Award Grad Photography Contracts Based on Service - Tips From The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan

Agreeing to allow your school photographer to photograph your grads, before experiencing their quality and service in the fall may leave your school vulnerable to poor service and only benefit the photo company. Although typical school photography contracts include both fall and spring photos consider agreeing only to undergrad photography initially, then based on service, award the graduate sittings. Most photographers will underserve the fall pics since there is a thin profit margin and fewer parents are buying photos. Most families have access to a good quality digital camera so many parents opt out.

Since senior portraits have an incredible profit margin (an 8x10 inch photo that may sell for as much as $40.00 has a cost of about eighty-five cents for most photographers) signing separate agreements for spring and fall photos is a great strategy from the perspective of the school. If during fall photos the studio sends too few photographers or doesn't respond quickly to parent calls or missing photo packages your school has the option to change companies.

Over the past sixteen years working with school Yearbooks we've worked with many photographers. Smart negotiating may be the difference between poor service from the photographer and a successful photo campaign in your school.

Best of luck this spring and feel free to call our office for more tips on working with your school photographer. #yearbooksuccess

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan

Yearbookplanet Inc, Sloan Premium Solutions

Representing Herff Jones

Profit, Participation and Distribution - The golden rules of school fundraising

Spring is around the corner and schools everywhere are beginning to think about fundraisers. In speaking with schools the number one concern is managing the fundraising event. Consider these three tips when planning your next fundraiser.

Participation - Ultimately the fundraiser will need to appeal to the entire school. Will every household want to purchase a box of chocolate bars? What about note cards or greeting cards? Will the rising cost of postage and popularity of email and texting impact how many parents will purchase? Be careful of appealing to a subset of the population. A quality fundraiser needs to have mass appeal.

Profit Potential - Like the movie character Gordon Gekko in Wall Street once said "Greed is good". Working with your sales professional will help you plan the launch and potential profit. After all, raising the most funds is what a fundraiser is all about. Get the word out using the school's telephone messaging system or consider text alerts to parents via websites like www.grouptexting.com or Google Apps.

Distribution - Minimizing the amount of time parents or administrators need to get the products to the parents is key. Choose a product that you can distribute over a number of days. Products that require refrigeration or special storage may not be the best choice.

Participation, profit and distribution. Key factors to your success.

Want to learn more about profitable fundraising? Contact us at www.sloanpremiumsolutions.com

Regards,

Matt Sloan
President and Founding Partner Sloan Premium Solutions
Yearbookplanet Inc.
Representing Herff Jones
905.605.1069
e sales@sloanpremiumsolutions.com

Why Yearbook? 3.5 Tips To Overcoming Your Challenges

Often about this time of year advisers and their staffs ask the question "why yearbook?". The deadlines, cover creation difficulties and technology challenges often seem to get in the way of the steady progress needed for the production of the school yearbook. You're not alone. Yearbook staffs tend to live in their own little bubble often believing that their problems are unique. They are not. It's quite normal to feel a little overwhelmed by mid October. Perhaps that theme idea just doesn't seem to work beyond the cover, or maybe the budget is really tight this year. Here are 3.5 tips to getting out of your own way and getting it done.

1. Communication is the key

Sometimes talking it out really does work! If you feel like that cover you wanted just isn't coming out the way you like we can get a Herff Jones cover artist involved to help put those finishing touches on the cover. After all a Yearbook IS a book judged by the cover.

2. Celebrate the little victories

Over the past few years I've noticed yearbook staffs not celebrating their mini victories. Did you finish flowing and editing the mug shots? What about the endsheets and cover? Then celebrate! Order a pizza, get a dozen doughnuts or treat the staff to popcorn. Make little achievements a BIG deal and watch the staff attitude improve dramatically.

3. Create a promo video

Brampton Centennial in Brampton, Ontario is an incredible staff with great spirit. Check out this link. It's loads of fun! http://youtu.be/DAgSqkzQXj8

Yearbook editors are the rock stars of your school!

3.5 Remember last year?

Ask last year's editors if they have any smartphone video of the unboxing of the yearbooks. Watch it and you will be reminded "why yearbook".

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan
Yearbookplanet Incorporated
Representing Herff Jones Yearbooks

The Students Don't Want The Yearbook Anymore! Really? 3.5 Ways To Fix School Spirit... Now!

The heartbeat of every school is the Yearbook. The Yearbook records every positive event that happened last year and will happen this year. It's the go-to resource for new and alumni students and it's the best public relations tool you have at your disposal. If sales are down and fewer yearbooks are in the hands of your students you could have a school spirit issue. How do you fix a spirit problem? Here are 3.5 ways.

