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).
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:
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!
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!
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”:
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
Have the kids put all the skills they’ve learned this year into other areas: creating a magazine, website, etc…
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:
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!)
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)
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!
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…
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!
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!
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:
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