Web Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

In Chapters from My Autobiography, Mark Twain wrote, βThere are lies, damned lies, and statistics.β While over one hundred years old, the maxim still applies today.
I have been thinking quite a bit about that quote. You see, Iβve been searching for a sponsor for my podcast and one of the first questions that potentially interested companies have is, βHow many people listen to each episode?β This is a very understandable request but one not easily answered. Why is such a simple question so vexing?
Now, I know from my Wordpress statistics that a certain number of unique visitors stop by blog every day. That number tends to be a little north of 100 on weekdays and, for some reason, wildly higher and lower on some days. Who knows why?
It'll only take a moment.