The Yearbook Blog

You know ESPN hosts both Summer and Winter games of Extreme Sports with events like skateboarding, BMX biking, street luge, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Well, what about the Yearbook X-games? Once the book is done, have an X-Game Celebration after school. Have staffers sign up ahead of time for events like these:

• Big Wheel Slalom
• Skateboard Paddling
• 3-legged Cross Country Skipping
• Nerf Skeet (Frizbee) Shooting

It’s a great way to burn off all that built up stress, and it’s a great prelude to a nice Yearbook banquet where winners receive their medals along with the other staff awards. Or, be really X-treme, and ask ASB if you can host the Yearbook X-Games for the whole school over a couple of lunch periods and have students pay a dollar or two to participate. Instead of gold medals, give away golden tickets to your yearbook signing party!

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “X” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

Not a laughing matter, but can result in a lot of smiles. Tweets, Tweeps and Retweets are the basis of communications on Twitter, the social network site second in popularity only to Facebook. If you are not using this powerful tool yet, here are three reasons to become a tweeter:

• Status updates of 140 character or less. No Farmville, Mafia Wars, or “What Shoe Are You?” news feeds to sort through (like that other site). Just the facts in every tweet (post).

• Thousands of professional designers, photographers and artists post tips, tricks and tutorials free for you to view and use as mini-lessons.

• Great way to communicate with other yearbook staffs, professional YERDS, and your school community about what your staff is currently working on, coming events, and yearbook sales.

• While you’re there, follow The Yearbook Ladies at Twitter.com/YearbookLadies

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “T” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

SoYoung Jun, yearbook adviser at El Cerrito High School, noticed that yearbook sales have been on the decline in the past few years. When asked, students told her they could not afford a book. In this current economic environment, this comes as no surprise. However, Ms. Jun decided to do something about it.

On a whim, she sent out an email to parents and staff members through the school e-mail tree. She asked if anyone was willing to sponsor a book for a student. She also asked for name submissions of students who deserve a yearbook, but cannot afford one. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but knew she had nothing to lose.

In one week, she received $50o in donations. This may not seem like a huge amount, but it’s $500 more than she would have gotten and all it took was one email! It also means that about 10 more students are going to receive books that otherwise would not have!

With such success through such little effort, Ms. Jun is now looking at other ways to get more books into more students hands. She plans to send a similar email to their school Alumni Association and offer Gift Certificates as a way for friends and teachers to purchase books for others as gifts (regardless of he recipient’s financial situation).

Great job, Ms. Jun!

Here's Julie getting her $100 American Express Gift Card for coming in 2nd Place in the Ultimate Sales Challenge. (*Excuse our dress. We were sorting yearbooks for distribution!)

When it comes to fundraising and book sales, Julie Fox–yearbook adviser at Central Middle School in San Carlos, CA–is a true guru. In 2009, as a first-year yearbook adviser, she won 2nd place in the Herff Jones Northern California Ultimate Yearbook Sales Challenge.

In 2009, the yearbook staff at Central Middle school not only wanted to increase sales, but they wanted students to buy early. So they motivated them by offering complimentary name stamps to all students who ordered books within the first 6 weeks of school. The price covered the cost of the name stamps and more. Each Monday during the sales campaign, teachers received a list of students who had not purchased. Homeroom teachers encouraged students who had not purchased books and new orders came in every Tuesday. The week the free name stamping disappeared, parents were notified of a last chance offer with order forms and personalized money envelopes in weekly mail folders. Increase in sales: 10%, and for the first time ever, the school was able to prepay, making them eligible for the prepayment discount.

How does she top it for 2010?

For her  2nd year as an adviser, Ms. Fox noticed that Central’s yearbook did not have a name, so she asked the school to help. At a school-wide assembly, the yearbook staff announced their Yearbook Naming Contest. They explained the importance of a yearbook name and shared examples of other schools’ yearbook names. They then opened it up to the entire student population to submit their ideas. The names started flooding in. With Principal Lynette Hovland’s help, the staff narrowed it down to 2 choices: Hoofprints or The Round-Up. (Their mascot is the Mustangs.) Instead of just having students vote on one of the final two names, the staff decided to turn it into a fundraiser. They placed two jars in the school office, one labeled “Hoofprints” and one labeled “Round-up.” They then asked students to vote for their favorite name by placing spare change in the jar.

