Read more about marketing plans. - Walsworth Yearbooks

IntroductionChances are, if you have this workbook, you have been selected as the StudentMarketing Manager. Congratulations! Your team’s fun job is to make everystudent want a yearbook and, if you sell ads, make people want them, too.What will make your job easier? This awesome workbook. Read here for ideas,make notes and write your plans. This is the first of many tools you will use tocreate winning marketing and sales campaigns.We know this book is long, but just use the sections you need. And don’tforget — we’re here to help!customer service 800.972.4968computer support 800.369.1530walsworthyearbooks.comCopyright 2010 by Walsworth Publishing CompanyAll rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in anyform without written permission from the publisher.Published in the United States of America by Walsworth Publishing Company,Inc., Marceline, Mo.Corporate office:306 North Kansas Ave.Marceline, MO 64658600.376.3543Yearbook Sales and Marketing Office:903 East 104th St. Suite 700Kansas City, MO 64131660.369.2965Printed in the United States of AmericaFor more information about this manual or any other Walsworth products andservices, visit walsworthyearbooks.com or call 800.369.2965.

THIS PAGE IS YOUR CHEAT SHEET VERSION OF THE BOOK.STOP – YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!Want to make your book the must-have school item this year? Then use a combinationof these tactics to get your yearbook buzz started and your sales rockin’.We challenge you to pick at least two items from each section below, check the boxes nextto your selected items (we cheated by checking the three most important ones for you) andinclude the dates you plan to use.How we will get parents to pony up the cashYou must, must, must talk directly to parents.Section 1: No-brainersSchool registration/Back-to-school events (read more – p. 12)Home mailings – combine with other school mailings(save $$ on postage!) or send on its own. (read more – p. 15)Yearbook banner on school website (read more – p. 13)Date:__________Date:__________Date:__________Section 2: Strongly EncouragedEmails to parents (read more – p.13)Phone message to parents (read more – p.8)Date:__________Date:__________How we will get classmates fired up about yearbookSection 3: Let’s Have FunCustomized Marketing – pick at least 1 (read more – p.15)___ Posters ___ Postcards ___ Order Forms___ Fliers ___ Bookmarks ___ Stickers Date:__________Facebook Fan Page (read more – p. 9)Yearbook Videos (read more – p. 8)Our ideas:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Date:__________Date:__________Date:__________walsworthyearbooks.com1

table of contentsAction plan cheat sheet 1Job descriptions and responsibilities 3Recruiting a marketing team 5Setting goals 6Creating awareness of yearbook 8Yearbook marketing and sales plans 12Registration 12Email Marketing 13Online Sales 13Customized Marketing 15Classic Marketing 16Kiosks 17SalesXpress 20Buyer and non-buyer follow-up 21Distribution 22Advertising marketing and sales plans 23Ad sales training 23Online Sales promotions 24Personal ads 25Business ads 26Keeping records 29Marketing plan samples 30Reference items 322

Job descriptions and responsibilitiesYou’ve been selected as the student marketing manager… now what? It’s goodto know what is expected of you.Job Description – Student Marketing ManagerYour role is to plan, carry out and manage a yearlong marketing campaign,and determine its success at the end. The marketing campaign should createawareness of the yearbook, build the value of the yearbook among parents,students, faculty and community businesses, and ultimately help you sell moreyearbooks than in the previous year. As the student marketing manager, you willwork with the adviser, editor and others to set budgets for marketing expendituresand track income.This list is long, huh? Don’t worry, each item may not apply to you, and they are allexplained in this workbook. Besides, think about how good this will look on yourcollege and job resumes.Job responsibilities• Work with adviser to set sales goals for books, options and ads.• With adviser, recruit student salespeople. These can be yearbookstaff members, students from the marketing or business classesor any student who wants to be part of the team.• Enter marketing program information in Marketing Help if youradviser assigns that task to you. This is how you tell Walsworthwhat marketing and sales items you want to use this year.• Develop a plan to market and sell your yearbook and ads.• Train student salespeople.• Schedule and lead a weekly marketing meeting with the adviserand yearbook staff to discuss the current status of marketing,sales, campaigns, weekly goals and upcoming tasks.• Develop marketing items, either your own or using Walsworth‘sClassic Marketing or Customized Marketing, deciding on text,images and design for printed and online items, emails andautomated phone messaging.• Schedule, promote and manage yearbook sales campaigns using servicessuch as Online Sales, kiosks and Customized Marketing.• Set up and manage a yearbook awareness campaign using social media suchas Facebook and Twitter.• Set up sales competitions between yearbook staff members or the studentbody divided by grades, homeroom classes or clubs for prizes.walsworthyearbooks.com3

