Yearbook season is getting into gear and we’ve had a few phone calls and emails! Here are some highlights from the past week…..
I’m having technical difficulties. Where do I get help?
Our top-notch Tech Support Department is available to serve you with any EZBook questions you may have! Contact them toll free at 1-800-887-0414, 9:00 am – 5:30 pm Eastern Time. As we get deeper into season, they will extend their hours to serve you into the evenings and on weekends.
I need to get my portraits from my school photographer. What do I need and how do I get the portraits into the software?
Be sure you are asking your school photographer for the “PSPA Yearbook CD” so you can use the student portraits in the yearbook. There is also an “Administrative” CD, but that will not work to flow your portraits in the book. The PSPA CD contains a database of names associated with each picture. Again, be sure it’s the PSPA Yearbook CD and make sure that the disc contains the photos from make up day.
You’ve been talking a lot about Pictavo. What is it?
Pictavo is our newest yearbook design software available FREE to all customers. Pictavo is a completely online program, which means that you can access your book any time, any where you have high speed internet access. With hundreds of backgrounds and clip art and design options, it may be perfect for schools that have been using EZBook for years and are looking for more creative options.
Administratively, Pictavo offers incredible management features including:
1. Community Image Upload – Have parents, teachers, etc., securely upload images for use in your yearbook, without allowing them to view your yearbook! All of their photos are kept in a community file – but accessible to you through your Pictavo software. This dramatically increases the number and types of photos for consideration in your yearbook without any extra effort on your part.
2. Online Yearbook and Ad Sales – This feature allows parents to purchase yearbooks online as well as purchase and design their ads online! No more ad design responsibilities left on the part of the yearbook chair!
Let us know if you’d be interested in switching to Pictavo or trying a demo of the software. Last year, 85% of our EZbook customers switched to Pictavo – and no one switched back. Don’t be intimidated by a new software – the learning curve is minimal and we have tutorials, tech support and one-on-one webinars available for your support.
What are your deadlines?
YearbookLife has only one final book submission deadline. This date is different for each school and is based upon the production time for the date you told us you want your books delivered. Please check your agreement. If you want to work past that date, you can! Just let us know so we can adjust our production schedule accordingly and remember that any delay in submission, will result in delay of delivery.
If you are designing a Custom Cover, then the cover is due by February 1st.
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“Like” us on Facebook for more tidbits of information throughout the year!
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments you may have! Everyone has the opportunity to learn something new by your feedback.
As mentioned previously, you’ll want to organize and develop multiple ad sales events, track and report financial progress of ad sales and establish a method of providing advertisement receipts to customers who purchase ads.
Here are some sales resources that should also be created and kept in special folders or a soft-sided briefcase for use when selling advertising space:
COVER LETTER—to be used when explaining to potential advertising purchasers what options are available. Remember that it should be personalized based on the audience you’re selling to. For instance, the letter that is sent home to parents making them aware of the opportunity to purchase a recognition ad for their son or daughter is obviously very different from the cover letter that accompanies advertising requests to local businesses, club sponsors, etc.
RATE CARD(S)—to be used to explain advertising rates and other critical information advertisers need to know such as deadlines, ad guidelines and digital guidelines.
LAST YEAR’S YEARBOOK—to help either remind advertisers what their ad looked like last year or prompt ideas from other businesses on how they’d like to represent their message in this year’s yearbook.
SAMPLE ADS—it’s always helpful to see other ideas as a start in creating your own. Use sample ads you’ve created over time to make it as easy as possible for purchasers to decide what they’d like their advertisement to include.
YEARBOOK SPECIFICATIONS—make sure potential advertisers understand the content of other parts of the yearbook and can visualize where their ad will be placed
SKETCH PAD—that can be used to brainstorm and illustrate some basic design concepts so the advertisement can be designed accordingly.
AGREEMENT FORMS (INCLUDING SALES RECEIPTS)—to formalize the sales transaction for both parties so you can plan on the purchaser’s advertisement as a part of the yearbook and the advertiser has a confirmation of their purchase for accounting purposes.
As you gain more hands-on experience in selling advertisements, you can modify your approach based on what works best for your situation.
Now that you’ve collected plenty of ideas on how to get organized, plan and conduct yearbook sales campaigns and advertising, you’re ready to prioritize your thoughts and put your own game plan to work. Remember to enlist the help of others and have fun with such an important and rewarding opportunity!
