Subscription services have proven their worth over the past year, offering consumers convenience and reliability at a time when those factors were top of mind for many people. Kids book subscriptions, in particular, presented a unique benefit for parents, as many families adjusted to at-home learning and an abundance of free time that needed to be filled for children.

Today, kids book subscriptions are continuing to seek out innovative ways to showcase their services as effective options for keeping kids busy while providing educational benefits. Many kids book subscription brands have achieved strong customer acquisition by engaging consumers with advertising messages that resonate.

Reading Bug Box & Kid Curated Books Offer Personalization To Ensure Customer Satisfaction

The Reading Bug Box leverages personalized kids book subscription boxes to appeal to customers and offer unique boxes for each individual subscriber. No matter what age or reading level a child is at, Reading Bug Box promotes itself as a service that can accommodate. Every new subscriber to Reading Bug Box is asked to share their child’s “current obsessions,” after which the subscription service selects three books to send. Each box of books will ideally resonate with the child’s specific interests and reading level.

Similarly, Kid Curated Books asks new customers to complete an initial “reading preference questionnaire” and submit feedback following receipt of their first subscription box. For $34.99 a month, the subscription sends four books and allows subscribers to customize the frequency with which they receive their boxes. As an additional charitable element, Kid Curated Books includes a donation for select customers, sharing on its website, “For every 10 subscriptions purchased by parents at the same school, Kid Curated Books will donate a book box to the school library.” The offering is beneficial for the subscription service, providing a feel-good incentive for customers to continue giving Kid Curated Books repeat business.

Bookroo Leverages Massive Review Platform To Curate The Best Book Subscription Offerings

Offering three different book clubs for subscribers to select from (board books, picture books and chapter books), Bookroo created the “world’s largest platform” in order to curate the most highly-rated and reviewed selection of children’s books for subscribers. Pulling feedback from parents, educators, industry experts and more, Bookroo calls its selection of books “hidden gems.” The company shares on its website that its wide-ranging platform is “dedicated entirely to children's books,” promoting it as an ideal place “to discover amazing books by talented authors and illustrators that will become treasured favorites.” Bookroo allows subscribers to choose how often they wish to receive books and sends each box wrapped like presents to create an added layer of excitement for kids.

Highlights & I Can Read Promote Discounts & Deals To Attract New Customers

When shopping around the Highlights website, you are immediately – and frequently – met with opportunities to save and capitalize on deals. Incentives like one month free and $5 off your first order of $20 plus options for email signups to receive daily offers and kid-friendly activities flood the Highlights website. Offering six different subscription “clubs” for various age ranges and interests, Highlights is effective in drawing consumers to its site, and then with enticing deals, converting browsers to buyers.

I Can Read was created for first-time readers, with book subscription options organized by color-coded levels – ranging from “My Very First” all the way to “Advanced” – so kids can consistently receive books as they progress with their reading skills. Similar to Highlights, I Can Read promotes its wide range of deals and discounts when visitors enter its website. In addition to encouraging visitors to sign up for the brand’s enewsletter, I Can Read promotes a deal of two free books with subscription sign up.

Equal Opportunity Book Box, OurShelves & WAM! Book Bundle Spotlight The Importance Of Diversity In Children’s Books

Media that depicts a diverse demographic is top of mind for many parents, which is why brands like Equal Opportunity Book Box, OurShelves and WAM! Book Bundle have resonated with so many audiences. Named one of The New York Times “Top 20 Children's Products of 2020,” Equal Opportunity Book Box works to improve the lack of representation in kids books, while doing its part to give back. In addition to featuring “characters of color, LGBTQIA+ characters, and/or characters with disabilities,” Equal Opportunity Book Box also promises to donate “one book to a child in need” for every book sold.

OurShelves was created after founder Alli Harper and her wife struggled to find kids books that accurately represented her family. Taking matters into her own hands, Harper launched OurShelves, which promotes the importance of offering children’s books that spotlight “racially and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+ and feminist characters and families.” Book subscriptions are shipped out every three months, with product options to match ages.

What began as an Instagram account created to share diverse books with others quickly turned into “WAM! Book Bundle,” a full-service kids book subscription company that offers customers books featuring a “wide range of multicultural, diverse characters.” The WAM! subscriptions are geared toward kids ages 3-10, with each bundle “carefully curated by our team led by a certified teacher and literacy consultant,” according to the company’s website. Book Riot contributor Margaret Kingsbury shares that the company name, WAM!, stems from “‘windows and mirror,’ meaning that books need to serve as mirrors for diverse children to see themselves in, and as windows that help children see into the lives of children who are different from them.”

The subscription industry has proven it is built for scale even as the world slowly returns to “normal.” By leveraging the appreciation consumers feel for the convenience and reliability subscriptions present, many kids book subscription brands established long-term buyers and even stronger brand presence, placing them in secure positions if and when consumer habits return to normal. 

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