How to write a killer school prospectus.
Are you thinking about updating your school prospectus?
Tempted to just repeat what you did last year because it’s quick and easy?
As experts in educational brand and design, we’ve helped schools across the UK create prospectus designs that helped to increase first choice decisions by helping them take a fresh look. In this article, we’ll share a few of these tips with you.
Why do you need a prospectus?
This is an excellent question to start with. The answers you come up with can form the basis of your creative brief as well as help to create a starting point for your content. It is also important to know what you are trying to achieve from the outset; it will give your designers a clear directive and makes it much easier to work out if your prospectus design actually meets your needs.
Write your content for the everyman
When you come to write your content plan, try to avoid falling foul of the curse of knowledge. As Elizabeth Newton showed when she coined the phrase, it’s easy to assume that everyone can hear the tune playing in your head as you tap out your rhythm. But they might just be hearing a noise. Ask yourself how you can discover if, or where, your message is getting lost in translation and what you can do to overcome this. Invite opinion on your draft from a few people outside of education for feedback during your process, or, if your budget can stretch, consider using a professional copywriter to assist you (you can expect to pay £30-£45 per hour for a decent freelance copywriter)
Draw on your skills as educators
Following on from the curse of knowledge is the power of simple explanation. If you do need to talk about (for example) the principles of pedagogy or a particular teaching approach then make it as simple as possible. Using clear, simple language to explain will allow the widest possible number of people to understand you. Use short sentences and keep things as succinct as you can. Regardless of their own education, your readers will thank you if you can make a complex idea easy to understand. This is also a powerful way to demonstrate that in everything you do, educating is at the core of who you are. You bring these skills every day in the classroom so don’t forget to use them in your marketing too.
Remember who your prospectus is for
As you think about why you need to create a prospectus make a note of who it is primarily for. Consider the make-up of your local community and make sure that you are thinking about them when you approach your language, content and overall design. You might need to consider typical literacy levels or parental engagement and rely on images, infographics or illustrations to help to deliver your headline message. By doing so you are not dumbing anything down, you are creating the best chance of communicating with potential parents by allowing them a find a way to engage with your content at the right level for them.
If you live in a diverse community then little touches, like adding a welcome message in a range of languages could make a great first impression. Take the time to understand what might connect with your audience and work with your design team or agency to find the best ways to bring it to life.
Diversity really matters
Whilst schools are familiar with the Every Child Matters mindset, it can be easy to forget that parents are still primary decision makers around school choices and that they have lots of questions about your school, with one of the most important one being: will my child fit in here? If every child matters in your school but you have only asked a select group of students to be involved in your marketing photoshoot then what are you really saying? Be intentional about communicating how you are tackling the issue of diversity and make sure your words and pictures line up. Consider asking for BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) staff and students to add their voice to your marketing message, particularly when talking about raising awareness, anti-racism or general school life.
Personal aside: In his book, Natives, Akala shares some powerful stories and insights into education from a black perspective that certainly made me think about what inclusive education looks like and how easily the wrong message can be promoted, not because of a lack of humanity but a lack of intentionality. The assumption that some things don’t need to be said when there has never been a more important time to make sure that they are.
Stories are powerful
Humans are meaning-making beings and we know that there is power in using stories (check out this 3-minute video from National Geographic). Consider how you can harness the power of story in your prospectus narrative to make an emotional connection. This might look like investing in professional school photography to create images that can paint a thousand words, or using actual student or staff experiences to share a different perspective. Your school prospectus will be much more effective if you can take the time to consider your story and find the right words and images to tell it.
Let your story breathe
There is little point in spending time considering all of the above and crafting your story only to package it in a way that is uninspiring or difficult to read. Understanding even some of the most basic design principles will help you create a design that is engaging, easy to read, and allows your story to be heard. Here are a few simple tips you can employ to get the most out of your prospectus design:
Don’t fill every space – white space can perform an important job in letting your reader navigate your page.
Invest in photography – getting good images is more than having the right kit. It takes an artist to capture a moment that can powerfully speak to others, and it’s always worth the spend (expect to pay £450 - £800 per day for a professional school marketing photographer. Check out Andy Catterall to see what a pro can do)
Frame your images – cropping your images properly to focus the viewer’s eye can make them even more powerful.
Dual coding is powerful – combine your text with images that explain it visually for added cognition.
Use a clear font – legibility is the key, so make sure your body text and titles can easily be read. Space your text out and break up long sections of text where possible
Need some advice?
Get in touch to ask any questions you have about how to create a prospectus that will be a powerful ally in your marketing arsenal without breaking the budget.