1. Get to a Yearbook workshop! We host Canada's largest one day workshop each fall. This year it takes place on Thursday October 1st. Networking with other schools that also want to create their best book ever is the key to better sales. More sales = better school spirit and pride. Visit www.bigeventworkshop.com to get registered.

2. Meet with your Yearbook representative. We just announced a partnership with DECA. We will help your DECA club build a sales campaign they can be proud of and get international recognition.

3.  Increase your price, don't decrease it. Students are savvy these days. A ten dollar year yearbook conveys a message that the book is not worth much, or worth buying for that matter. The price of the school yearbook needs to reflect the quality, hard work and image of difference of your school.

3.5 Your spirit will define the school year, the yearbook and the culture at your school. Lift your spirits, open your eyes to new possibilities and reimagine this school year. Our office is here and waiting for your call. Let's make a difference together.

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

Matt Sloan

You're worth meeting - why getting an email quote for your 2016 Yearbook is a bad idea

Everyday our local office fields many many emails. Email is a great way to confirm a meeting, verify we have the pages and more. It's not a good way to get to know you. Back in 2000 we would gladly email you a quote for your next yearbook. Number of pages, copies and cover. That's all we needed. Fast forward to 2015. That system doesn't work. Why? There are so many moving pieces when putting together a school Yearbook. Are you implementing Augmented Reality? Are you submitting spring sports that happen in May? So many questions.

Recently I received an email asking for a quote. It's a school I've never visited, but would love to! As I awaited the Adviser's response to confirm a meeting I was told "if I can't get a quote we can't use you". Yikes. I'm sure my competitors sent a quote via email. Let's face it it's cheaper and doesn't use up a lot of their time. Maybe they can even sign up the school and never visit or have any interaction with them :) My philosophy has always been that schools invest a lot of their time in a yearbook and that time is valuable.  Why not hear all your options? We value your time so much that we want to respect that with an in-person meeting. So..let's get together and make a plan for #yearbooksuccess today and make a mutual investment in the Yearbook. It's going to be a great year.

Life is good,yearbooks are amazing, and you are appreciated.

Matt Sloan
Yearbookplanet Inc.
Representing Herff Jones

Yearbook Budget 101 - How to plan next year's budget

Like your school each Yearbook is unique. From the way the Yearbook is put together to the actual number of printed pages and copies getting a handle on your Yearbook budget does not need to be a difficult task. Here are three tips for #yearbooksuccess

First, start to get excited about the book that will be delivering in less than two months. Ask for distribution day materials to help get the school pumped and sell the 2016 book now- before the school year starts. These great "Sign my yearbook" pens are a fun way to get rolling.

Second, dream big! I encourage all customers to spend the end of the year and beginning of the fall dreaming. Ask questions like.. if budget is not a consideration our book would look like.... This is a crucial part of budgeting. Involve your Yearbook sales professional as well. Often we have tips on how to achieve the look you want with a minimum impact on budget. I like to propose three potential books, then when the book sale is final we can decide on which direction to go.

Third, the base pricing of a yearbook revolves around number of pages and copies. The more copies printed the lower the price. For example 500 yearbooks may be less than 300. Keep in mind that the number of copies and pages are just part of the equation. Involving your Yearbook sales professional is key. Far too many schools don't add enough "wiggle room" to the budget for the really important items like deadline parties, end of year editor dinners and of course any unexpected costs. I like to see schools ad $3-5 dollars to the sell price to cover the cost of a broken camera, replacing lost memory cards and have a celebration budget. Each deadline and yearbook staff birthday should also be celebrated.

Finally, remember we are not publishing a Yearbook, we are making history. What we do together this year and next has an incredible impact on school spirit and tells the story of all of the great things happening this year. You and your staff make a difference.

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan
Yearbookplanet Inc.
Representing Herff Jones
905.605.1069

The REAL Reason Your School Is Suffering From Yearbook Adviser Turnover

It's March and final Yearbook deadlines are near and your staff adviser has just told you they won't be advising next year. Now what!? First, don't panic. Advising on the school yearbook can often be a difficult job and not everyone understands what the staff adviser does. Here are three things you should say and three more things you should immediately do.

1. Thank your staff member for everything they have done this year. Remember when you left the building and noticed a staff member's car still in the lot? That was the yearbook adviser.

2.  Ask your staff member to sit and chat about how you can help make his or her life easier next year. A little relief during on-calls may be just the right thing to do.

3.  Ask your staff member to become involved in recruiting the new staff adviser. If the staff member is serious about moving on at least they will feel involved and perhaps mentor the new adviser.

