Finance managers typically have to do or assign someone to the following tasks, along
a completion deadline for each item:
• Balance the yearbook budget
• Develop and implement a plan for yearbook sales
• Develop and implement a plan for advertisement sales (if applicable)
• Develop and implement, if necessary, a plan for fundraising
• Track all sources of income
• Manage and track production and operation expenses
• Promote and sell yearbooks to the school population and parents
• Fund-raise if necessary and more!
Choosing Your Team
Creating a yearbook can be a monumental process. An organized team can help you manage deadlines and milestones so it doesn’t feel so overwhelming. There are about six basic responsibilities in most staffs, but how you organize your staff to best meet
your style of management is up to you.
Depending on how large or small a team you have available for your yearbook staff, there may be one or two people with the same responsibility, or one person responsible for many areas. Below is a breakdown of some of the most common responsibilities:
• Overall Yearbook Production
• Finance, Marketing & Sales
• Design
• Pagination
• Reporting
• Photographing
Training
Most students have not had experience running a business, marketing, selling or
creating a product within a specified deadline. Returning yearbook staff members
could be used in key leadership positions to assist in the management and training
of new members.
To train new students, identify senior-level students or teachers with skill sets
that translate into yearbook creation and sales. Set up times where tutorials and
teaching sessions can be run for things like desktop publishing, yearbook software,
photography, writing, sales and marketing.
Of all the positions in the yearbook staff, the most important one to fill is the
business manager role. Learning sales and marketing, as well as the tracking and
reporting of both advertisement and book sales revenue, will probably require the
most amount of work. If you are going to put a student in charge, ask your fellow
colleagues to recommend a student who might do well in this role or look for a
student who may have taken accounting, business or marketing classes.