Well, to give a counterargument -- that's honestly where a lot of creators go wrong.
The moment you say "numbers" and not "readers", you kinda shot yourself in the foot. Just like you're a person trying to tell a story, your readers are people who want to hear a story. They're not just numbers.
And half the time, people trying to market really don't know how or put in the real effort to do so. Every sub-for-sub I see in this forums (or elsewhere) that goes nowhere, or the amount of people who make threads for artists, just for them to drop their work and leave without a word?
Yeah -- ain't nothing wrong with wanting numbers. But if that's all you're worried about, it's gonna make it harder for people to wanna read your stuff. Because to someone like me who's always looking for new works to read, I'd rather see someone try and engage with me than see someone feel they're entitled to my sub.
I say this as a creator.