ecruiting a marketing teamThis group will work together to carry out yearbook and ad sales, marketing andpromotions.• Decide if you want students to participate on both your marketing team and theyearbook production team or on just one team. The size of the yearbook staff willhelp make this decision.• Decide if you need help outside of the yearbook staff by contacting a business class,marketing class, parent-teacher organization, or yearbook booster organization.HOW WE WILL RECRUIT MARKETING TEAM MEMBERS AND DETERMINEWHO WILL BE ON THE TEAM. HOW WE WILL STRUCTURE THE TEAM:walsworthyearbooks.com5

setting goalsBefore you go somewhere, you need to know where you are going todetermine how to get there. That’s what goals are – your destination.Once you set goals for yearbook awareness and yearbook and adssales, then you can determine the best way to reach them.• Talk with your adviser and yearbook sales representative about thebudget. Know how many yearbooks and ads were sold last year,and how much money each earned.• Determine the revenue you want from yearbook sales this year, andhow many books need to be sold to reach that.• Determine the revenue you want from yearbook ad sales this year,and how many pages of ads need to be sold to reach that.• Look at the price of your yearbook. Should it stay the same or beincreased? Determine whether your final product has improved inthe past few years, and what price people are willing to pay. Askother staffs at nearby schools what they charge.• Consider graduated pricing. Offer the book at an early “sale” price(the full cost of the book), then with each sale or at set dates, raisethe price in $5 or $10 increments. This is a great way to get parentsand students to buy now.• Look at the price of your ads. Determine the prices you shouldcharge by finding the cost per page of the yearbook. Divide thenumber of pages of the yearbook into the total estimated expenses.The advertising on each page should generate at least two to threetimes the actual cost of the page. Also ask other staffs at nearbyschools what they charge.• If you sold options last year (namestamping, autograph pages,protective covers), find out how much money was raised fromthose sales. Determine whether you need to raise the price ofthose options.Then, with your adviser, yearbook sales representative, your marketingteam, editorial board, or whoever needs to be in on the decision,set your sales goals for yearbooks, options and ad pages. Also setindividual sales goals for team members as an incentive. As prizes,consider small gifts, a free or half off of a yearbook, a free option, orgift certificates.6

WHAT OUR GOALS WILL BE:Once your goals are set and your business staff is in place, it is time to get started!walsworthyearbooks.com7

create awareness of the yearbookStudents not on the yearbook staff rarely give the yearbook a thought.That is why creating awareness about the yearbook is just as important ascreating the book.To increase awareness of your yearbook and make it a “must-have” item,you need to get people excited about it. Create excitement by makingthem feel a part of it, such as including their photo, letting them providephotos and opinions, or even getting updates about its production. Themore they feel included, the more likely they are to buy.There are as many ways to create awareness about the yearbook as thereare students on staff. Consider these methods.• Make sure people know the yearbook staff is at work. Have the staffwear staff T-shirts when they are working, especially the photographersand reporters on assignment.• Promote samples of the yearbook, in the morning video announcements,on the wall outside the classroom or in a display case in the front hall.• Let people know they are in it. As you create your index list and addpeople to the book, send them a card in homeroom telling them theyare in and on what page.• Create a Facebook Fan Page to show people the book, explain how it isput together and discuss pricing and distribution. Update it once a week,at least. More on online social media is in the next section.• Use Email Marketing or the school’s automated phone system to highlightupcoming events, and how the yearbook is covering the event, with areminder to buy a yearbook.• Use the school’s automated phone system to inform parents that booksare on sale, the price and where to buy.• Create videos to sell the yearbook and ads, and to advertise for nextyear’s staff. Work with your school’s video class to get fun videos createdthat play off well-known commercials or build the value of the yearbook.Don’t be afraid to look silly – those are the best videos! Ask if you canadd videos to your school’s website. Post them to your Facebook FanPage. Post them to YouTube. Get them included in the morning videoannouncements, or just use the audio for non-video PA announcements.Encourage staffers and other students to share these videos with everyonethey know.• Use Community Upload to allow students and parents the opportunityto upload photos for possible inclusion in the yearbook. CommunityUpload also is explained later in this workbook.Think of other ways to involve people who are not on the staff. If you areselling yearbooks in the cafeteria at lunch, have the cafeteria staff wear8

