LET’S SELL SOME BOOKS

HOW TO SELL EDUCATIONAL BOOKS TO MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

WHY SHOULD THIS HAPPEN?With the rise of social media among middle school kids, now more than ever are

educational books needed in their lives. With the world at their finger tips, over 51% of kids ages 14-17 are on social media, causing a constant distraction from education and learning (Growing Wireless, 2016).

Books and eBooks stimulate the creative brains of children and allow them to connect words with meanings (Cullinan & Bagert, 2015)

So how do we as book publishers get kids engaged and WANTING to learn in school? Lets start with the basics….

THIS GENERATION IS SERIOUSLY POWERFUL

• You know the phrase, “kids are the future”? Well, they are.• Educating them to be the best they can be will help pave the way to a lifetime of

education and successful careers• You want to be a part of that process!

TIP 1: TECHNOLOGY IS KEY• According to a survey done by PBS, 73% of teachers claim that students are

more engaged and willing to learn when technology is involved

• According to a study done by Grunwald Associates over 50% of American parents say that they believe mobile devices should be incorporated into classroom settings

Make the books available on eBooks, Kindles and tablets

TIP 2: CREATE ONLINE MODULES• Over 80,000 educational apps on the Apple App Store (International Business

Times)• 72% of the top apps in Apple’s App Store are educational (Hirsh-Pasek et al.,

2015)• Apps are interactive and engaging which is key for children to learn (Hirsh-

Pasek et al., 2015)• Make the module social: kids learn better when they are talking to other kids!

Create a summary game app

WHAT SHOULD THE APP INCLUDE?• Quizzes: set up quizzes on the book’s plots, setting, characters and literary themes.

• Make it adaptive to different learning styles• All humans learn differently, and in middle school kids are learning how they learn• Utilize the 4 learning methods: kinetic, emotional, visual and text (Ability Path, 2014)• Design games that target each of these

• Design the game so it is set up in levels; • Getting good scores on the quizzes= moving onto the next level. • Higher levels=more points. • Encourage teachers and parents to set up a reward system.

• Rewards are a huge factor in why kids are susceptible to addiction with social media and technology, so the same effect can be had on learning (O’Keefe & Clarke-Peterson, 2011)

TIP 3: GET THE PARENTS ON BOARDEvery parent wants their child to have a great education and to learn HOW to

learn. By getting them on board your business will be a success.

• Make the book easy to order: Amazon has over 1.3 million books for sale as well as 500,000 eBooks (Amazon, 2016): CONVENIENCE

• Make the book cost friendly: money is tight when you have a tween running around the house, make sure the book is friendly to the wallet. (Marketing & Sales, 2010)

TIP 4: GET THE KIDS ON BOARDSo you have the parents convinced this book will actually teach their kids

something, but how do you get the kids on board?

• Talk with them, not at them• Kids spend the majority of their day being spoken at-in the classroom, at home,

etc. Talking with them allows you to get on their level and see how they want to learn.• Let them HELP you design the book so they feel involved and will want to read

it.• Getting the kids on board will increase your sales, popularity and reputation in

the educational market

SO THEY BOUGHT THE BOOK, NOW WHAT?If all of the previous tips were followed, you sold a lot of books to kids, teachers

and parents. But how do you know if you succeeded?

• Test their knowledge• According to the Child and Youth Health Network, kids learn best by DOING

(hence why an interactive app is the key to success)• Have the kids complete the online quizzes that are on the app• Once they complete a certain number of quizzes, design a check point quiz

• This can be a summary of questions from all of the content they have learned.• If they pass, move onto the next level• If they fail, the app can lead them to a new set of games since the previous

ones did not work for their learning style

POP QUIZ

1. What are the four different types of learning styles?2. Why is it important to talk with kids, not at them, when trying to sell them

books?3. How many educational apps are on the Apple App Store?4. What percent of kids ages 14-17 are on social media and why is this a

problem?

DID YOU PASS?

1. Kinetic, visual, text, emotional2. Kids are constantly being spoken to in school and at home, it will be easier

to relate to them and build a product they will want to be engaged in if they feel comfortable and respected around you.

3. 80,000 apps4. 51%. This poses a huge problem because social media and electronic devices

are distracting and will cause kids to want to focus on that instead of their education

REFERENCES

Children’s learning styles. (2014). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from Ability Path, http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/learning--schools/learning-and-teaching-styles/articles/childrens-learning-styles.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Grunwald Associates LLC. (2013). Living and Learning with Mobile Devices: What Parents Think About Mobile Devices for Early Childhood and K–12 Learning.

How children learn. (2014, September 25). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from Parenting and Child Health, http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1628#1

How many books does Amazon have for sale? (2011, January 20). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from Quora, https://www.quora.com/How-many-books-does-Amazon-have-for-sale

How to sell to parents. (2003). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from Business Knowledge Source, http://businessknowledgesource.com/marketing/how_to_sell_to_parents_026251.html

Mills, M. (2013, February 03). PBS survey finds teachers are embracing digital resources to propel student learning | PBS about. Retrieved June 12, 2016, from PBS, http://www.pbs.org/about/blogs/news/pbs-survey-finds-teachers-are-embracing-digital-resources-to-propel-student-learning/

O’Keefe, G., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Kids, Adolescents and Families. Official Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Reading With Your Child. (2015). Retrieved June 12, 2016, from Reading Is Fundamental, http://www.rif.org/books-activities/tips-resources/reading-with-your-child/

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