Stop Chasing Numbers
Every author I’ve ever met has asked the same quiet, anxious question:
“How big does my platform need to be?”
It’s usually whispered like a confession. Because underneath it, what they’re really asking is:
Am I enough?
Enough followers. Enough likes. Enough reach to matter.
But here’s the part most authors don’t want to hear: you could have ten thousand people following you online and still not sell more than a handful of books. Numbers don’t equal impact. Numbers don’t equal trust. Numbers don’t equal readers who actually care.
That’s the engagement illusion, and it’s the trap that keeps too many authorpreneurs spinning their wheels, wasting energy on the wrong things.
Measurement of Connection
When I first started sharing my work, I thought the platform game was about size. I checked analytics like I was trading stocks. I measured myself by likes, comments, and follower growth.
And when the numbers didn’t move, I felt like I wasn’t moving either.
But when my book, The Art of Resilience, found its way into schools and speaking stages, it didn’t happen because I cracked some social media code. It happened because of a small circle of people who trusted my voice, who carried my story into rooms I never could have entered alone.
It was the teacher who told her colleagues about me. The friend who introduced me to his network. The community that believed in my message enough to amplify it.
That’s when I realized: platform isn’t measured by volume. It’s measured by connection.
The Pain Points
Here’s where most nonfiction authors get stuck:
Platform Panic: You’re told by agents or publishers that you don’t have enough followers, and it feels like a door slamming shut.
Marketing Dread: You hate the thought of turning into a pushy, self-promotional machine.
Burnout Loop: You spread yourself across every platform, post randomly, and feel exhausted when it doesn’t work.
Credibility Gap: You secretly believe that writing is the “real” work and marketing is the shameful afterthought.
These beliefs don’t just stall books; they stall careers.
Marketing isn’t separate from your writing. It’s an extension of it.
You don’t need to become someone you’re not. You don’t need to scream louder than everyone else. You don’t need to trick readers into caring.
You already have the skills: storytelling, clarity, empathy, and consistency. That’s all marketing really is, applied to connection, not just content.
The Shift
Engagement beats numbers. Every time.
Would you rather have ten thousand people glance at your work and scroll away, or one hundred people who buy, review, and recommend your book?
The math of publishing is simple: a small, loyal tribe will move your career further than a massive, passive crowd.
The Tools
To make that shift real, here are the tools I give authors:
Ideal Reader Worksheet – Define who you’re writing for and where they spend their time.
Message Map – A one-page compass for your stories, themes, and takeaways—so you stay consistent everywhere.
Email Metrics > Social Likes – Track who opens, clicks, and replies. That’s your real audience. And try to get better one post, email at a time.
20 Readers List – Write down twenty real people and commit to connecting with them.
Rule of 3 – Choose three marketing actions weekly. No more, no less.
Content Recycling Calendar – Repurpose one idea across formats so you aren’t always starting from scratch.
Connections
When I was a teenager at the Saturday Market, selling screen-printed shirts, I wasn’t counting how many people walked by my booth. I was looking for eye contact. Connection. A moment where someone saw what I made and said, “That’s for me.”
That’s still the game. That’s still the work.
Numbers deceive. Engagement lasts.
Your platform isn’t about how many people know your name. It’s about how many people trust your voice.
If you build that trust, slowly, consistently, authentically, you’ll never need to chase numbers.
The numbers will find you.
See you next time, Amir is crying, and I gotta go be a Dad. Love ya!
Oh, if you need support with the Author's personal brand building, message me, let's talk.
Hussein
