Zondervan author encourages Christian retailers to appeal to the next generation

As I was leaving my favorite Christian bookstore in Marietta, Ga., I experienced my first car accident. I was 16 years old and had just purchased a few books and a CD from Sweet Spirit Christian Bookstores and, to be honest, I was loading my CD into my car’s system when I pulled out in front of someone and gave their driver side door, shall we say, a little more personality. 

As a teenager, I can’t think of many things I enjoyed as much as a good 30 minutes of uninterrupted perusal time at Sweet Spirit. Long before I was a book writer, I was a book lover, and the walls after walls of words on pages felt like a sanctuary to me. But it wasn’t just the books—it was the gifts, the journals, the jewelry and, yes, the music that I should have put in while still parked instead of while making a left turn.

As an author for teen girls, it is exciting to think that my books are in that sanctuary now, lining walls and shelves of bookstores across the country, just waiting on a teen girl, like I was, to pop in after school for a respite. But there are more teen girls out there looking for Christian products that may never know to pop into a store or what is offered. If student ministries are going well and reaching the lost, resources the stores have are needed for these teens. But, how do we get to them?

I ask that question, too. As I write books, I wonder how to get them into the hands of teen girls without just doing a parachute drop from an airplane as it flies over every high school in the nation. But since that marketing technique is out of the budget, what else can we do and where can we go to meet the needs of these students looking for products to help them grow in their faith?

BE SOCIAL 

Teenagers are on social media—all over it. If there is a way to communicate with other people using technology, students have figured out how to do it. So we should be there. As content providers, we should be offering content where the students already are gathering. 

But be warned: It doesn’t take long for teens to sniff out a fake. If you are only on Twitter to sell them products, they’ll know it quickly. But if you become a voice they trust for good resources—What’s the best new music? When is an author coming to town? What products do you have that will help me understand the opposite sex?—they’ll listen. 

ATTEND EVENTS

Youth groups and Christian families attend big concerts and live events that are in your town. As a speaker on the Girls of Grace tour, a one-day conference for teen girls and their moms, I get to visit about a dozen cities every school year. 

I love it when I see Girls of Grace posters on the window of a local Christian retail store or when a store manager comes to the event. We want you there with us! When we leave a town, we want to know that the girls we have ministered to for the entire day have a place to go where they can be resourced and encouraged. 

INVITE THEM

All that teenagers need is an invitation and free food and they will be there. Where? Anywhere. So why not invite them? Make them feel at home in your store and they will come back over and over again. That’s what Sweet Spirit always did right. They always made me feel like I was welcome there, even if that meant I walked down the aisles of books for 25 minutes and walked out only purchasing one. The Carpenter’s Shop in Athens, Ga., was the same. As one of the few Christian bookstores in my college town, you rarely went there alone and always ran into another student. 

For retailers with just a section for teens or a larger department for teens, they will feel welcome if someone on your team knows the products. They will feel invited to your store if someone speaks their language. 

And did I mention food? I don’t know what that means for your store, just know that if food is there, your store will draw teens.

WORK TOGETHER

Authors and musicians, especially in the Christian market, know that we can’t do this without you putting us on your store shelves. Do you see us coming to your town? Reach out and invite us over! 

Recently, I got in touch with the folks at Crossroads Books and Coffee in Peoria, Ariz., while I was there for a Girls of Grace event at Grand Canyon University. My hope was to pop by the store and say “hi” to the managers, but when we called, they were having an event that night. Instead of turning me away, they invited me to be a part of helping raise funds for a mission trip to Africa. So I got to speak for about five minutes during the event and help send a family overseas. I loved it! 

Partnering with bookstores is one of the most fun parts of this job to me, so even if that just looks like stopping by and signing my books and posting a picture together on Instagram, I think that is great! Let’s work together to spread the message of who God is and how He loves to as many customers as possible!

And thanks for all you do. This job—writing books for women in many stages of life—is an absolute dream and I get to do it because of retailers making my books available to the public. Together we can continue to build that sanctuary in your store for the next generation and for those who will communicate gospel truths to them. 

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