How Much Should You Charge for Yearbook Ads?

To determine how much to charge for yearbook ads, start by answering the following questions:

If your school has sold yearbook ads in the past, how much was charged for each ad?
Will ad sales be designed to generate a profit or cover the expense of the yearbook, or just sold at cost as an additional feature?

So How Much Should You Charge for Yearbook Ads?

Generally speaking, you should charge at least two to three times whatever the average cost per yearbook page is. You can figure out your average cost per yearbook page by taking your total overall quote provided by your publisher (per copy rate multiplied by the # of copies ordered) and dividing that by the total number of pages you have in your yearbook. (Total Quote for All Yearbook Copies / Total Number of Pages = Average Price per Page.) Although this is not a true representation of your exact cost, since your figure may not take into account your cover, end-sheets, proofs, etc., it will provide you a starting point of what your cost is for one page in your yearbook. Take that figure and multiply it by two or three to get your overall sales price for a full page yearbook ad. Consider setting up two different price scales—one for businesses and one for recognition ads for families.

Pro Tip: Choose a software that allows you to setup a storefront and offer online yearbook ad design & sales. Direct businesses and families to this portal which will provide them with templates for a simplified ad design process. Most parents don’t have access to design software, and this type of service is easy-to-use and will help generate more sales while creating less work for your yearbook team.

Common Types of Yearbook Ads

Business Ads

These are purchased by local businesses and organizations to raise their profile within your school’s community. You’ll need to invest some time in the early stages to develop a list of businesses and a sales approach. It’s best to have students or parent volunteers go to visit these businesses and talk with the owner or someone in authority. Make sure you have marketing materials (price sheets, contact information and samples) prepared to be left at these businesses, and a plan for a follow-up call or email. The purchased ads may also need to be picked up at a later date. This is a great real world marketing experience for students.

Pro Tip #1: Approach after care providers and other school business partners, such as t-shirt and trophy vendors. Yearbook ads are a great way for them to promote their business and give back to the school.

Pro Tip #2: Many parents are also business owners. Offer discounts on Business Ads to “parent owned businesses”. Let them pay less to promote their business in their child’s school.

Student Recognition / Dedication Ads

These are purchased by families to recognize their child. This is an emotional purchase, so families are generally very enthusiastic. Promote the sale of these ads through take home flyers, email campaigns, “robo” calls and website advertising. Make sure you provide clear instructions on how to submit and pay for the ad and what the deadline is. Be prepared to extend that deadline in case people wait until the last minute.

“Friendship & Teacher” Dedication Ads

Many students want to write dedications to friends or teachers, but don’t have the financial ability to pay for full size ads. Consider selling “Love Line” ads to students that they can purchase for just a few dollars, to thank a friend or special teacher. “Love Line” ads are generally text only and limited to a certain amount of characters per line. They take up less space than traditional ads since several fit on a page and the font size can be adjusted.

Yearbook Ad Sizes & Layouts

½ – ¼ – ⅛ – Full Page Ad Layout

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 (business card), 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.

Pro Tip: Select and use yearbook design software that provides various page template backgrounds that enable you to just drag and drop the ads into the preset templates.

Patron & Booster Ad Layout

If you want to raise money without using too many pages in the yearbook, you can use this method of advertising and sell different levels of sponsorship (i.e. Bronze, Silver & Gold) that progressively include more benefits. 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.

Pro Tip: Make sure there is a significant difference in benefits between the three levels of sponsorship and indicate that you only have a limited number of sponsorships available for each level so they are attractive to the purchaser.

Advertisement Strips Layout

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.

Pro Tip #1: In order not to overcharge or deter people from purchasing your yearbook ads, make inquiries to see how much a comparable ad would cost from a local print advertiser.

Pro Tip #2: Offer recognition and business ads during some of the yearbook sale campaigns.

How To Sell Yearbook Ads-Advertising?

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 and (3) creating effective ad sales campaigns, including collection methods. READ MORE

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