Now...here are three things you should start doing immediately.

1.  Plan a party.  If your school takes delivery of the yearbooks and makes a boring announcement "Yearbooks are in" and nothing more then you may have hit on a school spirit issue. Talk to your representative about distribution day materials. Banners, prizes, autograph supplements and more. Plan a day and time for a huge distribution day party. If the outgoing adviser sees you care perhaps she will reconsider.

2.  Speak with your yearbook sales professional immediately. I often work behind the scenes with schools to be sure they ramp up distribution day and planning ahead is the best way to ensure success.

3. Visit the yearbook room.  A thank you from the school Principal or VP goes a long way with the students, and again may send just the right message to the staff adviser.


Life is good, yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

Matt Sloan
Yearbookplanet Inc.
Representing Herff Jones

3.5 Things Every School Board Should Know About Yearbook Publishing

It's been an incredibly busy spring. Most of my time recently has been spent with school board privacy officers and IT folks helping them get familiar with the yearbook world and achieve #yearbooksuccess. What I have discovered is that many times most people just are not familiar with what we do. After all our focus is always to deliver the Yearbook in a timely fashion with the least amount of stress and pressure possible. We focus on making our software and services so easy to use that we don't need an IT ticket or call to the board to troubleshoot.  Here's 3.5 things that I hope every school board considers.

First, the Yearbook is a key source of school pride, spirit and is the original anti-bullying program. It's not an app or a download. It's a treasure that students continue to purchase in this age of social networking.

Secondly, the Yearbook team- the Advisers, editors and photographers are some of the most important people in the school. They document the year and preserve everything. They are super stars and their hard work is often not appreciated. Getting them involved in the process of choosing a publisher is a great idea.

Third, forget about the "specifications". The number of copies and pages are not important. What is important is working with a company that is flexible. We know schools will miss the occasional deadline and students will make mistakes. It's our job as the yearbook sales professional to fix those issues and deliver the yearbook as promised.

Finally,  we welcome questions about security, ftp files and other technical questions. Like you we want the best for every school we visit. We have families just like our customers do and ultimately want a great book and a fantastic experience for everyone involved.

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan

Does Your Yearbook Staff Have A Mission Statement?

I spent some time thinking this week about what impact a mission statement might have on the school Yearbook. What do you think? Would the following describe the ultimate mission statement?

The Yearbook staff will tell the story of the year using the only permanent record of the school year- the Yearbook. The Yearbook team will use great photographs, layouts, graphics, captions and body copy to show the school in the best possible light. They will celebrate the highlights of the school year, tell the story of the student body and show what an important role the staff plays in student success. The staff will make EVERY student, staff member and parent proud to be part of the school community. The Yearbook staff will never be satisfied with "average", instead they will use the latest technology along with time proven graphic design techniques to make magic this year. School work and marks will never suffer as a result of the hard work on the Yearbook. Yearbook and all that it involves will enhance the school experience because when the staff graduates their legacy to the next group of editors will be the passion to create the ultimate Yearbook.

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan
matt@yearbookplanet.com

Three Predictions For Yearbooks In 2015... And One Is Not A Good One. Every Principal Should Read This.

The new year is here and as we begin the 2015 school year our office sees three big trends for this year.  Copyright concerns, Augmented Reality and Adobe Creative Cloud applications will likely dominate conversations with customers and prospective customers this spring.

Copyright and potential exposure to legal action for the school, school board and students will need to be addressed. Canada has finally tightened copyright laws and amongst other powers internet service providers will begin providing information to authorities when copyright protected videos, music and other materials are downloaded. The fines range from $5000.00 to $20,000.00 and schools should be very concerned about content in the school Yearbook. Every spring our office needs to stop production of pages due to copyright infringement and schools often believe because they are a school they are somehow immune to prosecution. Principals should consider a conversation with the school Yearbook Adviser and their sales professional regarding this very important issue.

Augmented reality will continue to dominate Yearbooks. It's everywhere! Simply wave your smartphone over a Yearbook page and video and audio plays. Take a closer look at most of the newspapers and advertising pieces landing in your mailbox- it's there! Want more information? Give me a ring and I'm happy to help. 

Adobe Creative Cloud seems to be gaining traction. The web based applications of Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator in particular are of great interest to Yearbook staffs. Our creative cloud extensions automate many of the Yearbook tasks required but installation can be tricky. If you are considering Creative Cloud touch base with us soon. Training your staff if likely the first step to a successful deploy and we can help.

All the best in the new year. Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated. 

Note: Download the Aurasma App from the app store or Google, follow mattsloan

Point your phone at the photo below and hear a message from me.

