The Yearbook Blog

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.”

Mark's dressed up as a Care Bear for the "Run Wild For a Child" 5K race, which raised money and collected toys for kids during Christmas.

When someone is wearing a button that says, “Ask me about my mustache?”, how could I resist. So, of course, I had to ask Mark Hermano–Yearbook Adviser at Mercy High School in Burlingame–about his new facial hair. It turns out it’s all for a good cause!

Mark is competing against other brave Mustache-Growers across the country to raise cash for schools in need. It’s all a part of DonorsChoose.org’s “Mustaches for Kids” campaign. You can help Mark reach his goal by donating to one his hand-picked projects by clicking here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=26102

To learn more about the “Mustaches for Kids” program, or to find out how you can raise money for your own classroom project, visit DonorsChoose.org.

Ads are a great way to raise money for your yearbook program, so when determining your ad prices, make sure you are making money off them. How do you do that?

1. First, find out from your rep how much it will cost to buy more pages.
2. Let’s say it costs you $400 to get 4 more pages (just so we have an easy number to work with). That means it’s $100 a page.
3. Therefore, you should charge $200 for a full-page ad. This way, for every page you sell, you get one free to use in the book for other coverage (or in your bank account for a new camera, etc…)
4. Half of $200 is $100, but that doesn’t mean you sell a 1/2 page ad for $100. You have to add a little to this to give people an incentive to upgrade to a full-page. Based on this idea, your ad prices should look something like this:
   • Full page ad - $200
   • Half page ad - $125
   • 1/4 page ad - $75
   • 1/8 page ad - $45
   • 1/16 page ad - $30
5. Notice that when I double the price of a 1/16 page ad, it’s $60. Therefore, it’s a value for them to buy the 1/8 for $45. Got it?
6. Also, don’t worry if no one buys a full page ad. You actually make more money selling the smaller ads. For example, 16 1/16-size ads a= $480! Selling that entire page to one person would only get you $200.

Here are some ideas beyond the typical bake sales and car washes:

• Organize a signing party for distribution day. If you’re passing out yearbooks on Monday, reserve the gym for the Friday before and charge $3.00 to pick up your book early. Have a table set up to buy pens, snacks, and find a friend who wants to be a DJ there
• Sell the empty space at the bottom of pages. Parents can write a “dedication” to their student or friends can go in together and include their own names at the bottom. Sell them for $10 each and run the text along the bottom or sides of pages.
• Ask your school if you can run the concession stand at sporting events
• Sell business ads in addition to baby/tribute ads

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “F” 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…

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!

Monroe Clark Middle School in San Diego, CA, has found a creative way to raise money and increase coverage. They are selling “Page Numbers.” For only $2, students and staff members can pay to be pictured holding the page number! Great idea, Monroe Clark!

Here’s the actual posting on their website:

http://www.monroeclark.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=87635&id=0

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!