yearbook T-shirts, or offer the first 10 buyers free dessert. Brainstorm other waysto get people involved.Buyers need to hear about yearbook more than just when it is time to order. Youhear about the football team, the basketball team and the marching band beforeand after games and competitions. Show off the book while it is being produced,so your buyers can associate the book with things they are interested in and buysomething they have seen. Would you buy something you haven’t seen? Buildbuyer interest to build buyer need.Identifying customersThe usual yearbook customers are in three general groups: students and faculty,parents and family, and community members such as doctors, realtors, libraries,police and local newspaper publishers.Parents are the largest customer group for yearbooks because they have themoney. Even if students go online or bring money to school to make the purchase,the money is usually from their parents. So target your marketing and awarenesstoward parents.If you have a large Latino population among your parents and students, you maywant to use Walsworth’s tools on how to reach Latino parents in a relevant way.Walsworth offers three items in Spanish: a professionally designed web page thatexplains the yearbook, a parent email and a parent flier. Look for more items tocome.Why would businesses want to buy a yearbook? Well, doctors and realtors maywant to show off the community, while libraries, police and newspapers maywant it as a reference book. Think about other groups orbusinesses in your community that may need the yearbookfor those purposes, and advertise the yearbook to them withfliers or postcards.Online Social MediaOne of the main ways you talk to your friends is online, right?Why not talk about the yearbook, and get others talking aboutyour yearbook online? Twitter may be useful for spreadingthe word about your yearbook, but Facebook probably hasthe greatest number of your student body on it.Walsworth’s Marketing Department has written a shortebook called Promoting your yearbook in the Facebookera: A quick-start guide to using Facebook to help createa yearbook buzz within your school community. It can befound on Walsworth’s Facebook Fan page at facebook.com/yearbooks. It explains how to set up a FacebookFan Page, how to recruit fans to increase your yearbookaudience and how to use Fan Page features to increaseawareness, excitement and sales.walsworthyearbooks.com9

We realize you may not have access to websites such as Facebook andTwitter from school. Consider setting up and monitoring Facebook andTwitter after school. Since you and your friends spend time at thesesites, we know the extra time and effort will be worth it.Unlike Groups, Fan Pages require little management but let youryearbook team share special offers, ordering deadlines, fun facts andphotos under consideration for the yearbook. Fan pages even allow youto gather feedback and opinions from members of your school throughpolls, games and other free interactive applications.To begin setting up your yearbook staff’s new Fan Page, log on toFacebook.com and then click on Ads and Pages in the bottom leftcorner of your browser window.Decide on a short Fan Page name that is easy to remember and find,such as:• School initials and yearbook name (CHS Reflector Yearbook)• School nickname and yearbook name (Center High Reflector Yearbook)• School initials, mascot and “yearbook” (CHS Trojans Yearbook)• Avoid using the year in your Fan Page name so the name can beused year after year.Do a drive for fans within the school. Offer the first 50 fans on your pagea guarantee of x number of photos in the yearbook, the next 50 fansa free yearbook option or a lower number of guaranteed photos in theyearbook, or other options.Put yearbook-related links on the Info tab on your Fan Page to connectyour fans directly to other information or sites they might find helpful, suchas:• Yearbook-related information about ordering, deadlines or pricing onyour school website.• If your school is enrolled in Online Sales, link to yearbookforever.com so fanscan purchase right then.• Create photo albums to share by grade or activity.• Add a link to Community Upload if you have a School Gallery forsharing photos.• Seek story ideas or information for stories you are working on. Try a survey.To read the entire ebook, go to the Walsworth’s Facebook Fan Pageat facebook.com/yearbooks and click on the link that says Click hereto download a copy of our ebook. To become a fan of Walsworth onFacebook, go to facebook.com/yearbooks.10

Community UploadUsing Community Upload by Walsworth, parents and students not on theyearbook staff can share photos of school events for possible inclusion inthe yearbook. More images mean more chances of great images and morestory angles to choose from. This helps you make sure all student eventsare covered and lets others feel a sense of ownership in the yearbook. Whena sense of belonging exists, the stage is set for possible increased sales.Community Upload lets you easily collect, organize and store all of yourimages in one place, and easily transfer them to your Online Design accountor download them for use with desktop applications such as InDesign.All Walsworth customers have an account for ClassScene, whereCommunity Upload is located. For new customers, once your adviserhas entered your school and contact information in Members Only, yourClassScene account and Community Upload will be activated.Your school websiteAdd a banner to your school’s website directing your school community to buy theyearbook. Also, add information to the school’s Parent portal and online grading sites.These are web pages for parents on schools’ websites, and they go by different namesdepending on which company your school uses.If you are using Walsworth’s Online Sales program, be sure to use the HTML bannercodes sent to your adviser. Work with your school’s webmaster to get the bannerposted. When customers click on your banner, they will go directly to your school’syearbook order site on yearbookforever.com.WHAT TOOLS WE WILL USE FOR AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND WHOWILL HELP RUN IT:Now, review the marketing ideas and plans to help sell your yearbook. You may needjust one, or you many need to come up with the right combination for your school.walsworthyearbooks.com11