Three weeks later, not only did Central Middle School’s yearbook have a new name, but the entire school was excited about the yearbook and being a part of creating a tradition that will stay with the school forever. Talk about great publicity! And if that wasn’t enough, the yearbook staff raised an extra $170 by simply placing 2 jars in the office.

What’s the secret to her success?

“The yearbook belongs to the students, not the yearbook advisor.  My role is to help the students create the book that showcases the entire student body,” shares Ms. Fox. “If I help them do a good job, then the students and staff will buy the book.  It’s all about talking the talk beforehand (through advertising) and following through with a great product.”

Now that you know how many more books you want to sell, you’ve got to work hard to sell them. But we say work smarter, not harder! Try one of these ideas:

• Set up a My Space, Facebook or Twitter page for yearbook. Post status updates of current prices and production news. (EX: “Yearbooks now on sale for $25.00. Don’t get left out!”) You can even post “teaser” pictures of a game or a rally
• Plan a big, one-week sales campaign. Then advertise like crazy: email, auto-dial text, post info on the school marque or social media site, and/or create a commercial (see theyearbookblog.com for ideas)
• Post a copy of your working index and invite students to see what pages they are on.

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “M” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

Need more of it? Who doesn’t? But who wants to run a car wash or sell gift wrap to get some? The easiest way to generate more income is to sell more books. Take a look at the numbers:

• 725 books @ $31.02/book = $22,489.50      sell price @ $35.00/book =  $25,375.00   $2,885.50 Profit
• 750 books @ $30.53/book = $22,897.50      sell price @ $35.00/book =  $26,250.00   $3,352.50 Profit
• 775 books @ $30.08/book = $23,312.00      sell price @ $35.00/book =  $27,125.00   $3,813.00 Profit

So instead of another fundraiser, put that energy and effort into marketing your book, and watch your profits grow.

Involve your entire staff in the process by:

• Making a wish list for the things you would like to do with your profits
• Setting a class goal of the number of books you need to sell to generate the profit you would like to make
• Celebrating each new level achieved in whatever way makes you all feel good

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “M” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

As I was driving from school to school the other day, I couldn’t help but notice how many Geico billboards there are.  At every stoplight, I felt as though I was being watched.  I’d turn around, and there was yet another Geico billboard. Then I thought, “There are probably just as many billboards for other companies, but I don’t notice them as much because they’re not staring at me!”

Then it hit me! Many of my schools have been asking me for tips to increase sales and/or marketing ideas. Well, if I were still an adviser, I would be stealing (ummmm, I mean “borrowing”) Geico’s successful campaign!

So, I came back to the office and quickly put together a “yearbook with eyes”.

• Go to www.theyearbookladies.com and click on “Adviser Resources” to download your copy.
• Photocopy them
• Cut them out
• Put them EVERYWHERE! On lockers, in the office, peaking out of classroom windows, in the trees, in the locker rooms, … You get the idea.

You can also download a mini-poster with the same yearbook and the tagline “The memories you could be saving.” Hang these up in hallways with info on how to buy a yearbook. If you have a poster machine at your school, blow them up bigger.

I know that there are some of you who are much more talented at Photoshop than I am, and could probably make a better poster. Feel free! Everyone else, do whatever you want with these. Even if you don’t use them, I hope this helps get you thinking about how to market your book! Either way, have fun!!! And good luck!!!

*If you do try this campaign at your school, we would love to hear your story! Share it below… Or let us know if you came up with your own advertising-inspired idea!

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared the week of October 4 (October 5th this year) National Yearbook Week! In his proclamation, he stated,

“School yearbooks not only chronicle educational achievement and school tradition but are a part of them. For nearly two centuries American students have produced yearbooks to commemorate the accomplishments of the school year and to compose a lasting record, written and pictorial, of campus, classmates, teachers, and school staff.

In later years, alumni treasure their yearbooks for the memories they hold of times gone by and friends of long ago. The students who compile yearbooks likewise treasure all that the experience can teach them about teamwork and about writing, the graphic arts, and business skills. The practical cooperation and specialization that students learn in yearbook production stand them in good stead when they enter college or pursue other opportunities.”

