Besides selling copies of your yearbook, selling yearbook ads is the next best source of income for your school. Each year you hope your yearbook tops the previous. You want your students to love it, but you also want to help raise sufficient funds for your school. Both of these goals take time and creativity.
When it comes to yearbook sales, Yearbook Editors should begin each year brainstorming, reviewing past ideas and researching a few keys to successfully top previous sales. Learning more about marketing goods and services can give you unique ideas on how to market your own yearbook.
Include students more
From my experience, one factor that always remains true is that parents LOVE their children and care about their education and seeing pictures of them in school. Research shows that a parent and student are more likely to purchase a yearbook if they are featured in it at least three times. This means including more photos in your yearbook, with as many different students featured as possible. Include a “candid” section of photos in your yearbook to include more pictures of more students.
Another way for parents to see their child featured in the yearbook is through the purchase of an ad. Yearbook ads are used to promote local businesses, plus they are largely marketed as a way to send personal messages to students. At the elementary school level, we have found that 1/8-page ads perform the best year over year. If you use School Annual Online, they provide a sample flyer showing parents what they will receive with their purchase so there is no added stress for the Yearbook Editor to try and come up with visual marketing materials.
Placement matters
Using School Annual Online also makes setting up ads easier. Start with your School Annual yearbook weblink to set up the ad option for online design. Next, inform your Yearbook Specialist of sizes and corresponding prices you will offer and School Annual Online takes care of the rest. This service is complimentary and School Annual Online formats and positions everything on the pages designated by your school’s yearbook editor. Be creative with placement! Place ads where you believe is most appealing. If readers like the look and placement, it can be a direct marketing tool for next year’s ad sales.
Promotion is key
Finally, how you promote your yearbook ads will determine their success. Any outlet that connects your school to students’ parents can be used to promote ads! A school newsletter blast, social media, the school’s website and more can be helpful for promotion across different platforms. Yearbook ads can feel daunting at times, but a little creativity and research can help guarantee your success!
Samara Scott
Author
Lives in Windsor, CT and works as an accountant.
“The best part of creating the yearbook capturing EVERY STUDENT more than once! In my school’s yearbook, I never saw myself in a direct photo. I love to see the looks on kids’ faces when they say, ‘you took a picture of this, I didn’t even see you!’ Love it!”
Samara’s go-to karaoke song is Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna.
If Samara had to eat one meal for the rest of her life, it would be baked macaroni and cheese with stuffed salmon and roasted asparagus, brussels sprouts and broccoli! Yum!