yearbook marketing and sales plansThere are several ways to sell your yearbook – online, sales days or weeksat school, direct-to-home mailings to parents, one large order day atschool, and kiosks, to name a few. Parents typically pay for the yearbook.Plan on some form of marketing directly to parents to tell them when theyearbook is on sale, how to order and what options are available.Walsworth helps by offering different types of sales and marketing toolsand resources to carry out your plans. You can use just one of these typesof marketing, and just a few tools, or any combination. How you arrangeand work it depends on your audiences and goals.Start yearbook sales early – sell next year’s book while still doing thisyear’s book. Let three factors guide your decision on when to sell – sell atthe best times to reach people, sell early enough to help set a budget forthe year, and avoid sales by other groups and major holidays.Do not sell books all year. You do not need the hassle, and people willalways wait until the last minute to order. Set deadlines depending onyour needs and consider increasing your pricing at certain intervals toencourage students to buy now.RegistrationProbably the best time to catch parents is at the first event for the school yearthey must attend, which is usually registration, but it could also be freshmanregistration in the spring or a back-to-school night in the fall.To sell yearbooks at next year’s registration:• Start thinking about sales in January or February, or maybe earlier.• Check on the procedures for adding yearbook information to the registrationpacket or getting information online with the registration information.• Ask what form the information can be in – a flier, a brochure or just text.• Ask what the deadline is for submitting this information.• You need to advertise books will be on sale! Start thinking about how youplan to advertise this sale – online, with emails or with the school’s automatedphone system.• If parents come to the school, ask about putting up a kiosk. You want to benear the registration area but not next to all of the registration tables.Later, schedule time to take care of the details – creating a flier or brochure,posting an announcement on the website, using the All-call system or by email,and deciding what you need at your kiosk. Keep reading – information on theseitems appears later in this workbook.12

Email MarketingWith Email Marketing, Walsworth’s marketing team develops emailsabout your yearbook sales, as well as school events. We can send theemails on your school’s behalf, or we can send the email text to youand your school can send. Check to see if you already have email addresses– the office may have these addresses if parents have signedup for an online grading site or e-newsletter. Email templates you canedit are available at Marketing Help as part of Classic Marketing, or ifyou choose to use Customized Marketing, we can create one for you.Here is the process.1. In Marketing Help under Email Marketing, enter the name and dateof one or more yearbook sales dates or school events you wouldlike to promote, such as in-school yearbook sales, homecominggames, back-to-school night or a choir concert. Enter as manyevents as you like.2. A Walsworth Marketing Specialist will contact you within two weeks ofthe event to customize an email for your school, with text or imageslike your school mascot.3. Send out the email yourself, or send Walsworth the database of email addressesand we will send them out on your behalf.4. If you have Walsworth send the email, we also can track how many peopleviewed the email and clicked through to your Online Sales.Online SalesUse the power of the internet to promote and sell your yearbook online. OnlineSales lets parents buy anytime from anywhere. But don’t forget – you still need tomarket your Online Sales to get people there.• Your school’s website may be the best place to sell yearbooks and ads sinceparents may often visit to access grades, schedules and more. Post informationon the home page and any page parents visit.• Buy a Yearbook web banners are available to post on your school website. Whena user clicks on these banners, they will be taken directly to your online SchoolStore to purchase. In fact, more than 50% of the visits to yearbookforever.comcome from our schools’ website banners. You or your adviser must enter theprogram information in Members Only to set up your Online Sales, online SchoolStore and receive your banner.• Mention Online Sales in your Email Marketing and CustomizedMarketing items. See the Customized Marketing section formore information.• Vinyl banners are available to display in prominent placesin your school, during games and during sales events. Oneversion has the yearbookforever.com address on them todrive buyers to the web.walsworthyearbooks.com13

• Vanity URLs are available to use on posters, fliers, PA announcements or whereveryou advertise your sale. You can choose to advertise yearbookforever.com,where buyers can go and enter your school name and state, or use a schoolspecificURL so purchasers can access your online School Store directly. Yourschool’s vanity URL will be emailed to the adviser after you enroll in the OnlineSales program.• In addition to providing awareness, your Facebook Fan Page can help you sellbooks. Make sure you include purchase information and a link to your OnlineSales if applicable.WE NEED AN ONLINE SALES PLAN:14

