This article is about the Pareto Principle. Although I talk about small things that equal big wins, let’s not mistake true author success for a quick strategy or fix. What we do everyday matters and the long game is the best game to play. However, that’s not to say we can’t do a few things to move the needle closer to where we want it to be. Enter the Pareto Principle.

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When I was a career woman working for companies, the thing I learned about myself through assessments and feedback was that I loved efficiency. I could look at something and find an easier way to do it. In fact, I despised wasting time. (I’d rather poke out an eyeball than sit in a meeting.)

That’s why I write all my books focused on ways to self-publish without wasting time or money.

Who has time for that?

Image Credit: MailerLite

But living the everyday life is filled with inefficiencies.

The Pareto Principle in Real Life

A few years ago, I made the foolish mistake of buying an iRobot which is an overpriced vacuum designed to keep you in “buy mode”.

Every 6 months, you replace the rollers. You also need to replace filters, these little spin brushes, and the disposal bags. Let’s not forget you need to clean it now and then, too. You become a servant of the very thing that was supposed to make life easier. Never again.

Since I’ve invested in this money-sucking, poor excuse for a vacuum, I noticed it stopped cleaning as well. I had to push it up on the clean base, or the charging station, with my foot. It would stop working if it encountered any type of difference, like moving from the hard floor to the area rug. I’d get an annoying error, “Drop off detected. Please move to a new area and press the clean button.” There was no drop off. It merely couldn’t handle the change.

I renamed it to “Stupid POS” which was comedic when my Alexa declared it was stuck: “Your Stupid POS is stuck.”

All of this led to an annoying experience and less than stellar floors. I was shelling out money for replacement parts, cleaning, and babysitting the unit so it wouldn’t get stuck or could go up on the base and charge. What was the point?

After some research, I came across a Reddit post discussing the problem and offering an actual solution. Who knew Reddit had some substance?

This led me to a realization that the problem was the tread on the wheels. Of course, the solution from the greedy iRobot was to purchase new wheels, which were $40 a piece and were out of stock. Reddit suggested buying treads on Alibaba for a few dollars and a month wait time, but I found some on Amazon for $5 and a two-day ship time. Steal!

But that was only part of the issue because iRobot didn’t make it easy to take the wheel apart.

YouTube to the rescue.

With some elbow grease and a bit of a struggle, my husband got the new treads on.

And to my surprise, it worked! No more babysitting, no more getting stuck, and my floors actually looked vacuumed.

The Pareto Principle Explained

This situation reminded me of the Pareto principle. The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80/20” rule, was named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, who discovered this pattern in his studies of wealth distribution in societies. (Source: Simply Psychology)

The Pareto Principle states

80% of outcomes or effects come from 20% of the causes or inputs.

The Pareto Principle is useful in a variety of situations, including business, economics, and quality control.

Or, I suppose, overpriced vacuums and their design flaws. Or simply stated:

My vacuum function is 80% improved just by fixing one problem. 

I still have to replace filters and empty the disposal and take care of it, but a simple fix took care of the biggest issue.

But it got me thinking about books and how much time we waste. Every book is a journey for the author. While your journey might consist of methods I wouldn’t use, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some foundational ways to be more effective.

Focus on a Small Issue for Book Marketing

How can the Pareto Principle work for book marketing?

Think of a minor fix that will bring you the most success. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Email List: Instead of spreading yourself thin across a variety of marketing channels, pour that energy into nurturing your email list. One solid connection with readers who’ve invited you into their inbox is worth more than a thousand disengaged social media followers. Just starting? Try out MailerLite*.
2. Cover upgrade: If you are noticing sales dropping or people clicking but not buying, it might mean you need a new cover. Readers judge book by the covers so this single change can improve visibility and click-through rates. Other indicators it’s time for a new cover is when reviews specifically mention it, it’s more than 3 years old, it has poor thumbnail visibility, and sales are significantly less than other books in your genre.
3. Book Description: Are you making the best use of your book description? Are you using keywords that people are searching and targeting your audience in the right way? Sometimes a simple update to the description can change the trajectory of your book sales.
4. Ongoing reviews: Did you get a lot of reviews at launch but now are getting none? Focus on higher quality reviews instead of hounding your audience. Consider ways you can get in front of a new audience such as in a newsletter swap (Story Origin* is a great place for this.)
5. Update categories: Sometimes your book is listed in the wrong category. If you are competing in a crowded category, consider moving your book to a category that still fits your niche but isn’t as crowded. KDP Rocket* is a great tool for this.

The beauty of the Pareto Principle for self-published authors is that you don’t need to master every marketing technique or platform. You just need to identify and fix the one or two things, creating the biggest obstacles to your success.

Your marketing can run more smoothly when you address the core issues rather than constantly replacing parts and maintaining systems that aren’t essential to your success.

Fix one idea and test it out. It might be the 20% that gets you the best results.