Can We Fix It? YES WE CAN!
Solutions to slow or no book sales states with understanding the problem(s).
Holey Cheese, Batman!
A few years ago the Swiss Cheese industry was in panic.
After decades of work to improve and refine their cheese-making process, the unthinkable had happened: the famous swiss-cheese holes were disappearing.
It hadn’t happened all at once, but over time the signature holes had decreased in size and frequency. And now they were almost completely gone.
Something was missing from the equation. And if they couldn’t figure out how to fix it, an entire industry might collapse…
The Culprit
The holes that make Swiss cheese so famous are caused by carbon dioxide during the maturation process.
The cheese is smooth at first, but once packed up and left to mature, the holes would form due to certain bacteria in the cheese clinging to tiny particles in the milk and releasing carbon dioxide bubbles. When the cheese is sliced, those bubbles appear as the famous holes.
The problem?
The Swiss dairy industry had become so clean and efficient, the milk being used was too pure for this reaction to occur naturally. In other words, there was nothing in the milk — no impurities — for the bacteria to cling to.
So, what to do?
Go back to “dirty milk”?
Not quite.
Scientists analysed countless samples and discovered that adding a tiny amount of sanitized “grass dust” simlar to that found in dairy barns would do the trick. And we’re talking tiny amounts — a handful of parts per million — to give the bacteria a vessle to produce that sweet, sweet, CO2*.
The approach worked. And the world is none the wiser as to just how close Swiss Cheese became a thing of the past…
It turns out, when you have a problem, if you know the root cause you can fix it.
Let’s take another example.
*Editorial correction: CO2 is actually flavourless.
Whisky
A famous Islay whisky distillery decided to upgrade its equipment after over 100 years of producing some of the finest Scotch whisky in the world.
Their whisky stills — essentially giant metal bottles that hold thousands of litres of whisky — were ancient, leaking, and in urgent need of replacement.
So replace they did. But pretty soon, they noticed a problem. The whisky didn’t have the same flavour profile.
It turns out, all the dents, scratches, and imperfections in the old stills imparted unique characteristics to the finished product. The smooth, shiny, new ones were no good.
Problem identified. Root cause identified… the fix?
They gathered up their team, gave them each a hammer, and they went to town. Problem solved.
McDonalds
When McDonalds first started to expand their franchises across North America in the second half of the 1950s, they had to start switching to more local suppliers for ingredients.
Makes sense, right? Lower transport distances means lower costs and less waste.
But they soon noticed a problem. The fries didn’t taste right.
Were the suppliers sending inferior potatoes? A thorough quality assessement revealed that, no, in fact the potatoes were just as good. Same variant, same growing methods, same everything.
So what was the problem?
It turns out, under the original supply chain, the potatoes would ferment slightly during the transportation process.
A combination of ambient heat, humidity, and time spend on the road meant the potatoes arrived at their destination with unique flavor profiles.
Problem identified. Root cause identifited… the fix?
The “new” fries were now treated with a special flavor bath that recreated the flavor of the fermentation process. And an iconic fast-food flavor was soon shipping its way across the world.
Why this is important
As authors, it’s often fairly easy to identify the problem.
- I can’t finish my draft
- I can’t get reviews
- Nobody’s clicking on my book
- Nobody’s buying my book
- Nobody’s buying other books in my series
- I can’t grow an email list
- I can’t get my email list to buy anyhting
- and so on…
Where many authors struggle is identifying the root cause.
Without that root cause, we can only guess what the solution is (and most times, we get it wrong).
Case in point — nobody’s buying your books, so you throw a small fortune at Amazon Ads. Only to still have nobody buying your books, and considerably less in your bank account.
The reason? Amazon ads can only fix one thing — lack of clicks.
They can’t fix any other problem.
So unless your only problem is “no clicks”, and everything else is perfect, then ads aren’t going to help.
Instead
When you understand the root cause of your problem, whatever it might be, you can fix it with the correct strategy or tool for your unique circumstances.
Once you get your head around this, you’ll find results happen quickly.
It might be that you’re struggling with nailing down your genre. Or you can’t quite get your covers and descriptions right. It might be a lack of email subscribers, or maybe ads are working well for you but you can’t scale up…
Whatever it might be, dont worry, I’m going to give you everything you need to figure out what’s holding you back — and how to fix it.
Whatever stage you’re at in your author career and whatever your experience.
You’ll be able to quickly identify any root causes, and easily choose the right strategy or tool to overcome them.
Craft your story’s success with Skinny Brown Dog Media — the author’s compass.