There are two types of direct marketing to parents and students: CustomizedMarketing and Classic Marketing. Both have resources and tools that fit withinyour budget.Customized MarketingCustomized Marketing provides yearbook staffs with personalized, professionallydesigned marketing items without you doing all the work.You select the marketing pieces you want: posters, fliers with order forms,postcards, bookmarks, stickers or gift certificates. Tell us your school colors andsubmit your mascot, school images and the message with your sales locationsand pricing information, as indicated on the order form. Have a different piece inmind? We are happy to create additional marketing pieces as well.To order, use the online Customized Marketing form atwalsworthyearbooks.com/marketing-help oremail schoolmarketing@walsworth.com.• Customized marketing also includes Email Marketing and fliers to advertiseCommunity Upload and ClassScene, if you use those services.• Create a yearbook coverage contact process: students and parents receive apersonal contact from a staff member when they are covered in a spread. Thiscontact could be an email telling them they are in the yearbook and include alink to the School Store to purchase their book.WHAT CUSTOMIZED MARKETING MATERIALS WE WANT TO USEAND HOW AND WHEN TO USE THEM:walsworthyearbooks.com15

Classic MarketingYou may have a small staff, a small marketing budget, or a large staff with littletime to devote to marketing. Whatever the reason, Walsworth’s Classic Marketingprovides items you can use in an instant and Do-it-yourself templates you canuse. Available items include:• Nine large posters• Four water cooler posters• Two sales table posters• Two options posters• One book sales progress poster• Resource Disk 2 in The Process Kit, which contains the Do-it-yourself templatesfor letters, brochures, directional posters, emails and locker stuffers, plus allcallscripts and more. Just add your school information, print and use.Here are ways to use these items:• Intrigue buyers by hanging the posters around the school about two weeksbefore your yearbook sale. Every few days, fill in a little more informationtelling students where and when to buy and how much the yearbook will cost.• Use the brochures and locker stuffers to also spread the word.• Even if you tell students about the sale, you need to tell their parents – thepeople with the money. Mail them letters about yearbook and ad sales.• Or, include the letters with other outgoing school mailings to alert parents toyearbook sales, especially mailings early in the fall. Add messaging to reportcards, school newsletters, as footers in school emails, parent review/signaturepages. Does your school work with an online grading site like Blackboard orPowerSchool? Ask about including yearbook-specific messaging on their site.• Send businesses a letter about buying ads before you visit them.• Keep staff motivated with the book sales progression posters. Friendlycompetition among staff members will boost your yearbook sales campaign.o Take the student body and divide it by the number of yearbook staffers. Giveeach staffer a set number of students they need to contact. Let staffers getcreative with their methods – notes, emails, phone calls, locker signs – toget their students to purchase a book. Offer prizes to the winning staffers.o Variation: Give each staffer a specific homeroom (or multiple homerooms).The staffer will be responsible for getting these students to purchase. Offerprizes to the winning homerooms, like a donut party or a pizza party.These items are on Resource Disk 2 in the Marketing folder, or can be orderedwith the order form in the Marketing folder in The Process Kit.16

WHAT CLASSIC MARKETING MATERIALS WE WANT TO USE AND HOWAND WHEN TO USE THEM:KiosksKiosks are like sales tables, but they are directed at parents and have at least onecomputer set up to enable parents to order online right then.Consider using kiosks at these events:• Registration — Place your table near other stations that parents must visitduring the registration process but away from all the other organizationspromoting their ventures.• Class orientation• Senior-specific events• Back-to-school Night/Open House• Homecoming events — Also sell leftover books from previous years.• Parent/Teacher Conferences• Fun Nights/Special events• Holiday events — Promote the yearbook as a gift.• Sports events — Give a script about the sale to game announcers and radioand website commentators.• Band/Orchestra/Choir concertswalsworthyearbooks.com17

• Dance Corps performances• Plays• Talent show• Graduation ceremony — Sell extra books or pre-sell for next year.Also, use kiosks outside of school:• Contact businesses to sell yearbooks in front, such as grocery stores.• Contact radio stations to arrange remotes. Combine with an eventat a local business for maximum impact. Encourage radio stationsto give out small prizes.• Contact your town’s Chamber of Commerce to sell yearbooks atcommunity festivals.•Contact organizers of memorial events such as a 5K Run/Walk ormarathons. Focus on events that are a memorial to a student, andgive $1.00 from each yearbook purchase to that event.• Contact organizers of local parades. And, ask if you can enter ayearbook float in the homecoming parade to raise awareness of theyearbook.Get details about preparation and taking orders at a kiosk from themanual, Yearbook Sales Using Kiosks, found atwalsworthyearbooks.com/marketing-help.Sales tables at schoolTarget student buyers in your school with Order Days. Consider four,two-week Order Day selling periods: a Kickoff Campaign, Late FallCampaign, Winter Sales Campaign and Last Call Campaign. Set up asales table with or without Online Sales.• Begin a marketing campaign several days before the actual order dayand remind students daily of the upcoming sale. Tell students andparents how, when and where the sales event will happen.• Clearly communicate order dates, times, places, additional optionson sale and prices to students and parents.• Create a sense of urgency with the sale start and end dates, by raisingthe price as the year goes on, and by using messages for the last saleto tell people this is their last chance to buy yearbooks and options.For example, offer the book for $60 during registration, $65 duringthe first week of November and $75 the week before winter holidays.• Set up tables before school or during lunch. Places to considerare the cafeteria, entrance, common areas, during assemblies andoutside the yearbook room.18

