You and your team spent months on the layout and design of your yearbook. Now it’s time to sell them! Marketing your yearbook is one of the most important activities for your staff members and a great way for them to learn all aspects of the business.
Here are some great marketing ideas that have been proven to be successful over the years:
Display posters in school with photos from the yearbook! Use bright colors so they are noticeable. Hang your posters in interesting and populated places at school, such as restrooms, locker rooms, the media center, cafeteria and office. Place them out in the community in high traffic places such as grocery stores, retail stores, the mall and fast food hangouts.- Offer a payment plan so students who cannot afford a one time charge can have an opportunity to purchase one.
- If your school sends home a mailer, ask to include a flier for yearbook sales. If necessary, send home flyers in multiple languages.
- Create ads in the school newspaper, or in football or basketball program, and use school radio or TV announcements.
- Place advertising stickers on items in the school snack machine.
- Pass around “Yearbooks on Sale” balloons in between periods and after school.
- Hang “Yearbooks on Sale” banners on the front or main entrance to the school and in the car drop off loop.
- Encourage Pre-sales by offering a discounted price early in the year that increases as the school year moves on.
- Create a sense of urgency to buy a yearbook. Have a one-week sales event. During the event, advertise through posters, T-shirts for yearbook staff members, fliers on car windows or in lockers. You could even use chalk to draw advertisements on the concrete. Be as enthusiastic about the book as you can.
- Organize a giveaway for your sales campaign. For example, you might draw one name of a student who purchased a book in a given week to receive a free iPad two tickets to the school dance.
- Have your students use social media to promote sales. If they have a Facebook, or Twitter account, have them post about the yearbook.
- Place a link on your school website that connects to the online store to purchase yearbooks.
- Have students man a table at PTA Meetings and Parent Nights selling books. Have samples of books from previous years on display. Anytime parents are on campus, you should take advantage of the sales opportunity.
- If your school has a database of parent email addresses, send out reminder emails prior to sales events. You could also use a robo-calling system to send a phone message home.
- Send every student who has not yet purchased a book a reminder. Include reasons why they should purchase a book.