Now that you’ve worked out the details on when and where the yearbook will be sold, it’s time to make sure that everyone is excited to purchase the yearbook. This section includes lots of tips to help you create enthusiasm around the yearbook.

• The best way to build excitement about the yearbook is to instill student ownership of the final product.
• Use those cameras to capture lots of candid photos. Inform the students that their photos may be featured in the final yearbook.
• Include student art and creative writing throughout the yearbook.
• Hold a yearbook cover contest. Include runners-up on inside pages.
• Distribute surveys to classrooms and tell the students the results will be revealed in the yearbook.

Pre-Sales Promotion
Before your yearbook sale, be sure to let every potential buyer know the details: when your sale will be held, where and how they can pay and the cost of the book. Start early so that you are sure to reach everyone in your school and don’t forget the importance of letting parents and guardians know about the sale. Remember, when it comes to promoting the yearbook sale, the possibilities are endless—use your creativity and have fun.

Promoting the Yearbook Sale

• Posters
  Place posters in prominent places throughout your school. Two Selling Posters are included in your Yearbook Supplies Envelope. You may also want to create your own posters that incorporate the theme to be used in your yearbook. Many schools hold a contest to get students involved in creating a sales poster. Be sure your poster includes the date and time of your yearbook sale.
• Sales Flyers
  Sales Flyers in both English and Spanish are available from Lifetouch to help you collect money for the yearbook sale. Send Sales Flyers home with each student so parents may order the yearbook. Yearbook Sales Flyers may be imprinted with your school’s name, the price and payment information. Contact your Lifetouch yearbook representative to order imprinted Yearbook Sales Flyers for your school.
• PA Announcements
  Announce the sale of the yearbook over the PA system each day for a week prior to the yearbook sale. This is an easy and inexpensive way to reinforce the message. Make up a different humorous message for each day of the week so that your students will begin to look forward to the announcements.
• Showcase the Book
  Use a prominent display case to show past yearbooks and provide a sneak peek at yearbook pages in the process of creation. Display photos of students working on the yearbook. You could also use a wall display by adhering fun yearbook facts and photos within a wall display case.
• Go to the Press
  If your school has a student newspaper or a newsletter that goes out to parents, be sure to include an article promoting the yearbook sale. Include interesting facts about the yearbook to get everyone interested.

The Big Sale
This is it—the big yearbook sale. The success of your pre-sales promotion will become evident during this event.

Yearbook Sale Tips

• Grab Attention
  Even though you’ve given everyone a heads-up with your promotions, it is still important to get your sales booth noticed. Place it in a highly visible location that gets lots of student traffic. If possible, hang a banner and use fun props to grab attention. If your yearbook has a theme, incorporate the theme into your booth’s decorations.
• Organization is Key
  Plan the logistics for your sale in advance. Determine who will be responsible for collecting money and how orders will be tracked, as well as who will staff the sale. Be sure to keep plenty of supplies on hand. A Yearbook Sales Envelope that you may use to track yearbook orders is provided in the Yearbook Supplies Envelope. Providing receipts to purchasers will be helpful when it is time to distribute yearbooks. (Use our Sales Tracking Tool to organize your yearbook orders.)
• Fun & Games
  Add some excitement by incorporating a contest into your yearbook sale. For example, enter each person who purchases a yearbook into a raffle for fabulous prizes. Another option is to reward a prize to the class with the greatest number of yearbook orders.
• Progressive Pricing
  If your sale will run for more than one day, use progressive pricing as an incentive for early sales. For example, on the first day of your sale offer the yearbook for $20, then raise the price to $22 the following days. This technique creates a sense of urgency that encourages students to not put off the yearbook purchase. You may also want to offer families ordering more than one yearbook a discount on the additional copies.
• All School Assembly
  If you use an all-school assembly to sell the yearbook, the possibilities are endless. Use your creativity to come up with funny skits that stress the importance of the yearbook and be sure to determine a process for collecting orders at the event.
• Follow up
  Once the sale is complete, compile a list of all yearbook buyers to determine who has not purchased a book. Consider a phone campaign to all non-buyers, or send home a “last-chance” notice. Be sure to include a deadline date for ordering so that families will respond in a reasonable amount of time.
• After the Sale
  Once you know the final number of yearbooks sold, be sure to indicate your order quantity with your final yearbook page submission to Lifetouch. Although you may receive Extra Copies available for purchase with your yearbook shipment, this is not a guaranteed. You may want to order a few extra books for students who move into your school during the year and for those who forgot to order. Contact your Lifetouch yearbook representative for help on determining the number of yearbooks you should order.