• Make sure you have drop-off points where order forms can be turned in ifstudents do not have money, such as the main office or yearbook room.• Include an installment payment plan.• Give people something immediately for their purchases: candy, inexpensiveitems or free or discounted passes to movies or school events.• Consider a daily drawing from buyers’ names for bigger prizes, like CDs, DVDs,an MP3 player or a free yearbook.Places to advertise your sale• Create fake parking tickets and put under the windshield wipers in schoolparking lots.• School restrooms• Footprints in school colors taped to the hall floors, leading to a sales table orposters announcing the sale.• Use posters to tease the sale. Start with a blank banner and every few daysadd a few letters to the words until the poster is filled in.• Hang signs by classroom clocks.• Hang signs on the ceiling.• Get permission to put a mailing label or sticker on vending machine itemsadvertising the sale.• Hang a series of small signs with one word on each, so students walking downthe hall get the entire message.Whether you use a kiosk or generic sales table, it is important to advertiseeverywhere before the event that yearbooks will be sold at these events. After thesales event, follow up with attendees who did not buy a book and market directlyto them.WHEN TO USE KIOSKS AND HOW TO ADVERTISE OUR SALE:walsworthyearbooks.com19

SalesXpressTwo SalesXpress programs are also available to help you sell yearbooks:Yearbook Order Day and Direct to Home.Yearbook Order DayLet your student body and faculty order their yearbook at the same timeduring one Yearbook Order Day at school. This can be done standing in linefor picture day, at a school assembly, or in all homerooms or English classes,so all students have the opportunity to fill out an order form.They fill out the forms. No money is collected. You just collect and return thecompleted order forms to the Yearbook Order Center, where the information iscompiled into a database. Up to three invoices for orders placed by studentsare then mailed directly to their homes. One ordering opportunity will be mailedto the homes of students who indicated on their order form they did not wanta yearbook.Direct to HomeOr, take yearbook sales directly to parents by mailing order forms to students’homes with the Direct to Home program. Order forms are mailed to homesup to three times, so parents are reminded to buy. Just provide a database ofstudent names and addresses to Walsworth.Both programs offer several convenient payment options – by check, creditcard or money order. Payments can be made by mail, online or by phone.Sales reports are available online for you to monitor throughout the program.Use Customized Marketing, Classic Marketing or even a banner on yourschool’s website to advertise your Yearbook Order Day or Direct to Homesale, so students get excited to order their yearbook.To enroll in Yearbook Order Day or Direct to Home, fill out the SalesXpressprogram information form in Members Only.IF WE USE EITHER YEARBOOK ORDER DAY OR DIRECT TO HOME,HERE IS HOW AND WHEN:20

Buyer and non-buyer follow-upDetermine the non-buyers. Try using reports from Online Sales,SalesXpress or the ones you created.• Send a direct mail piece to parents of non-buyers.• Call or email parents of non-buyers.• Before the holidays, consider sending holiday gift mailers toparents and grandparents.• If non-buyers are not in the yearbook, make sure to get themin the book. Then create, “You’re in!” cards to send to thosestudents and their parents. Let them know what page they areon, and encourage them to purchase.• Follow up with buyers at distribution; see next page.HOW WE WILL TRACK NON-BUYERS, HOW WE WILL REACH THEM AND WHEN:walsworthyearbooks.com21

Distribution eventKeep the excitement going and generate more income with a fund-raiser onyearbook distribution day. Assign a member of the business staff to serve as eventcoordinator and hold a book signing party. Celebrate!• Set a date early in the year and get the school behind it.• Use the yearbook theme at the event.• Have an autograph/signing party or combine the event with a school functionsuch as an assembly program or school picnic.• Charge for the event if it is held at night or after school.• Have the event on Friday, and students not attending must wait until Mondayto get their yearbooks.• Get help in organizing this event from a parent group. This group can help withdonations, radio station involvement, refreshments and prizes for drawings.Make the event fun and something no student will want to miss.• If you have yearbooks to sell at distribution, advertise to get non-buyers to attend.• Sell next year’s yearbook.HOW WE WILL CONDUCT OUR DISTRIBUTION EVENT:22

