How does an author establish a unique niche when marketing a children's book?

by Jo_Murphy

Over 250.76 million children’s books were sold in 2022, and surprisingly, sales growth only slowed by 9.5% after the pandemic. This is excellent news!

Spoiler Alert!! The approach described in this article is experimental. The article may be updated and changed over a period of time because it acts like a journal. A record of what approaches are successful and what needs reworking. The idea radiates around the notion that the images and the central characters pivotal to a children's storybook must remain in the mind of both the child and their carer long after the book covers have been closed. Feel free to contribute if you have ideas to share to make these strategies successful.

Proactively Establishing a Market for the Crystal Kingdom Series

Review of the Crystal Kingdom Series

Olivia Helps the Nature Fairies Book 2The pages that illustrate this article are taken directly from the Crystal Kingdom Series and are under consideration for a 'soon to be happening' mural. To set the scene for this marketing strategy, let's talk about the book.

Jane Prior’s Crystal Kingdom series is a set of three books to share with young children.

They offer

  • adventurous story lines to stimulate imagination
  • sumptuous visuals to savour
  • life-like problems to solve
  • ethical choices to consider
  • and real life issues to investigate

Jane highlights the value of pausing busy lives to explore nature and mindfulness, and invites readers and young listeners to set forth on their own adventures using two of early childhood’s natural learning modalities: imagination and play.

Faye Sinclair, an Early Childhood Teacher, says that the author empowers young children to think, explore, experience, cooperate and learn, while offering suggestions on how to get started with play; 

Petra Reibelt, Teacher Librarian says the books are wonderful imaginative stories with engaging, colourful illustrations that add meaning to the storyline. The common theme is to teach the importance of skills relevant to the child growing up in a world with social and environmental issues. Jane Prior cleverly suggests practical ideas and activities for teachers, parents/ caregivers to reinforce ideas presented in the stories. She highly recommends the books to school and home libraries.

As a an outback traveller, I think that carers will be buying the books so that the kids have some worthwhile activities to do as they travel the dry, dusty roads out here in Cunnamulla. 

If you would like to read more about the books go to the Rainbow Wave Review Page.

Tourist Travell Boom - an Ideal Children's Book Market

Jane Prior cleverly suggests practical ideas and activities to reinforce ideas presented in the stories

Following Paul's lead, I expect the synergy created by the River Lights Festival and the opening of the Cunnamulla Hot Springs to create a tourist boom in the area. Creativity is expected to 'catch fire' and empower locals as they soar like birds caught in an updraft. See Synergy of the Cunnamulla Hot Springs and the River Lights Festival

It seemed obvious then that I try out some marketing ideas. Promoting these worthwhile books seemed like the perfect promotional product. Not wanting to wait until I found the willing library, the bustling cafe or the book shop that would obviously take care of sales and promotion for me. I ventured on alone.

I decided to set up a mural at the local Cunnamulla Christmas Party just to see what would happen.

To the left, you can see a clipped shot from Book 2 and the negotiations with the author taking place. Because it  was a Christmas Party and because it was at night, I wanted to change the colours to a more Christmassy feel  and to set up lights all around the mural.

Christmas Markets

We did suffer some set backs, however, this was a learning curve and so I know how to go about the whole process much more easily next year.

 

Follow Crystal Kingdom on Facebook 

 

Display at the Cunnamulla Christmas Party

Re-purposing an image to fit context

MarketsThe general idea was a good one, and the children were engaged. We will keep this small mural and re-stage the idea next year. Setting up markets is very time consuming, and we are looking for something more permanent.

 

 

For this idea to work in a cafe or bookshop, we decided it would need to be interactive

 

InteractPainting a mural in a play area of a cafe seems like a more productive idea.

 

The books can be in a permanent display, and parts of the mural can be painted with chalk paint so that the kids can draw into the image. 

 

Chalk Bubbles

 

 

If you would like to buy the Crystal Kingdom set of books click here, and if you would like to know more about the philosophy behind Jane's books scroll to the bottom of What is the Point of an Artist Painting a Selfie You will see that Jane puts a lot of herself into the words she writes.

 

Updated: 12/28/2023, Jo_Murphy
 
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Jo_Murphy on 02/29/2024

I think that is the (literal) million-dollar question. When I show you my next book, I will show you. I think it is about the uniqueness of the theme.

DerdriuMarriner on 02/27/2024

Butterfly gardens are so beautifully beneficial and benevolent!

Do Land Down Under-ers -- ;-D -- ever do moon, moth, night gardens?

Jo_Murphy on 02/27/2024

Yes, they are more common than you think! I am madly keen on butterfly gardens, We are planning one for school.

DerdriuMarriner on 02/26/2024

Do Land Down Under-ers -- ;-D --have fairy gardens?

Unitedstatesian gardens invite the moniker fairy gardens for indoor or outdoor children's or small-plant gardens.

The aforementioned gardens generally lodge butterflies, fireflies and ladybugs.

Fireflies and lightning bugs make me think of your fairy-lighting references in your wizzley.

Might there be such a thing as Australian fairy gardens and might those gardens ever niche fairy lighting?

Jo_Murphy on 12/22/2023

So I meant the Western depiction of fairies.
First Nations depiction is less fluffy
I believe

Jo_Murphy on 12/22/2023

So I meant the Western depiction of fairies.
First Nations depiction is less fluffy
I believe

Jo_Murphy on 12/22/2023

Fairy lighting is like Christmas lights you put on the Christmas tree
Can be coloured

Jo_Murphy on 12/22/2023

I am at the coast - so there is now tripplebtraffic

DerdriuMarriner on 12/22/2023

The computer crashed before I concluded my comment about the in-text image below the second subheading, Tourist Travell Boom - an Ideal Children's Book Market
Jane Prior cleverly suggests practical ideas and activities to reinforce ideas presented in the stories.

The second particularly intriguing reference explained that "the painting...will be surrounded in fairy lights."

What is fairy lighting?

DerdriuMarriner on 12/22/2023

The in-text image under the second subheading, Tourist Travell Boom - an Ideal Children's Book Market, contains in its captions two particularly intriguing references.

The first reference explains indigenous people as not thinking "about fairies the way common folk do."

What is the indigenous approach to fairies?


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