Ad sales suggestion:
Consider publishing your ad rates at a higher price and then offer all buyers a special discount or coupon of savings with an expiration date. Your goal to the public should be to sell as many small ads as possible along with a yearbook. The goal should be increased coverage. Buyers who want a full page ad will tell you, but many students and parents may not have the funds for a full page. If you take a business card size ad and a yearbook and package it together, you may create an attractive package for a parent for under $100.
The first element to understand before making any decisions related to ad sizes, guidelines and rates is that you must sell your yearbook page for at least two to three times your cost for the page. While this may sound basic, many staffs fail to follow this advice. You can figure out your average cost per page by taking your total overall quote provided by your publisher (per copy rate x # of copies) and dividing that by the number of pages you have in your yearbook. Although this is not a true representation of your cost, since your figure will not take into account your cover, end-sheets, proofs, etc., it will provide you a starting point of what your cost is for an average page in your yearbook. Take that figure and multiply it by three to get your overall selling price for a full page ad in your yearbook.
This method of advertising sales is ideal for selling business ads. Most schools like this method since there is a definite break down in advertisement sizes to an eighth of a page, a quarter of a page, a half page and a full page. All you need to do is collect a clean business card and 90% of the time you have their artwork ready for submission. Consider setting up two different price scales – one for businesses and one for recognition ads for families. Make the business rate higher than that for families – consider
lowering prices 20%-30% for parents and students.
Offer Three Levels of Sponsorship:
Gold – 15 sponsors x $200 = $3000
• free yearbook • special recognition
Silver – 15 sponsors x $150 = $2250
• ½ price yearbook • special recognition
Bronze – 15 sponsors $100 = $1500
• special recognition
16 – 20 strips on a page.
Strip consists of business name, contact information and possibly a business logo.
If each strip is $15 = $240-$300/pg
If each strip is $20 = $320-$400/pg
If each strip is $25 = $400-$500/pg
if each strip is $30 = $480-$600/pg
if each strip is $35 = $560-$700/pg
Consider the Patron & Booster Layout method of advertising if you want to raise money without using too many pages in the yearbook. In this method, you sell levels of Sponsorship that include progressively more benefits as a sponsor moves from a Bronze to a Silver to a Gold level of sponsorship. Incentive ideas include such things as a free listing of their level of sponsorship in the yearbook or a school banner in the gym as well as free admission to basketball home games, special discounts to school functions, reduced priced copies of the yearbook, etc. Make sure there is a difference in benefits between the three levels of sponsorship and that you only have a limited number of sponsorships available for each level so they are attractive to the purchaser. By using the figures used at left, you can raise over $6,000 and use 1-2 pages in
your yearbook!
This method offers another alternative for raising more revenue without using too many pages in the yearbook. Strip advertising is very similar to traditional advertising with one exception – there is no definite size breakdown of spaces like half page or quarter page. Instead, all strips run the same size for one set investment. Since the ad strip is very wide but not too tall, the best info to include is a business name, address, phone number, and a graphic if necessary. This uniform approach works well in most
books – some schools even combine these strips with traditional ads.
If you wish to raise additional revenue for your yearbook, you may wish to consider offering advertisement space to businesses and recognition space to students, clubs and families. It is amazing the amount of revenue you can raise from one page in your yearbook. Many schools offer space to families, club sponsors, businesses, homeroom teachers, students, etc.
Developing an advertising program for your yearbook can be easy if you have a plan that includes:
(1) identifying your potential audience for purchasing advertising space
(2) determining ad sizes, guidelines, and rates
(3) creating effective ad sales campaigns, including collection methods.
Identifying Your Potential audience
Before getting started, identify your potential audience for purchasing advertisement space. You have several distinct buyers: local businesses, school vendors, families, students, club sponsors, teachers, and coaches to name a few. How you pursue each audience may be different. Here are some ideas to get you started:
local businesses: These businesses are typically located near the school or in the district. They usually include insurance companies, banks or financial institutions, restaurants, real estate agents, mechanic shops, car dealers, and fast food establishments. Remind these potential advertisers that an ad in a yearbook will be seen for years because yearbooks are saved for a long time.
School Vendors: These businesses are on the school vendor list and do some sort of business with the school/district. Your purchasing office should have a list of contacts and their addresses.
Families: These buyers want to recognize their children for their accomplishments throughout their school years. Many photos will probably accompany their ad as well as words of praise.
Students: These buyers want to recognize their friendships on campus. Many photos will probably accompany their ad as well as words of celebration.
Club Sponsors: These buyers want to recognize their club officers or overall organization. Some photos will probably accompany the ad as well as words of appreciation.
teachers: These buyers want to recognize a fellow colleague’s retirement or accomplishments. Some photos will probably accompany the ad as well as words of congratulations.