advertising marketing and sales plansYou have already set your ad sales goals, so now it’s time to create your ad salesplans. Start by determining your potential buyers, based on what type of ads you sell.• If you only sell personal ads, also known as senior ads, baby ads or recognitionads, your customers are the parents and grandparents of students, usually seniors.• If you sell business or patron ads, your customers are local businesses andbusinesses owned by parents and grandparents.• If you sell organizational ads, your customers are members of student groups,teams and clubs.• If you sell all four types, you have many potential customers.Plan your ad campaign in the spring before school is out. Start business ad salesearly, like in June before the school year, with parent ads in the fall. Remember,you need to sell early enough to help set a budget for the year.Ad sales trainingYour marketing team will need sales training, either to work with parents who wantto buy personal ads or if you plan to go door-to-door to call on businesses.Training to sell personal ads will depend on how you accept the ads. If you hostan ad night for parents to come to school with their photos, text and money,designers must be present to create ads on the spot and someone will needto take money and give receipts. If you send out a flier and parents return theirphotos and text by mail, someone will need to get the ad information to designersand deposit money. If you sell ads online, a student marketing team member willneed to monitor the system.Sales of ads to businesses is more daunting. You can call on the advertisingdepartment of your local newspaper or other publications to provide professionaltraining for the staff. Or, use these tips to help your staff succeed, and get moreinformation from The Yearbook Suite, Set 3—Business.• Create a Selling Kit that contains a fact sheet, ad samples, rate sheet, adcontracts, business cards and the most current yearbook. Include a call sheetfor managers at the business to sign if they do not buy. This sheet will helpyour adviser with grading.• Role play scenarios with the staff such as handling objections, making firstimpressions, signing an ad contract sheet, and using support materials fromyour Selling Kit.• Sell in teams. Create teams of two, pairing veteran yearbook staffers with newones. Consider selling in geographical areas of the community.• Follow up with the sales team at the end of the sales day. Continue to workwith each person on avoiding yes/no questions and asking direct questionssuch as, “What size ad works best for you this year?” Make sure staffers endtheir visits with a postitive comment, even if a sale is not made.walsworthyearbooks.com23

TRAINING WE NEED AND WHEN WE WILL DO IT:Online Ad SalesOnline Sales for ads works about the same as for yearbooks. This tool will let youreach parents and businesses quickly and effectively. It will not replace directcontact with potential business customers, but it can simplify the actual purchasefor business managers and especially parents.Use the power of the internet to promote and sell your ads online, either alone orwith your yearbook.• Use your school’s website, with a link or web banner to the School Store, tosell ads. Parents and businesses can purchase using a credit card online. Youor your adviser must enter your program information in Members Only to getthe link for your school’s website homepage. Parents and businesses canselect an ad from the choices you provide or let them submit their own, andeither you can create the ads or let Walsworth do it.• Use Email Marketing to sell ads and highlight school events.• Mention Online Sales for ads in your Customized Marketing items.24

• Vanity URLs are available to use on posters, fliers, PA announcements orwherever you advertise your sale. A school-specific URL enables purchasersto access your online School Store directly.• Use your Facebook Fan Page to generate interest for ads.WHAT WE WILL DO AND WHAT WE WILL INCLUDE IN OUR ONLINE SALES PLAN:Personal AdsReach parents to make them aware that they can buy personal ads.• Use Customized Marketing fliers by selecting the “Online Book Sales” or “OnlineBook and Ad Sales” fliers from the Customized Marketing catalog. Customize withyour sales information.• Your school’s automated telephone system also is a powerful tool to reach all ofthe homes with your message to buy an ad.• Customized banners are available for your school’s website to promote ad salesor yearbook/ad ad sales.• You can use Classic Marketing alone or with Customized Marketing and OnlineSales. For example, use any outgoing school mailing to alert parents to ad sales.Add notes to report cards, school newsletters, as well as a footer in school emails,parent review/signature pages and an online grading site.To order, use the online form at walsworthyearbooks.com/marketing-help or emailschoolmarketing@walsworth.com.walsworthyearbooks.com25