He then called upon all Americans to “observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

So here are 5 ways you can celebrate National Yearbook Week:

1. Kick off your yearbook sales this week
2. Dig up the oldest school yearbooks you can find from your school and put them out on display.
3. Collect old yearbook photos of the staff and display them without names, so students can guess who’s who
4. Give a special discount for yearbooks bought this week and wear your staff t-shirts to spread the word
5. Have a special staff party “just because”

Whatever you do, take a moment to congratulate you and your staff for being such an integral part in creating your school’s memories!

Want to boost sales? Create a commercial for your yearbook! Play it during morning video announcements, post it on the school website, or just upload it to YouTube and pass the link around. Here are some of the best yearbook commercials I’ve found online right now. Maybe they’ll inspire you!

P.S. If you DO create your own commercial, let me know, so I can post it up here, too!

Yearbook Commercial - Concord High School - Watch more Funny Videos

So, it’s May, your books done, and all you’ve got left is distribution. What are you going to do with all this time? Well, there are 3 ways you can take advantage of the yearbook “down time”:

1. Bring in some movies for the kids, call this your extra prep, and catch up on all the stuff you didn’t do all year because you were busy with yearbook
2. Have the kids put all the skills they’ve learned this year into other areas: creating a magazine, website, etc…
3. Start next year’s book now, and be ahead of the game in the Fall!

If Option #3 sounds appealing to you, here are 11 specific things you can do to make sure your staff is ready to roll on the first day of school:

1. Recruit your staff now - Ask your Herff Jones rep for a “Staff Recruiting Packet” if you haven’t done so already. It’s filled with posters, application packets, and everything else you need to recruit a quality staff. If your school won’t let you recruit, ask if you can simply recruit your editors.
2. Decide your theme and cover - The underclassmen on your staff have been waiting all year to have a real say in the book. It’s time to let them strut their stuff. Start brainstorming theme and cover ideas. Write down ones that have potential. Have the staff start collecting magazine lay-outs, brochures, etc… with design inspirations. This is also a good way for you to start choosing your editors for next year.
3. Write down what went well and what didn’t - Do this on your own, with your editors, or with the whole class. Don’t count on remembering everything. Make sure you write it down. (Although you’re calm and relaxed now, remember how rushed you are in the beginning of the year.)
4. Re-do any forms that didn’t work well this year - Sales letters, camera sign up sheets, etc… If there are any forms you use that need improving, now’s the time to do it. Remember to save the new version with a date or version number, in case you run across the old file again.
5. Register for yearbook camp - Most camps have registration deadlines or early bird discounts. Make sure you have all the information you need to register your staff for camp.
6. Train your staff - Now is a great time to work on photography, design, and copywriting skills for your staff that will be returning next year. Bring in some professionals in the community, if you can. Or use this time to beef up your technology skills. Learn some InDesign or Photoshop tricks that you might want to use in next year’s book.
7. Review this year’s budget and make plans for next year - Make sure you know what your final invoice is going to be, or at least a good estimate. Make sure you’ll have enough to cover it. If not, what adjustments do you need to make for next year. If you’ve got money left over, think about how you might want to spend it!
8. Plan your book marketing and sales for next year - Start planning next year’s sales now! Plan a Yearbook Sales Kick-Off event toward the beginning of the year. Come up with a sales slogan. Create video advertisements for morning annoucements. Get all the details taken care of now so that information can be ready to send home as soon as school begins! (TIP: If you sell enough books at the beginning of the year, you might be eligible for an early payment discount with your printer. You can also better estimate how many books you’ll need, so you don’t end up buying more than you can sell!)
9. Sell Senior and Business Ads over the summer - Just because they go in the back of the book doesn’t mean you have to do them last! In fact, if you sell your ads over the summer, your staff can already begin working on pages as soon as school starts (without having to wait for events to happen). This means you will have your first set of pages ready for that first deadline! And if you’re a Herff Jones customer and you send in pages early, you can get credit for future late days! (ask your rep for more details)
10. Open next year’s kit and toss out this year’s out - Your publisher kits should be arriving about now. Go through all the new stuff, and toss the old stuff out. There is no reason to keep old kit materials lying around! Take time to learn what’s new for next year, so you don’t get caught by surprise the day before a deadline, or miss out on an exciting new feature!
11. Clean out your photographs and file cabinets - Start next school year on a clean slate, archive all your photographs and then delete them off your harddrives. You don’t want them getting mixed up with next year’s photos! Also, have editors clean out section/editor cubbies, mailboxes, etc…

