Addressing the needs of college students with life-changing books

Within the first months after taking a new marketing position focused on sales to college students, I lost count of how many times I heard the sentiment, “Students don’t read.”

It’s easy to assume that college students aren’t reading anymore. Studies done by the National Endowment for the Arts (Reading on the Rise: A New Chapter in American Literacy, arts.gov/sites/default/files/ReadingonRise.pdf) have shown a steady decline in the last two decades in the number of 18- to 24-year-olds reading for leisure. With the rise of social media, more students do their reading online by surfing blog posts, Facebook and pithy quotes on Twitter. Social scientists have expressed concern over the shortened attention spans caused by screen time, concluding people can’t commit anymore to reading whole books.

But that is the “glass-half-empty” side of the conversation. Although numbers are declining, college students are still reading books. Studies show the number of young adults who enjoy reading for pleasure to be anywhere from 50 percent to 93 percent (“Study: Reading Isn’t Dead for College Students,” U.S. News & World Report). Ask a student if he is able to read a book during the school year, and he might squirm while citing the number of hours he is glued to his textbooks. But ask about books during academic breaks and summer vacations, and you may get a different answer.

Influencing tomorrow’s leaders

The effort to market books to college students is not wasted, not only because of how many students are willing to read but also because books are good for them. In addition to increased vocabulary, greater general knowledge and an improved ability to empathize (ncte.org/positions/statements/leisure-reading), there is a long list of other benefits. Galaxy Quick Reads, a U.K.-based company helping people become readers, reports that those who read 30 minutes a week have higher self-esteem, increased ability to make decisions, higher levels of creativity, less depression and even better sleep habits. Imagine the effects on college campuses if administrators implemented a daily reading siesta!

For those of us in Christian publishing, the vision for reading is even greater. Books are a road to transformation. They let us learn from godly men and women all over the globe and help us encounter the living God. They contextualize biblical truth to real-world experiences. Books are a deep dive into the pool of spiritual growth.

College students are in the season of life when they are developing what they believe and who they will become. Marketing books to this generation means influencing tomorrow’s leaders.

“Change the university and you change the world,” declared Dr. Charles Malik, former president of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.

Networking to reach students

For these reasons, we must consider not if but how to promote Christian literature to college students. Here are a few strategies to keep in mind as we do so:

1. Identify gatekeepers and influencers. Students will read books that have been recommended to them by someone they trust. As a result, it is important to network with those who can be natural allies and advertisers of our products. Often it is easier to connect with this group of people than it is to gain the attention of busy students.

Campus ministers are at the top of this list. Their goal is to foster the spiritual growth of the students under their care. Some of the best time spent is getting your books onto the radar of campus ministry departments or the staff of parachurch organizations like InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Navigators or Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Casting vision with these folks about how your resources will help them develop and disciple their students will lead to book sales and, ultimately, to the ministry these books were designed to provide.

Residential life directors are another influential group on campus. While much of the director’s job is to ensure that residence halls are functioning safely and smoothly, the position also requires planning programs to develop the lives of the students who are living on campus. These program topics range from racial reconciliation to leadership to body image and sexuality. Being exposed to just the right resource or author is a helpful partnership for you and for them.

Academic libraries are often an overlooked influence on campus. Most people wrongly assume that campus libraries only carry textbooks and reference sources, but many also carry books for leisure reading. Encouraging  academic librarians to display your books in an easy-to-find location will help students discover that these books are available to them.

Professors are also gatekeepers who are influencing what students read on campus. While the most obvious connection is to encourage textbook adoption, professors will also create reading lists of additional resources to offer to students. Build bridges with the faculty so you are able to offer suggestions of new releases.

2. Offer programs and initiatives. As you network with the influencers on campus, you will want to have more than just a list of titles to offer them. Consider designing a program that helps connect books to what campus personnel are trying to accomplish.

Small groups are an easy structure to tap into, whether they are part of a Christian college dorm ministry or a parachurch organization at a secular university. Consider marketing your books that include chapter discussion questions as a creative alternative for small groups on campus. You might even suggest having an all-small-group initiative in which every group commits six to eight weeks to reading a book together, culminating in a larger event at the end of the series with the author as guest speaker.

Student conferences are an excellent opportunity to have face time with the students themselves. Have some kind of presence at those events, whether through an author who is speaking or a book table set up on site. Books will sell if conference leaders recommend them or if they directly relate to the topics being taught. One such example is called Conference in a Box, created by InterVarsity Press to be used at student conferences. This is a one-click book order with a list of titles preselected with college students in mind and right-sized to conference attendance. This package takes the guesswork out of organizing a book table and makes it easier to market to those who are planning the event.

On-campus events are another way to market titles for students. Examples of these events might be a body-image week, Black History Month or new-student welcome days. Plan ahead for ways that books and authors could be part of these events, and present those ideas to student life departments or any of the influencers with whom you’ve been networking. One simple way to do this is to present a list of authors who are available to speak at special events. Keep in close communication with those authors so that when they receive bookings, your store can organize a way to provide books to sell at that event.

3. Utilize social media. It’s no secret that young adults spend a lot of time online. If you want to reach them, you must get savvy about marketing on the big four: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Consider creative efforts to promote book titles in those places, especially with advertising that targets young adults. A viral video or Facebook share is worth a thousand words.

While it’s true that social media may be competing for the attention of potential book readers, an online presence can also work in your favor. Blog posts and video links only go so far to help students process their world and take steps of growth. Eventually, they begin to crave more direction—and that’s when they turn to books.

“Students buy books for curated wisdom and fact-checked knowledge,” said Greg Jao, vice president of campus engagement for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. “They know the limitations of the Internet. They’re looking for sources they can trust.”

4. Know your audience. Sometimes marketing to college students is as simple as sorting out which issues are relevant to millennials. Books that address sexuality, global injustice, service, ethnicity or gender, vocation and basic discipleship topics such as “Who is Jesus?” and “What is authentic Christianity?” will be significant to this altruistic, unchurched and diverse generation.

Unless you have the products that match their spiritual development, reading level and cultural relevance, your efforts may be in vain. Use your networks with campus influencers to ask the question, “What are the hot topics on campus right now?” The Bible study selling like hotcakes at the church down the street might not be what’s needed on campus. Be sure to communicate what you are learning with the publishers you partner with.

College students are the future of the church. Careful and creative marketing not only means acknowledging this unique market segment but also is an investment in the growth of God’s kingdom for decades to come.

Michelle Graham is a 20-year veteran of campus ministry. She is campus sales liaison for InterVarsity Press and author of Wanting to Be Her: Body Image Secrets Victoria Won’t Tell You (IVP Crescendo).

• Next