Business adsIf you sell business ads, remember your Selling Kit and sales training, andorganize for efficiency. Before sales calls:• Pair up experienced and new staff members, go-getters and less aggressivepersonalities.• In dealing with a limited area, consider geographical territories for your salesteams.•Set goals and incentives for your sales teams.•Take one or two days for this type of sale, maybe a day in June and a dayin August or September.•Carry two or three pens with the Selling Kit.•Call first to learn the name of the manager or the decision-maker, and thebest times to show up in person. Make an appointment.•If cold-calling, determine the least busy time to visit, so as to discussadvertising or set up an appointment.• Remind staff to make a good first impression by dressing appropriately andoffering a firm handshake. Always be courteous. Always look your prospectin the eyes and listen, then ask pertinent questions.During sales calls:• Know the facts about your yearbook, your school and your market, such ashow many students buy the book, the distribution date, other businessesthat advertise, what options are available for the ad (color, artwork, pageposition). Have a business-size card in the sales kit with school informationon one side and rates and other statistics on the other.• Plan on your prospect saying “no” at least a few times. Counter theirobjections by using a pre-planned “Reasons to Advertise” list. Beyond that,don’t badger them.• Think about anything extra you can do for your prospect’s ad. What aboutcopy, art and design?• Ask for the order. Have the contract and pen ready for the prospect to sign.Say “thank you” when they sign.• Ask for a business card, attach it to the contract, and inform the merchantyou will contact him or her soon for art, copy, pictures, or whatever applies,unless they have those items ready now.26

• If this is a renewal, be sure to have the ad in the yearbook markedwith a paper clip. The advertiser will want to see it. Try to upscalethe ad (size or color) – “Can I put you down for the same size ad aslast year, or would you be interested in a large size ad?” Rememberto first ask for the sale, then say thank you, and finally note contractchanges, if any.• Collect payment at the time of the sale.• If you are unable to make the sale, be sure to get the call sheet signed.Remind the merchant you are doing this for a grade.After sales calls:• Report positive and negative advertising sales results immediatelyto the marketing team.• Decide how to handle the missed merchants and the missedopportunities to sell.• Bill ads promptly.• Send thank you notes or letters to all current advertisers.• Keep a list of current and past advertisers in your yearbook.WHAT WE WILL DO TO PREPARE OUR AD CAMPAIGN, WHO WILL DO WHAT,EXPECTATIONS OF EACH STAFF MEMBER, AND THE START AND FINISH DATES:walsworthyearbooks.com27

28HOW WE WILL TRACK NON-BUYERS, HOW WE WILL CONTACT AGAIN ANDWHAT OUR DEADLINE IS:

HOW WE WILL COLLECT MONEY AND KEEP PURCHASE RECORDS:keeping recordsIf books are sold at school, the business manager has orderforms, receipts, checks and cash to handle for yearbook andad sales. Use these tips for organization and security.• Deposit checks and cash quickly to avoid theft. In mostschools, this usually means getting the money to the schoolbookkeeper on a daily basis.• Make a record of purchases. Using order forms andreceipts, create a record of each purchaser’s name, grade,address, phone number, date, payment amount and method,information, receipt number, options purchased if applicable,and who sold the book or ad. Create your records usingrecord-keeping software.• Update the list as books and ads are sold, or if orderdays and payment days are separate, or if purchasers arepermitted to buy the book in two payments.• Keep a record of which staff members have which yearbooksales receipt books, i.e., Lisa Jones has receipts 0001-0100.• Make at least three copies of the sales receipt at the time ofpurchase. One goes to the buyer (for the book, it is proof ondistribution day that he paid for a yearbook). One is kept bythe staff member who made the sale. A third copy goes to the business manager,who uses a file card box or other method for keeping the physical copies ofthe receipts, alphabetically or by grade alphabetically. The physical records arebackup records to the electronic file to protect against theft or misplacementof receipt books and misplacement of receipts by purchasers.If you are doing Online Sales, make sure you keep track of all sales in one place.You can add all in-school sales to your Online Sales in the Manage Book and Adsection in Members Only.walsworthyearbooks.com29

sample marketing templatesSample Yearbook Sales Email30

Sample Ad Sales Emailwalsworthyearbooks.com31

eference itemsOnline and printed items• The Yearbook Suite, Set 3 – Business• walsworthyearbooks.com – Check out the Idea File for great ideas from advisers, studentsand the Walsworth staff.• Marketing Help – Visit walsworthyearbooks.com/marketing-help to check out everythingWalsworth provides.• The ebook, Promoting your yearbook in the Facebook Era: A quick-start guide to usingFacebook to help create a yearbook buzz within your school community, found on Walsworth’sFacebook Fan page at facebook.com/yearbooks.• Yearbook Sales Using Kiosks, found in Marketing Help• Advisers Market, found in the Marketing folder in The Process KitContacts• Online Sales URL – yearbookforever.com• Send marketing questions to – marketingyearbooks@walsworth.com• Send Customized Marketing requests to – schoolmarketing@walsworth.com• Walsworth yearbooks website – walsworthyearbooks.com• Marketing Help page on website – walsworthyearbooks.com/marketing-help32