If you have any end-if-the-year tips, we’d love to hear them! You can add your comments below…

Sponsoring a signing party is a great way to distribute yearbooks while having fun and making money! Charge admission, sell soft drinks, popcorn, pens, plastic covers and autograph supplements. Order items from the Herff Jones Collection and give them away as door prizes, or sell them to make money for the yearbook program. Use the weeks before distribution to publicize the party and promote the yearbook. It’s extra work, but the money you’ll raise and the publicity you generate will be worth it!

Party planning timeline

8 weeks to go

• Reserve a space for the party (may be done at the beginning of school or months in advance); it’s best to hold the party in the gym or cafeteria.
• Arrange for chaperones and security at the party.
• Order pens to sell at the party.
• Order autograph supplements for signing.
• Order items from the Herff Jones Collection and decide how to distribute.
• Order plastic covers for yearbooks.
• Order 300-500 helium balloons (in school colors or the color of your book), helium tank, ribbon and balloon clips.
• Order butcher paper for signs.
• Order staff T-shirts for the party. Put the time and place of the party on the T-shirts and wear them one month prior to the party.
• Buy white or colored poster board (about 25 sheets).
• Purchase crepe paper (in the color of your book).
• Buy small stickers for personalized yearbooks.

7 weeks to go

• Make signs on butcher paper to advertise the party.
• Make signs on 8.5″ x 11″ paper and photocopy them.
• Contact your school newspaper for an article about the party.
• Begin to write promotions to submit for school announcements.

6 weeks to go

• Continue to make signs on butcher paper to advertise the party.
• Check that items ordered for the party will be delivered on time.
• Arrange for four cash boxes at the yearbook signing party:
  - one at the door
  - two for new book sales
  - one for pens, plastic covers and autograph supplements
• Arrange for a DJ or music for the party.

5 weeks to go

• Make signs for the following:
  - cost of admission to the party
  - cost of plastic covers, pens and autograph supplements
  - cost of extra yearbooks
• Make signs that display alphabet groupings: A-F, G-N and O-Z. These will be posted above yearbook distribution tables at the party.

4 weeks to go

• Make or finalize a list of yearbooks previously sold; divide the list by letters of the alphabet and paste on poster board for quick reference.
• Put up the first set of signs in your school advertising the party.
• Distribute 8.5″ x 11″ fliers throughout your school.
• On Friday, put the first promotion of the party on the school announcements.
• Begin wearing T-shirts advertising the party on Friday.

3 weeks to go

• Continue to place signs throughout the school.
• Make sure the list of books sold is complete and personalized books are given a special number.
• On Friday, put your second promotion of the party on the school announcements.
• Wear your T-shirts on Friday.

2 weeks to go

• Continue to place signs throughout your school.
• Make sure all the signs advertising the party are displayed around the school.
• Every day of this week, promote the party on your school announcements.
• Wear your T-shirts on Friday.
• Assign students jobs for setup and cleanup.

1 week to go

• Every day of this week, promote the party on your school announcements.
• Check to see when the yearbooks will be brought to the party location.
• Arrange for ladders, tape and scissors for the day of the party.

Day of the party

• Staff members should wear their yearbook signing party T-shirts.
• Three hours before the party, the staff should begin to decorate the party location with balloons and crepe paper.
• Set up the yearbook distribution tables; post signs according to alphabet groupings (A-F, G-N, O-Z) above the tables.
• Personalized books with name stamps, name plates or other specialized options should have stickers with numbers placed on the spine for easy reference.
• Set up a separate table for the purchase of additional yearbooks.
• Have plenty of plastic covers, pens and autograph supplements.
• Have the sound system set up for music.
• Now, open the doors and distribute your yearbooks!

