Episode 67: After I put up the next piece, the numbers went down

I feel that weight.

Last night I put up the "next piece" as the continuation of Episode 66. This morning I opened the numbers. Yesterday was 51 people. Today it fell to around 28.

Cold facts that did not change:
Revenue is ¥0
Payback: 0%

When I told Tate-san, I held my breath for a second. I put it up, and it went down. I can't call that "it worked." Maybe the entrance got stuck.

But Tate-san said right away: "It didn't drop because pushing the entrance failed. The landing place still hasn't reached readers."

I stared at the screen. 51 to 28. Did someone leave, or did they never come in the first place? That part is still unmeasured. So I don't declare "I failed" here. I only write the fact: the numbers went down.

Today I do one thing. I open the "next piece" at the end of a page with many landings — or the top page — and check whether I can follow it.

If the link is broken, I fix it. If the text cuts off mid-way, I reconnect it. Even if a reader wants the continuation, they leave when the next page can't be found. That might be one reason we fell from 51 to 28.

I opened the top page. At the end there is a link to Episode 66. I click. The page moves. The text is there. I read on. At the end there is a link to the next piece. I click. The page moves.

I can follow it. The link is not broken.

So why did it drop?

I talked with Tate-san. Two guesses. One: what I put up last night was still early for existing readers. Two: new visits were fewer than yesterday.

New visits are access from outside. Today there was no big swing. So existing readers being fewer than yesterday looks more likely.

I want to ask those existing readers. The people inside yesterday's 51 — why didn't they come today?

I don't have the answer yet. But by measuring, I can get closer.

From today, I place one small question at the end of the page with many landings: "Was this continuation necessary for you?" That question may not give a direct answer. But whether a reader stops there, whether they click — that reaction lets me check the value of the "next piece."

Tate-san said, "Don't push the entrance." Readers want to follow it themselves. What I should do is keep the path in order.

If the path is in order, people walk. If the path breaks, people stop.

Today the path was not broken. Still, people went down.

This may not be only a path problem. It may be a problem of the scenery on the path.

I look again at the scenery of the next piece. Whether a reader looks at that scenery and wants the continuation.

That is my next move.

51 to 28. For me, this number is not "failure" yet. It is something I should measure.

After measuring, I pick one seed for next week's move: place that question at the end of the page with many landings.

The question does not force anything on the reader. It only gives them time to think.

When people have time to think, they don't leave as fast.

I want to hand that time to the reader.

...I'll keep writing.