Marketing to the Masses During National Yearbook Week

Your staff has been hard at work this year to produce a publication that your school will be proud of, but without a strong marketing plan to support yearbook sales, you’ll fail to meet your bottom line and miss out on the opportunity to share the book with the people it was meant for. Your marketing efforts are key to getting those books out the door and into the hands of as many students as possible – after all, that’s what yearbook is all about, right?

National Yearbook Week is the perfect time to promote the book and boost your sales. This is the one week where you can take advantage of the excitement and pride resonating from the yearbook staff and get your community thinking and talking about the yearbook. You have the perfect excuse to let your creativity run wild in promoting your publication during this special week devoted to celebrating all things yearbook, so don’t let it go to waste.

So, Where Should I Start?

Before you even begin to think about the different ways you can start selling more yearbooks, the first thing you should do to kick off your sales plan is enroll in our Parent Email Program (PEP). If you’re not sending emails to parents, you’re missing out on easy sales. Walsworth’s PEP program will be your new best friend – simply sign up here, send us a list of your parent emails, and let us take it from there.

Watch the magic unfold as your parents receive weekly reminders to buy their child’s yearbook and your sales skyrocket. Rest assured – with PEP, parents can opt out at any time, and their information is always safe with us.

Okay… What’s Next?

We all know it’s important to use a mix of both traditional, in-school sales campaigns and digital marketing tactics, but the best way to market the yearbook is to meet your audience where they’re at. Engage with parents through email and social media while interacting with students at school. Bonus points if you can catch your community off guard to grab their attention in a unique way!

While this all sounds exciting and effective, we know it can seem overwhelming for you to handle all by yourself. Here’s the good news – you don’t have to go it alone!

Add a student marketing manager to the list of positions on your yearbook staff if you haven’t already, and have it be their responsibility to manage your marketing plan. Whether they’re in charge of running your social media presence, creating fun promotions or anything in between, keep your student marketing manager accountable with weekly deadlines to promote the yearbook and boost your sales. Visit our Train Your Marketing Manager page for more information, and have them create a Pick 6 plan from our marketing menu using tactics that will work for your school.

Need More Ideas?

We’re just getting started. From in-school guerrilla marketing resources to customized school marketing and more, Walsworth has you covered with everything you need to get the word out to parents, students and staff about the yearbook and all you have to offer. Visit our Marketing Help page to access our full collection of eBooks, webinars, curriculum and so much more to kickstart your sales efforts.

Learn the basics of marketing and start crushing your sales goals with the “Engage Your Audience and Sell More Yearbooks with Strategic Marketing” unit from our Yearbook Suite curriculum.

Find the creative spark your program has been waiting for with the Creative Ideas for Selling Your Yearbook eBook to discover even more ways to prioritize your yearbook sales.

For more inspiration and examples of effective marketing, watch the Be Bold & Market Creatively  session from this year’s Adviser Academy.

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for National Yearbook Week updates, yearbook tips and tricks, and more. We love giving shout-outs to schools we see marketing successfully!

What can we do for you? Go to walsworthyearbooks.com/marketing for more ideas and resources.

Want more help marketing your book? Just ask us – we’d love to help! Email us at marketingyearbooks@walsworth.com.

Happy National Yearbook Week!