My LinkedIn post hit 50,000 views.
You’d think I’d be celebrating, right?
Instead, I felt like shit.
Here’s why:
I opened my analytics and saw something that made my stomach drop.
50,000 post views. 847 profile visits.
That’s a 0.3% profile visit rate.
Fair?
For context, my worst-performing posts usually hit 3-4%. My best ones? 8-12%.
This viral post? Complete failure disguised as success.
It’s like that nightmare where all the ‘#1 Dad’ mugs in the world suddenly show real rankings.
Imagine waking up and your mug now says “#47,293 Dad” instead.
That’s what happened when I looked beyond the vanity metric.
Here’s the thing everyone misses:
You can’t optimize numbers without percentages.
Let me explain:
The Metric That Matters (And Why No One Tracks It)
Most entrepreneurs chase these useless numbers: - Email subscribers (without tracking open rates) - Social media followers (without tracking engagement rates)
- Website traffic (without tracking conversion rates) - LinkedIn views (without tracking profile visit rates)
Why this is ADHD brain torture:
We get dopamine hits from big numbers. 50K views! 10K followers!
But dopamine isn’t revenue.
The uncomfortable truth:
Anyone can get more traffic to the top of their funnel. Run ads, post more, use trending hashtags.
But here’s what separates amateurs from pros:
Pros optimize ratios, not totals.
The LinkedIn Reality Check:
- 50K views with 0.3% profile visit rate = 150 potential customers
- 5K views with 8% profile visit rate = 400 potential customers
Which post was actually better? The 5K one.
But which one feels better to share?
The 50K one. Because humans are stupid.
The Framework I Use (ADHD-Friendly):
Step 1: Pick ONE percentage to track Not five. Not ten. ONE.
For LinkedIn: Profile visits ÷ Post views For emails: Opens ÷ Sends
For websites: Conversions ÷ Traffic
Step 2: Ignore everything else Seriously. Close the other tabs. Stop tracking vanity metrics.
Step 3: Test everything against that ONE percentage Different headlines? Check the ratio. Different posting times? Check the ratio. Different content angles? Check the ratio.
Why this works for scattered brains:
✅ Simple focus (one number)
✅ Immediate feedback (ratio changes fast)
✅ Real results (percentages = money)
Question for you:
What percentage are you NOT tracking that’s killing your business?
The Plot Twist:
After I posted about my “failed” 50K view post, something weird happened.
That honest post about metrics got 12K views… and a 9.2% profile visit rate.
More profile visits from the “smaller” post about my failure than the viral post about my success.
Bottom line:
The market rewards authenticity over vanity.
But only if you’re measuring the right things.
Want the real data?
I track 47 different percentage ratios across my business. (Yes, ADHD hyperfocus in action.)
Reply “RATIOS” and your Website/ Product and I’ll send you the 5 that actually matter.
Not a course. Not a system. Just the numbers that determine whether you’re growing or lying to yourself.
Fair?
Jan
P.S. Next time someone brags about their “viral” post, ask them about their conversion rate. Watch them change the subject.
P.P.S: My metric for this Mail is: Replies/Sends.
