Staffer Takeover: Make it. Love it. Sell it.

Lyons Township High School

Staffer Takeover: Make it. Love it. Sell it.

This blog post was submitted and written by a fellow yearbooker.

As a yearbook staff, we love our yearbook. We take pride, feel joy, and shed lots and lots of tears at the collection of stories we’ve helped to create. We feel the amazing feeling of taking the book out of the box for the first time and smelling that beautiful new yearbook smell. However, it can be hard to get others to see the worth we see in it and appreciate it as much as we do. We know the ins and the outs of a yearbook. We know the messages, the mistakes and the pictures that were so hard to get but look so beautiful in the book. Regular students and parents might not understand this. They don’t know the hard work, the dedication or the deep messages we are putting into the yearbook. We have to highlight these things and show them why they should love it like we do. Here are some tips for advertising your yearbook to your school.

Start Early

People are really hesitant to buy yearbooks at the beginning of the year at our school, but they also procrastinate buying it until it is that full price. If you’re adamant about showing people they are getting a better deal earlier in the school year, they will not only be appreciative in the long run, but you will see those sales roll in earlier.

Posters

Students are typically at your school five days a week. They have several minutes to walk through the hallways and talk to their friends before getting to class. Use this time to reach them. Put up bold, colorful posters that will catch their attention as they are going about their day. This is an effective way we get information out at my school. Whether small or large, posters share information that’s happening at school where students are and where they can see it.

P.S. Don’t have posters just during school hours. There are many school events like football games, plays and awards ceremonies that parents and guardians come to. Don’t just remind the students, use this method to remind adults as well.

Yard Signs

This is an unexpectedly great way to advertise your book to students and parents. Not every student can drive, some have to get dropped off by older siblings or parents. As guardians are usually the ones who buy the book for their kids, this advertises directly to the buyers. Plus, students can easily forget something while walking in the hallways, this will reinforce what they saw as they are entering and leaving school. You can get yard signs, banners and posters on YearbookDiscoveries.com/shop.

Social Media

People spend so much time on their cell phones and on social media these days. Why not connect with them on these platforms? Make informative posts that can catch their attention while they’re scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. This can engage parents and students with reminders while they’re on their phones. Make trendy TikToks and Instagram Reels that highlight your staff’s hard work, and include fun times or clever ways to remind people to buy their book. Use these platforms to enter people into the world of yearbook. Don’t stay closed off about what happens there. Giving people some of the background information may make them appreciate it so much more.

Word of Mouth

This might seem old-school, but it works. Your yearbook staff never stops working outside of the classroom, especially when it comes to advertisement. They have to be walking billboards. Let people know who your yearbook staff members are, so if people have questions, they know who to go to. Have polls, info tables or Q&As during school lunches, so people can learn about prices or ask any questions. Remind your staff members to talk to their friends and family about buying a yearbook or even selling an ad for it. Positive social interaction goes a long way. Push yourself and your staff to put themselves out there and converse about the yearbook outside of the classroom.

Using all or some of these tips will increase the sales and appreciation for your yearbook. We know you made it. We know you love it. Now it’s time to get others to love it, so you can sell it.

Author: Ta’liah Randolph // Yearbook Staffer at Riverview HS