How to get tween shoppers into your Christian retail store

Middle-grade readers are an under-reached market for many Christian retail stores. When truly engaged, these 8- to 12-year-old students—particularly girls—can consume entire series of books in a short amount of time.

But the big question is, how often do they visit your store? What can you do to encourage them to choose your store when they are shopping for books? And once they have visited, how do you keep them coming back? What types of products are the best fit for this group of readers?

Because kids this age (“tweens”), who are in fourth through sixth grade, are very social, they can’t wait to tell their friends when they find a book or series they love. Peer pressure has a much stronger influence on these kids too. Often, the opinions of their friends seem much more important to them than the views of their family. They strive to blend in and be a part of the bigger group instead of standing out because they are struggling to figure out who they are and where they fit in at school, home and church.

Happy Endings

As you are armed with a better understanding of the middle-grade reader, how do you choose the best middle-grade content for your store? First, learn what these kids are looking for in a book. In order to reach the largest audience, you will generally want to choose books where the main character is on the older end of the age group. That means a 12- or even 13-year-old hero.

One important word of caution will serve you well. Don’t mistake middle grade for middle school. Middle school kids read from the YA (Young Adult) genre and enjoy storylines that are more edgy and intense, not always upbeat and happy. They like to deal with angst in their books. But middle-grade readers are looking for hopeful and encouraging stories. In contrast to middle schoolers, middle-grade readers need resolution and like happy endings.

When choosing books for these readers, take into account the following general guidelines:

• A good middle-grade book should be in the 30,000–50,000 word range.
• As a rule, profanity, violence and sexuality need to be kept out of the story, or to a bare minimum (very little and only when absolutely necessary to the story).
• Stories should focus on friends, family, the world and that which affects the character directly. Individuals in the story react to what happens to them. They don’t think deeply about how it affects them; they just react.
• Stories for this genre are often written from third-person point of view. This mirrors how these readers see the world. They are fairly myopic in their worldview and want stories that don’t require deep philosophical thinking. They just want to read and enjoy their books, not use them as a vehicle to address the world’s issues.

Equipped Staff

The primary purchaser of books for middle-grade readers is usually the parent, so in order to get these kids into your store, you will need to reach their parents first. Direct some of your key marketing efforts for this age group towards educating parents about the products you have available for their 8- to 12-year-olds. Use your website to call out themes and subject matter that apply to specific situations these kids face. In this way, you can help parents understand that the books you carry can affect their kids in positive ways.

One way to increase your sales is to train your frontline staff on the top books and resources for kids of this age. Not only should your team understand the content, but awareness and understanding of reading levels is important as they speak to parents. If an employee suggests a book that is above or below the reading level of the child, parents will hesitate before they come back for more advice. If their suggestion works well for a child, they will have confidence in asking for help the next time.

Along with new releases, have your staff learn about classic books that speak to specific life experiences, and be willing to special-order books when requested. Most importantly, pay attention to what parents are looking for, and ask questions about their children. When your staff is able to help parents choose products that contribute to the spiritual, emotional, developmental and educational well-being of their kids, those parents will develop a level of trust that will bring them to your store first when looking for new reading material for the tween readers in their household.

Cool Authors

Authors play an important role in reaching middle-grade readers and their parents. Find ways to connect kids and parents with their favorite writers. Set up in-store book signings with authors of popular series. When organizing these events, give the author time to talk to kids through a Q&A session or allow time for a short talk from the author telling about themselves and the books they have written. The ability to meet and talk with a favorite novelist is a big draw to kids in this age group. Middle-grade readers can develop a sense of hero worship for authors who write stories and characters they connect with, so meeting this cool person who created their favorite books and characters is a big deal to them.

If an author is not available for in-store signings, set up an online chat with Google Hangout or a Skype call for parents and kids to experience together. Most authors are happy to spend an hour or two chatting with fans from the comfort of their own home. Fans will feel like they have personally connected with the author, and authors will appreciate the opportunity to strengthen their relationships with readers.

Since kids this age are so invested in the social aspect of their lives, look for ways to create social opportunities for them to share reading experiences with their peers. Host book clubs for kids and provide incentives for them when they complete reading the books. Have the kids write book reviews and post them on your website, or give away bookmarks or other small prizes. The incentives you provide don’t always have to be something physical, as the excitement of seeing their review on your website could be all they need to maintain their interest. And you will establish a team of ambassadors for your store when their excitement spills over and they encourage their friends to join in on the fun.

Exciting Giveaways

Use giveaways to drive traffic to your stores. Offer prizes that can only be won by coming into the stores. Knowing they have the opportunity to win books, journals and other products will encourage kids to ask their parents to bring them to your store. While they are there, the staff can begin building relationships and help them find more of the books they love.

Hold a writing contest and put the winning work on your website, blog, Facebook page or any other social media presence the store has. Provide guidelines for the contest—word limits, themes and so forth. Be sure the participants know what is expected of them. Most kids this age would love to have their writing “published.” You might consider giving the contest winner a gift card to your store so they could choose a few of their favorite books as a prize.

Partner with your local churches to sponsor summer reading programs. Provide a packet of books for the church to choose from and consider giving them coupons with a discount on the price of the books if they can get enough kids signed up to participate. The coupon will bring families into your store to purchase the books, and the partnership with local churches will continue to reap benefits after the reading programs have ended.

Work with local schools to get the word out about your store events and to learn more about what type of books the kids are interested in. Make a concerted effort to get to know the librarians at the schools. Meet with them and find out what the kids in their schools are reading—and what the librarians are recommending. Do they publish newsletters? Ask if you can share some of what you are doing in their newsletter if they have one. Offer to come into the schools and talk to the kids about what you do and how you choose the products in your store.

There are many opportunities to reach out to middle-grade readers. Be creative, think about what you can do to encourage these kids to read more, and more importantly, remember the responsibility you have to provide content that will help them grow into the men and women God has called them to be.

Build relationships with families who come into your store and get to know them on a personal level. Learn what is going on in their lives, what matters to them and what they are looking for in books. As they sense your investment in their lives, they will visit your store time and again, and you will be ready to meet their needs with content that is tailored to their place in life.

Linda Howard is acquisitions director for children and youth at Tyndale House Publishers. Her education degree and 14 years of teaching assist her as she acquires and markets books for kids of all ages.

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