School Yearbook Fundraising

Selling Ads

Selling yearbook ads is a great way to offset costs and boost your yearbook budget. Here are some typical types of yearbook ad sales:

• Parent Ads—Send home a letter to all parents asking them to buy advertising. Many parents are business people and would be glad to support their child’s school yearbook with an ad.
• Area Business Ads—Target local businesses that would be a good fit to advertise in the yearbook. Start with businesses located near the school that are frequented by students (music stores, clothing stores, local restaurants, orthodontists, etc.).
• Recognition Ads—These provide a great way for a parent, friend, teacher or relative to congratulate a student on an accomplishment like graduation, making the honor roll, winning a race, etc. Students can also use them to congratulate friends.
• Page Sponsorships—Page sponsorships are a line at the bottom of each page with the name of a business or individual. Some schools prefer them instead of ads because they don’t require as much space in the yearbook.

Ad Sales Strategy

Have an ad sales strategy in place early to maximize the number of ads you sell.

• Set sales goals—How much money do you need to cover costs? Make a goal for your yearbook ads so you can track your progress. Some schools aim for a 5% increase in ad income every year.
• Get repeat sales—Look at past yearbooks to find out which businesses that advertised in prior years. Send them a letter thanking them for a previous ad and encourage them to expand to an even bigger and better ad this year.
• Make it easy—Buying ads shouldn’t be a hassle for parents or businesses. Here are some ways to make it easy for them:

• Create a mock up of the artwork in advance.
• A home mailing is probably the best way to sell recognition ads. Be specific about the type and size of ad that can be bought, the number of words permitted, the cost, the deadline date and payment information.
• Provide ad order forms to students and mail copies to local business. Follow up with a phone call or visit. 

Fundraising Ideas

Many schools pay for yearbook extras through fundraising events like these:

• Business Sponsorship—Ask the school office for a list of vendors that do business at the school (like foodservice suppliers, sporting equipment vendors and book fair facilitators). Have yearbook staff members write letters asking for support.
• Cover Sponsorships—Have a local business sponsor the cover. This lets you add something extra to your cover at no cost to you, and a fancier cover will sell more yearbooks. Make sure to give the sponsoring business credit on the title page.
• Coupon Books—Separate coupon books with ads can be handed out when books are sold as a “point of purchase” reward. Sometimes the coupon savings outweigh the cost of the book!