Need a last-minute boost in sales? Try some of these proven tips any time of the year:

1. Auto-dail message home to parents
2. Blast email to parents
3. Start a mass chain text message that the books are on sale
4. Make a rubber stamp that says, “Buy your Yearbook” and stamp hands the day before a big sale day
5. Make a commercial to post on YouTube
6. Post messages on MySpace or Facebook
7. Pass out flyers to parents picking up their kids from school
8. Use sidewalk chalk to leave messages about books on sale (make sure to check with admin)
9. Use the Index builder to post a list of who’s on which pages so students are excited to buy their book
10. Write “Ask me” on a balloon. Tie it to your backpack and when people ask, hand out a flyer about the yearbook.
11. Make a poster of a yearbook spread to hang on campus (see www.sircooper.com for posters as low as $10 each)
12. Have a raffle for everyone who has purchased a yearbook by an advertised date

If you use any of these methods, we’d love to hear your results. Share them below!

This headline caught my attention on several blogs this week. The full story is posted here…

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/2009/03/02/20090302yearbooks0303.html#comments

Basically, the article questions whether or not social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are replacing traditionally printed yearbooks. After listing other factors that affect yearbook sales — including transient student population and poor economy — the article concludes…

To get kids to buy the yearbooks, said Jim Barbour of Herff Jones, which produces yearbooks, printers must help schools develop more viable marketing approaches.

Kids are relying less on e-mails and more on text messages to get information, so a teen might receive a text from a pal on the yearbook staff reminding him that it’s time to order.

It takes much more these days to hawk the book than a couple of kids sitting in the cafeteria at lunch. Those who are true to their school need to hear why the annuals are something they will want someday.

“I wouldn’t say the yearbook is dying, but I think we need to tell people why it’s alive,” Barbour said.

DetentionSlip.org (an education news blog) picked up on this story, and comments:

If they were smart, schools would get on top of this and buy a bunch of domain names to begin hosting digital yearbooks for the future. Statistics are showing that some yearbook sales have dropped as much as 50%. Tough break for Jostens, but it seems teens aren’t as stimulated by these over-priced memoirs as they are by the internet and cell phones.

My opinion…

Well, anytime new technology is introduced, a panic is created regarding the survival of the “old technology.” In some cases, the panic is absolutely valid. Did DVD replace VHS? Yes! DVDs provide exactly the same value as VHS, but better. Did the microwave replace the oven? No! There are just some things that don’t taste good from the microwave. So does a microwave provide the same value as an oven? No, there are times when the speed of a microwave are needed, and there are times when the quality of an oven is needed.

So what’s this have to do with yearbooks? Well, does Facebook and MySpace offer the same value as a yearbook, but better? No! Will your Facebook page be around in 20 years? Probably not. Will your yearbook be around? Yes! Can your friends sign your MySpace? Yes, but is it a sentimental reflection of the year? Most likely not. Does your Facebook page feature the girl in your class that you never talked to who will be elected President in 20 years? Not if you never talked to her. Even if your MySpace page is still up in 20 years, it will probably be drastically different, while a yearbook remains a “time capsule” of that year.

What does this mean for you?

As a yearbook adviser or staff member, it is your job to communicate the value of a yearbook to your school. Do not assume students can figure this out on their own! Why do you think yearbooks are more valuable than social network sites? Are you including this value on your posters or in your announcements?

Whenever old technology is threatened by new technology, the best thing to do is to evolve the old technology to work with the new. Have you seen some of the new home phones, like the Hub by Verizon? (Here’s the link on cnet.com) When they noticed that cell phones were replacing home phones, their solution was to create a home phone that worked with your cell phone. In other words, don’t think of Facebook and MySpace as your yearbook’s enemies. Think of them as your friends. How can you use these sites (along with YouTube, blogging, texting, etc…) to help market your yearbook?

Do you have an opinion? Chime in with your comments below…

I hear this complaint a lot from schools. Now, if your school is fine with this and happy to print a book just for the Seniors, then this post is not for you.

