Your yearly school prospectus will be the centrepiece of your annual marketing so it’s vitally important that you make it count. It needs to win over the hearts and minds of parents and students alike, telling them why they should spend key parts of their education at your school. Here are the 7 secrets to make your school prospectus a marketing machine.
1. Strong photography
The way you present your school prospectus will have a huge influence on how people interact with it. The photography should be used to catch not only people’s eyes but their imagination. It’s a great opportunity to sell the strong points of the school and to highlight what makes it unique. Maybe you are renowned for a sporting activity or have a new IT department with state-of-the-art equipment. Hire a professional photographer to get the best possible images, and all the images that do not make it into the prospectus can be used in a variety of other marketing activities across the school year.
2. Give it personality
Some school prospectuses’ can be dry and uninspiring, but if you give the designer some freedom they can come up with some creative suggestions that will inject the school’s personality into the material. The fundamentals mean the school branding and colours will have to be included but the layout, font and overall design need to be strong and vibrant. You want the best students to attend the school to maintain strong results and you want your marketing content to engage with the reader.
3. Create a digital version
Printing a physical prospectus is important as readers are often happy to engage with a printed version. However, you should also have a digital PDF version on the school website to make it easy for parents to download and read on their laptops or smartphones. This also enables you to connect it to your social media channels, announcing its availability on the school website and creating tweets and posts that centre on school open days.
4. Deliver knock out copy
The style and imagery used will not be as powerful without strong content included in the prospectus. Parents will want to know the school’s story and what makes it different from any of the others nearby. There’s a balance to be struck between upholding its traditional values while at the same time establishing progressive and forward-thinking ideals. While parents are concerned with academic performance, they also want to send their children to a school they believe stands for something.
5. Find the right length
Without a doubt, you’ll have a long list of features and benefits you can reel out when it comes to promoting your school – but that doesn’t mean they all have to be included in the prospectus! The length has to be long enough to have some literal and figurative weight, without seeming too overstuffed with content so it’s a chore to read. It also can’t be too short either, as you don’t want all your hard work to be forgotten as soon as the reader puts it down.
6. Make sure you have enough
When it comes to printing the finished prospectus, you have to ensure you will have enough copies available – if parents turn up and they can’t walk away with a copy, then you are limiting the reach of your own marketing. Of course, you will have a budget to work to, so strike the right balance between ordering too much and not enough. Previous orders should give you a good starting point. The more copies you order, the more cost-effective it becomes, but you also want to make sure you aren’t left with hundreds or thousands of unused prospectuses that are no longer relevant 6 months later.
7. It’s all in the finish
A lot of hard work goes into creating the school prospectus and it would be a shame to undermine all of that effort with a poorly printed finish. When it comes to choosing the right printer, avoid just relying on the cheapest price, as the results will often reflect that. You’ll want to work with a company that will help you to produce the best possible product and can be flexible with their approach. They should be able to offer insightful advice and realistic pricing that isn’t just designed to win you as a customer without much consideration given to the quality. And if you’re not sure about anything to do with the printing process, always ask, as a reputable company will always be happy to explain and ease your concerns. At Printech Express, we specialise in prospectus printing for schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. Our friendly team can talk you through all the printing options via Live Chat or over the phone on 01245 506066.