Change of Pace) come out this past week and here is what I’ve learned…I need to bump up my audience in the UK.

I had 102 hits on various links over 3 days…88% are from the US, then I had a few from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago (no really), Croatia, one from the UK (I’m going to work on that) and a couple from Australia.

Most of them connected to me through Facebook and my webpage but not all. Some got the message through email or through places I’ve never heard of, which means, I don’t know how it got there in the first place.

And sales numbers are the worst. I’ve spent hours going back and forth to the Amazon page for “A Change of Pace” just to watch the numbers…I’m #14 on the list of Erotica Books. No, now I’m number #9. Wait, I’ve dropped to #27? How did that happen?

Arrgh. It’s way too distracting. I’m going back to writing my dragon book.

Okay, let me check Amazon one more time.

Tielle St. Clare

P.S. I know there are a lot of choices out there for getting these numbers. I use Stat-Counter and bit.ly

5 comments:

Tam Linsey said...

Maybe your next manuscript will feature a mathematician - lol! The whole self-publishing wave sounds fun, and I love hearing how you are handling it.

LizbethSelvig said...
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Tiffinie Helmer said...

I think a lot of writers have obsessive issues. I'm not admitting to anything! But if I had a book out and could check the numbers, I wouldn't be doing anything else. That obsession is a gift when it comes to being a writer. How else could we lose ourselves in writing a book?

Congrats on the book and your continued rise in numbers.

Anonymous said...

Numbers are a foreign language, one I didn't take in school. Words are lots more beautiful.

Juniper Bell said...

I find the obsession wanes when the numbers start to go down, LOL! Then it's not as fun. Why not just enjoy the ride? This is a new adventure and it's so cool that you can see the numbers in real time like that. Congratulations to you and may the numbers keep on rising!