My background in retail provided solid training for trying to figure things out. If sales are down, try something. If that doesn’t work, try something else. A floor move, an off-price buy, an employee sale or a surprise contest can get results. Whatever you do, staunch the bleeding. A ten percent downward trend should never be allowed to grow to twenty.
In my author business, I have, from time to time, fallen into the trap of thinking there was something I didn’t know I should be doing. I studied what other successful authors and publishers did and I spent time and money trying to replicate their efforts. I stayed up late to fit in one more thing, each time thinking it would be what made a difference. But no matter how much spaghetti I threw at the wall, no single action moved the needle.
After a while, it occurred to me that it was more difficult to sit still and let things be than it was to try something new. Maybe I had already done the things. Maybe my strategy was the right strategy for my books. Maybe I needed to stop with the hail mary promos, the metadata changes, the cover redesigns, the blitz of ads.
When I chose this option, I saw that I’d been attempting to solve problems that didn’t exist. I’d fallen prey to the belief that everybody knew something that I didn’t. I saw how much time I actually had to do more productive things like reading and writing—both of which had a better chance of improving my sales with the next book.
And I noticed something else: I became less stressed. I was able to step away from my computer without feeling guilty. I saw holes in my marketing efforts. And with a little distance, I saw what I wanted marketing to look like (and what I didn’t).
No matter what field we’re in, there are experts telling us to incorporate their methods, and a lot of those methods will get results. I’m not saying they won’t. But trying to do it all or believing we’re excluded from the club that has all of the answers isn’t the way forward.
Sometimes it can be just as helpful to stand still and know there’s nothing else we need to do.
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