Coaches: These buyers want to recognize their teams or team captains for their accomplishments. Some photos will probably accompany the ad as well as words of encouragement.
As you can see, you have quite a few audiences of buyers. As you develop a plan of communication, make sure to clearly state your offer to each buyer and include a rate card for the cost of an advertisement and a yearbook as well. Consider developing a rate card/brochure for all prices as well as three to five basic layout designs for all ads. This will help your buyers make a better decision. Also consider offering discount coupons with expiration dates to all buyers during your sales campaign. This may be the driving force to help some people purchase ad space. Remember, everyone loves a deal.
At long last, after months of anticipation and hard work leading up to yearbook delivery, the day comes when you can distribute the school’s yearbook with pride!!! Here are more ideas to consider when planning for this special day:
1. How will you distribute the yearbook and how will students be notified of its availability?
• Will yearbooks be delivered to each homeroom in a way that ensures that each student that ordered a yearbook gets one?
• Will there be designated pick-up times that students are asked to pick up their yearbooks in a central or convenient area of the school?
• If you decided to create and publicize a signing party to coincide with the yearbook delivery day, are you prepared for it? After many months of curiosity,
kids are especially anxious to see the yearbook and, of course, never want to miss an opportunity to socialize with their friends!
2. Depending on the yearbook distribution method you choose, how will you keep track of who has received their yearbook and who hasn’t to ensure everyone has received what they paid for?
• This is where it’s critical to have a detailed tracking mechanism (either manually or computerized) that allows you to quickly find and record each student who
is given their yearbook. It’s helpful to have the yearbook distribution list sorted and available in a multitude of ways so you can easily find the purchaser’s
name and check them off the list. Common sorting methods include alphabetical by last name, grade or homeroom.
3. You’ll also want to make sure that you have a method of tracking any additional sales that are made once the yearbook is delivered (versus the advance sales) since many
others will want to order a yearbook after seeing it!
4. Regardless of whether you’re distributing a yearbook that was ordered in advance or ordered on the spot, it’s critical that you collect the money prior to handing over the yearbook to the purchaser. Otherwise, it’s too hard to collect the money afterwards.
5. Once the mad rush of yearbook distribution is over, it’s crucial that you reconcile your records to ensure that every person who ordered a yearbook received what they paid for. If for some reason, someone paid and didn’t get their yearbook as a part of your normal distribution process, you’ll want to make alternate arrangements right away to get it to them. Hopefully, it’ll be easy enough to track them down in school without having to locate them over the summer or fall. It’s also important that all money collected be kept in a safe place.
1. Send “See You in the Book” notes to students whose pictures were taken (include page number and coverage subject) as a reminder that this is their book with their picture in it. It will let students know they will be in the yearbook and increase their interest in buying one.
2. Choose a marketing theme that conveys the essence of community and belonging that yearbooks represent. It can be used in all promotional materials and announcements such as “Making Our Mark”, “Together We Are One” or “On Our Way.” Your staff is sure to come up with other unique ideas!
3. Give invitations to students to buy their yearbook. Make them special and individualized.
4. Create and decorate a “Thank You” bulletin board for purchasers to autograph when they turn in their order.
5. Scan and post yearbook photos from previous years and include them on flyers asking the student body to guess who’s elementary or faculty image is pictured. All correct answers will earn a $5.00 coupon off the yearbook.
Promote the Sale of Yearbooks in every reasonable Venue
1. Post announcements and images on the school website announcing yearbook sales to the general public. Also consider announcing yearbook sales through
a calling service if your school subscribes to this kind of service.
2. Develop a sales brochure and order form you can leave in the front office for campus visitors to review. Many times parents come on campus to visit the nurse’s office, the attendance office, or the front office. These three places are great locations for brochures so parents can learn about your yearbook sales campaign. (You may
also want to contact the feeder middle schools and elementary schools to see if you can leave brochures on their campuses as well. Many times classmates may have a younger sibling attending one of those schools and the more exposure to parents, the better.)
3. At freshman orientation, have student body leaders discuss the yearbook and describe its importance to incoming students.
4. Create a skit during an assembly or audio commercial during morning announcements about yearbook sales to get the student body excited about upcoming sales. Pass out forms at the end of the presentation.
5. Enlist the aid of key influential people on campus to help promote the yearbook. Have teachers bring their yearbook the week of sales so they can share their stories. Have coaches and sponsors inform their teams of the value of purchasing a yearbook and demonstrating the ultimate sign of school spirit.
