When you’re building a yearbook, one of your top priorities is figuring out how to sell more copies of your publication. While yearbook marketing is super important to your overall project, many yearbook editors don’t actually do it well, because they only target the students. In reality, the person footing the bill for most yearbook purchases is the parents of your students – so as much as you need to convince students that the yearbook is going to be awesome this year and they need a copy, you also need to show parents the value of buying their kid a book for the end of the year. I know what you’re thinking: yearbook marketing to students is pretty easy – but how the heck do I reach the parents? Don’t fret – I’ve got several tried and true methods below that you can test out on your own campus to boost yearbook sales below!
The parents of your students will be the ones ultimately buying your yearbook – make sure you’re reaching out to them in the best ways!
Photo Credit: Flickr user St. George’s School
Email is Your Friend
Since you’re not face to face with the parents of your students every day, you need to find other ways to successfully connect with them. Many schools provide teachers with email lists so that they can easily reach out to parents about school projects and events – and it’s likely that your school administration has some sort of list that you can use to message the parents of the entire student body. You can do this on your own, or by connecting your list to your Treering account. Using our service can actually be a super easy way to manage which parents you’re reaching out to, because we’ll track who has and has not already bought a yearbook. Bottom line: email is an easy way to reach out to parents without intruding on their day, and is the easiest way to connect parents to the right website for purchasing their child’s yearbook. Make sure you’re using it to your advantage.
Yearbook Marketing Through Social Media
It’s highly likely that your school has social media accounts that a lot of parents are already connected with. And this can be a great tool to use to benefit your end goal. Ideally, you’ll be able to create a series of social media updates that remind parents to buy a book. Use statistics in your social updates that indicate the percentage of students who have already secured their yearbook to add a little pressure to buy now. And use fun teasers with some of the photos you’ve taken – knowing all of the great content that will end up in this year’s book is a great way to encourage more parents to buy one.
Use Student Excitement
The number one marketing tool you have when it comes to reaching parents is the students on your campus. If they’re excited about the yearbook and want a copy for themselves, they’re going to tell their parents about it. Once a month, send home a note with students about getting yearbook orders in – and make sure they know it’s in their take home folder so that their parents get it. The more their parents hear about it, the more reminders they have to actually get the book purchased. Also, not wanting to disappoint their child is a great motivator for more parents to buy a book – and that alone can be a huge booster of your yearbook sales!
It’s important to remember that parents are busy – being reminded that the yearbook is a big deal and they still need to get their order in is the best way to encourage them to purchase a yearbook for their child. While it might seem tedious – or perhaps like you’re being a little overbearing with your efforts – rest assured that most parents will be appreciative of all the reminders. After all, they don’t want to be the parents of the only child who didn’t get a yearbook this year!
