What Season Fits Your Distribution Goal?
By Lynn
One of the first things you have to decide as a yearbook advisor is when you will distribute your yearbook – OR Maybe you walked into a plan already in place for years and years.
The rest of the deadlines are worked backwards from that date – it’s basically the north star of yearbooks.
There are 2 main distribution seasons for school yearbooks, end of school and end of summer. Some schools choose to have the book ready to hand out at the end of the school year – last week, last day, last month; Whereas some have a distribution at the end of summer/right before school starts again the next year.
End-of-year delivery:
Pros:
Have the books in students’ hands during the same school year as the yearbook and memories.
Ability to get signatures from the friends of that year.
Cons:
Missing the last 2-3 months of activities, events, and games, including graduation, depending on your final submission date. Some yearbook companies want all content submitted by the end of February/March, while others are able to turn a yearbook around in less than a month, so you can submit the final draft at the end of April while still being able to hand out the book by the end of May.
August/Late summer/Prior to the first day of next school year:
Pros:
Ability to get the entire school year in the book – August to May memories, including graduation and spring sports, spring musical, end-of-year programs, and awards ceremonies.
Extra time to work on the yearbook to complete it after school ends
Cons:
Kids move, leave for college or military service, and are away on vacation by distribution day
The yearbook team isn’t available over the summer/once school ends
Students either not as interested or are available for signatures
Staging pick-up times during summer might interfere with your summer/time off and accommodating everyone else’s vacations and activities to staff the distribution.
When choosing a distribution day, make sure you consider all the factors that are unique to your school, your schedule, and your preference!
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