Most schools want to sell more yearbooks, but just can’t seem to get the rest of the school interested. If this is the case in your school, the first thing you need to ask is, “Why?” What is it about your yearbook that only appeals to Seniors? Why don’t Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen find value in your book? If you’re a typical school with this problem, then the reason probably includes several of the following…

• The Senior portraits are much larger than the rest of the school
• The Senior section is probably in color while the rest of the book is black and white
• The Senior section includes senior quotes or signatures under their photos
• Only seniors get to buy ads
• You have a special section of the book dedicated to senior activities
• The yearbook staff is mostly, if not all, seniors
• If the staff is mostly seniors, the candids are probably mostly of seniors
• If the staff is mostly seniors, then only seniors are being told when and where to buy a yearbook (and how great it is)

So what do you do? Here are some options to make your yearbook more valuable to underclassmen…

1. Put more photos of Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors in your book! Make it a point to check the coverage in a spread for representation of all grade levels
2. If you’re including spreads on special Senior activities, don’t ignore the activities of other grade levels
3. If your Senior portraits section is much better than the underclassmen, then lessen the difference. Senior portraits can still be bigger, just not 5x bigger. They can still be the only portraits in color, but then include a Student Life section in color that includes candids of underclassmen as well.
4. Allow other grades to purchase ads. They don’t have to be as big and elaborate as Senior ads. Maybe they’re text only. You can call the spread “Message Board”, “Text Messages” or “Shout Outs.” Charge kids $5-$25 to just print a couple of lines
5. If you have a lot of polls and quotes in the Senior section, make sure you’re doing the same in the other sections as well. Make the questions specific to that grade level, “What’s the worst thing about being a Freshman?” or “What are the top 5 hardest things about being a Junior?”
6. Recruit more underclassmen for your staff! This will ensure that underclassmen are being covered. If it doesn’t work out in the school schedule, form a Yearbook Advisory Committee made up of representatives from all grade levels. Maybe they meet once a month after school, and give their input on what underclassmen want to see in the yearbook.
7. Make sure you’re marketing to the entire school, and not just the Seniors. If the only reminders to the school are that Senior ads are due or Senior quotes are due, then the rest of the school is going to assume the book is only for seniors.
8. If you have a special section in your book dedicated to senior activities, consider making this a supplement that only seniors get and charge Seniors $10 more for their book!

Hope these tips help, and if you have ideas of your own, please share them below!

The Cullen gang in the Forks High School cafeteria

Do the words Bella, Edward, Jacob, La Push, and Forks bring chills of excitement to you? Well, Forks High School, where Bella and Edward of the “Twilight” book series met, is now offering you a chance to be a part of the official “Twilight” spread of the official “Twilight” High School! For only $2, you can vote for your favorite locations from the books/movies that will appear in the yearbook. In addition, everyone who votes will have their name printed in the book. Visit the Forks High School website for more information and to download an official entry form.

What does this mean for you?

As you brainstorm your themes for 2010, think about what your school or town famous for? How can you incorporate it into your theme? Better yet, how can you turn it into a fundraiser? Brainstorm ways to get the community involved!

And don’t forget the virtual community. Think about how many “Twilight” fans Fork High School has reached globally by placing their contest info on their school website! And don’t just stop at your school website, use social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to advertise your book and contests as well. Don’t know how? Ask your students!

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando middle school student has raised more than $1,500 in her quest to purchase school yearbooks for her homeless classmates.

Rebekah Jenkins and her friends, all of whom are eighth-graders at Lee Middle School, have raised enough money to cover the cost of 68 students’ yearbooks. Jenkins said any extra money raised will be used to buy gift cards from Wal-Mart or Super Target for the students’ families.

Jenkins said she got the idea to help her classmates when she was ordering her yearbook.

“I was just thinking how sad it is for some of them not to have a yearbook, and how unfortunate they are not to remember everything that happened,” Jenkins told WKMG-TV.

Jenkins said she talked to her friends about the idea and they began fundraising.

Click here to read the full story.

What a great idea! First of all, if you’re not using the power of YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Texting, etc… to promote your book, you’re missing out on a lot of FREE publicity. Check out the video North Forsyth High School created using Adobe After Effects:

Wondering what to do with the kids after the final deadline? Have them create video commercials for next year’s book!