How to run a yearbook pre-order drive
A pre-order drive is a few weeks of focused reminders so families order before the last day to order. Because Rethink prints only what families order, and the PTA keeps the amount it adds to each book, every extra order raises money at no extra cost.
What is a pre-order drive, and why run one?
It is a plan, not a product: one order link, one deadline and four weekly reminders. Families who hear about the book early can order calmly; families who hear about it on the last day often miss it.
What does it cost?
Nothing extra. There is no deposit and no unsold stock, because only the books families order are printed. Most schools add $2–5 a book to the family price and the PTA keeps it. How yearbook fundraising works.
How do you run it? A four-week plan
- Week 1: announce it. Send the order flyer home and put the order link in the school newsletter, with the last day to order.
- Week 2: ask teachers. A one-line reminder in class, and a post in the school’s parent channels.
- Week 3: last call. A short note that names the last day to order, and says that orders after it miss the school delivery.
- Week 4: final day. A reminder on the last day to order, then a thank-you to families.
Which date do the messages name?
The book seal date. It is the day the book goes to print and family ordering closes (families see it as the last day to order). Books arrive about three weeks later. When ordering should open and close.
Ideas and variations
- A sample book or a printed spread in the front office.
- A shout-out for the class with the most orders, if your school allows it.
- One reminder in each language your families read.
- The order link on the school calendar entry for the last day to order.
Who does the work?
The orders lead on the yearbook committee. In a small school, the coordinator does it alongside the design work. The four roles on a yearbook committee.
Pre-order drives, answered.
Can families change their order?
Yes. Before the school’s last day to order, families can change a book themselves in My Orders, or cancel it.
Can families order after the last day to order?
Not for the school delivery: orders have to be in before the book goes to print. A school can offer optional summer ordering, where a book ships to the family’s home.
Do we have to guess how many books to print?
Not at Rethink. Families order by the deadline and exactly those books are printed. How many yearbooks to order.
See what your school’s
book would cost.
A per-book quote within one business day, and a sample. One-school-year agreement, free first draft.