After years of selling eBooks,
I have some theories
about why
some eBooks sell better
than others.
If I shared these
as theories,
someone would point out
the one or two
exceptions to it.
Because there are exceptions
(and there are ALWAYS exceptions),
they will seek to scuttle
the entire theory.
That will push me to defend it
and defending a theory
to a bunch of people
who are looking merely
to punch holes in it
is often a waste of time.
“Assertions are educated guesses
about what might work better.
They are coherent theories
of how a problem can be solved
or explanations of
how a system works.
It’s impossible to be sure
of your assertion,
but that doesn’t mean
you should never make one.
A falsifiable assertion is one
that can be proven to be wrong.
If it’s not falsifiable,
it’s not a useful assertion.
Saying that a giant green leprechaun
determines the winning lottery numbers
isn’t helpful,
since we can’t prove
that it’s not true.”
When I feel it is important
to share a theory,
I frame it
with ‘this worked for me’
or ‘when applied to my business.’
People will still talk about
the exceptions
but I no longer feel the need
to defend my theory.
I’ve shared my experience
and I move on.
Don’t share theories.
Share experiences.
Let people come up
with their own theories.