I have confidence in my ability to make the process and the product both better this year. I learned a lot last year, and I think it can be a much-improved experience. However, that still leaves the matter of the business of the yearbook. Thanks to many years of mismanagement and low sales, the yearbook account is currently $6000 in the hole. This leaves me, as the advisor, with a few more challenges:
1. How do we sell more yearbooks? Issues attendant on this question are price (usually around $40), cover (currently hard, could be soft), color (currently almost entirely black and white, color is expensive), and coverage (what's in the yearbook?). And of course advertising.
First - make it color. If that means soft cover than do it. People would rather have quality on the INSIDE than on the outside. 10 years from when I graduated I could give a crap as to whether my yearbook was soft or hard cover, but I remember how damn expensive it was and that I had to beg and borrow from my parents to get one. A lot of folks can't do that. Aim for $25 if that is possible. Covering events - school spirit weeks - and lots of candid shots. Have photographers going out every week to take photos of tons and tons of people. That way EVERYONE will know they are included in some sort of candid shot with their friends or social group - and they will wonder what shots got in. Most of all they will remember having their photo taken at least 2-3 times in different occasions. Marketing - have you looked at your old yearbooks or ones of friends to see what others have done? Selling senior dedication pages, or last will and senior testament pages is what my school did.
2. How do we raise more money for the yearbook? Fundraisers, business ad sales, personal ad sales? Currently we don't have much of any of the above. 3. In a world of Facebook and MySpace, how do we make the print yearbook relevant?
Grab as many old copies of the yearbook as possible and put them on display in a main case of the school. Focus on history of the school, past generations, funky outfits, any famous graduates?, but most of all highlight the fact that the yearbook captures memories of this history, which is VOID on the internet. As far as fundraising - try getting sponsorships from local businesses. Bake-sales and car-washes suck - it is hard to get students involved. But if you can give a pizza party to the class if they can raise $1000 through ad revenue, or some sort of off-campus lunch party to the team that raises the most in the class, might be incentive for them to go out and learn how to sell sell sell!
Oh - and bring in some sexy photographer to talk to the students about how to take an candid photo that is attractive and interesting - not only capturing history but the unique perspective of the viewer. ;-)
I have confidence in my ability to make the process and the product both better this year. I learned a lot last year, and I think it can be a much-improved experience. However, that still leaves the matter of the business of the yearbook. Thanks to many years of mismanagement and low sales, the yearbook account is currently $6000 in the hole. This leaves me, as the advisor, with a few more challenges:
1. How do we sell more yearbooks? Issues attendant on this question are price (usually around $40), cover (currently hard, could be soft), color (currently almost entirely black and white, color is expensive), and coverage (what's in the yearbook?). And of course advertising.
First - make it color. If that means soft cover than do it. People would rather have quality on the INSIDE than on the outside. 10 years from when I graduated I could give a crap as to whether my yearbook was soft or hard cover, but I remember how damn expensive it was and that I had to beg and borrow from my parents to get one. A lot of folks can't do that. Aim for $25 if that is possible. Covering events - school spirit weeks - and lots of candid shots. Have photographers going out every week to take photos of tons and tons of people. That way EVERYONE will know they are included in some sort of candid shot with their friends or social group - and they will wonder what shots got in. Most of all they will remember having their photo taken at least 2-3 times in different occasions. Marketing - have you looked at your old yearbooks or ones of friends to see what others have done? Selling senior dedication pages, or last will and senior testament pages is what my school did.
2. How do we raise more money for the yearbook? Fundraisers, business ad sales, personal ad sales? Currently we don't have much of any of the above.
3. In a world of Facebook and MySpace, how do we make the print yearbook relevant?
Grab as many old copies of the yearbook as possible and put them on display in a main case of the school. Focus on history of the school, past generations, funky outfits, any famous graduates?, but most of all highlight the fact that the yearbook captures memories of this history, which is VOID on the internet. As far as fundraising - try getting sponsorships from local businesses. Bake-sales and car-washes suck - it is hard to get students involved. But if you can give a pizza party to the class if they can raise $1000 through ad revenue, or some sort of off-campus lunch party to the team that raises the most in the class, might be incentive for them to go out and learn how to sell sell sell!
Oh - and bring in some sexy photographer to talk to the students about how to take an candid photo that is attractive and interesting - not only capturing history but the unique perspective of the viewer. ;-)
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