Evangelical Publishers Focus on Emerging Markets
Peterson noted that the Christian book store is a creation of the baby-boom generation—suggesting that as baby boomers grew older they began to seek guidance, often spiritual, on life’s meaning. Often Christian literature won’t appeal to a younger audience, he added.
Peterson described some of the market changes that have increased the visibility of Christian titles, including more titles topping best-seller lists, and retailers stocking more Christian titles. The challenge of the latter development, Peterson said, is that as more distribution channels open up for Christian titles, Christian publishers need to learn the buying trends of a wider audience about which they previously knew little.
Some of the strategies to connect with this alien audience, Peterson said, is to publish books that create impulse buys and books that focus on pop culture.
The ECPA is planning the association’s third annual Publishing University Nov. 12-14. For complete details, visit www.ECPA.org.
