Attribution Can Wait

_{Day 70/100}

Hey—it's Tim.

You know that feeling when you look at your Google Analytics dashboard and think:
"I trust this data about as much as a toddler holding my coffee."

Welcome to attribution.

And before we get into it, a hot take:
I think tracking kills creativity.
You can’t chase the weird idea if you're terrified it won't show up in a report.

Still... sometimes you need to know what the hell is going on.
Like right now - here at Penfriend.

We’ve got a good problem: signups are rolling in.
But not enough people are converting.

So, I've got two missions:

1. Where are all these signups actually coming from?

2. And what am I not doing to help them stay?

Simple questions.
Not simple answers.

Who Deserves Credit? The Content Marketing Paternity Test

Attribution is basically a paternity test for your marketing.

The problem?
Half the time the results say:
"Sorry, the father is... unclear."

Was it the blog?
The LinkedIn post?
The newsletter?
The TikTok someone made about us two weeks ago while standing in a parking lot eating a sandwich?

Nobody knows.

Even the so-called "models" (first-click, last-click, linear, data-driven, voodoo magic) are just guesses wearing glasses.

Attribution feels like chasing ghosts.
And I don’t have time to ghost hunt.

How I’m Handling It (Without Losing My Mind)

Here’s how we’re actually tackling it at Penfriend:

• Step 1: Fix the first touch.
  Right now, people hit a signup wall before they see anything.
  That kills momentum.
  We’re flipping it: show the magic first, ask for signup second.
  Give value → then earn the commitment.
  

• Step 2: Make the numbers happen.
  I don’t have time to sit around pulling dashboards.
  I need to create the numbers - not just stare at them.
  Signup conversion is rough right now 🙃
  The answer isn't an attribution model.
  The answer is building a better damn first impression.
  

• Step 3: Rewrite onboarding to stack wins.
  We’re scrapping the old onboarding flow.
  New plan:

  • Day 1: Tiny win. (First article draft shipped.)

  • Day 2: Show off a second capability.

  • Day 3: Help them sharpen it.

  • Day 5: Turn it into a publishing habit.
    Fast momentum. No dead zones. No getting lost.
    

• Step 4: Listen, ship, repeat.
  Last week I got a bunch of user feedback.
  Some of it stung.
  All of it helped.
  We’re already changing things because of it - not next quarter, not after a committee meeting.
  This week.

It really isn’t rocket surgery.
You fix it by fixing it.

Not by waiting for permission.
Not by asking for better data.
By building something better.

Quick Takeaways if You're in the Same Boat:

• Treat attribution models like a compass, not a GPS.

• Watch human behavior before spreadsheets.

• Improve the journey you can control.

• Creativity first, optimization second.

See you tomorrow.

✌️Tim "Last-Click, First-Click, No-Click, Blue-Click" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai

Same brain, different platforms: X, Threads, LinkedIn.

P.S. Want to make my day even harder?
Go right ahead. Sign up.
Use the thing we’ve built for the last 18 months.
Actually use it. I dare you.

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