Regards,

Matt & Mary Sloan

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan

Representing Herff Jones Inc.

905.605.1069

3.5 Tips On Avoiding Yearbook Adviser Turnover

1.  Say "Thanks" - So many administrators forget to thank their staff Adviser. Sports teams get so much of the glory, but it's the Yearbook team that documents that big game and preserves it forever.

2.  Give them a voice - The single most common issue I hear from staff Advisers is the inability of the school to adapt to changing needs.  If your Adviser wants to try social networking to drum up sales let them. They will invest the time and it may be a fantastic experience for the students.

3. Give them fewer on-calls - Yearbooks often take a lot of extra time.  Layout, proofing etc. Giving your staff Adviser fewer on calls helps them create the book with fewer errors, less stress and rewards them for all the extra time they put in. Let's face it do you really want to try and find a new staff adviser next year?

3.5. Take a peek inside the Yearbook room. When was the last time you stopped in? When the Principal shows an interest in the students, a unique layout or amazing photo the Adviser feels special and can you image how the students will feel?

Life is good. Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan
Representing Herff Jones Inc.

Success starts 15 minutes before the bell and here's why.  Have you ever dropped off your kids or driven by a school fifteen minutes before the first bell? How many cars are in the lot? Answer: hardly any. I asked my son why the Principal's car is always the first one in the lot. His answer was "because he's the Principal". Wrong. Successful people start the day early and helping our kids get to school early sets the tone for the day, week and indeed the year. Recently I had a conversation with a seasoned Principal. She told me of the struggles to teach time management and how important it is to start the day early. Her concerns, unfortunately, are not always shared by parents. Schools and companies like ours have anti-bully programs, anti-drug and drinking and driving programs. All important for sure, but lets all share a message to start early and prepare for success. This, in my opinion, is one of the most important messages we can convey to our students. Life is good, Yearbooks are great and you are appreciated.

Matt Sloan
The Office of Matt and Mary Sloan

Communication Makes Great Yearbooks

#yearbooksuccess. As with just about everything in life communication is a key component to creating a great Yearbook.  It won't create the spreads or win awards but it will help with fewer errors, typos and peace of mind throughout the year. In my experience great Yearbooks don't just happen.  They are the result of keen editors that send an email after every deadline asking me to log in and look at a spread they worked extra hard on. Great Yearbooks are also the result of teachers that go the extra distance by calling the editors at home before each deadline to remind them, cheer them on and thank them for their hard work. Sometimes great Yearbooks are the result of a customer service representative that noticed a mug shot duplicated or missing.  Yearbooks tell stories.  Stories of the school year, or the successful student but their story runs deep. Deeper than most know.  Life is good, Yearbooks are great and you are appreciated. 

Matt Sloan

The Offiice of Matt and Mary Sloan

Representing Herff Jones Inc.

matt@yearbookplanet.com

Why Deadlines Are So Important

Over the past fifteen years as a Yearbook Sales Professional I have met many Yearbook staffs. Great staffs understand the importance of deadlines- especially the first deadline. While many of my competitors promote "no deadlines" (something that really doesn't make sense when you think about it- after all when would the Yearbook deliver?) it's my belief that deadlines teach students important life lessons. School essays and assignments have deadlines don't they? Meeting the first Yearbook deadline is so important. The first deadline for a spring delivery is usually mid November and it's no coincidence that the schools that have GREAT yearbooks crush the first deadline. Often they submit their cover a few weeks ahead of time or even have a preliminary design in the late spring of the previous school year. If you are considering removing the pressure of deadlines for your staff please don't. Instead set mini deadlines. Consider 5-6 deadlines but with smaller page counts. Plan to celebrate each deadline and reward the editors with pizza, a trip to Starbucks or something everyone can get into. After all isn't it better to celebrate #yearbooksuccess rather than sweat the delivery date because the staff submitted everything late? I think so and the best Yearbook staffs will likely agree.

Life is good, Yearbooks are amazing and you are appreciated.

Matt Sloan

The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan

Representing Herff Jones Inc.

905.605.1069

Yearbooks Feed The Families Of Vaughan

On Tuesday September 30, 240 Yearbook Editors from around the greater Toronto area helped make a difference in their community. Although Layouts, Augmented Reality, Photography and more was the focus so many of our editors showed up with canned goods for the local food bank. The story doesn't end there however. The workshop is months of preparation. Powerpoints, guest speakers, handouts and of course coordinating the prizes with the Herff Jones Printing Plant. Afterwards we're exhausted and usually it's an "office day" immediately following the workshop.  These are busy times however and it was back to back appointments the following day, with one exception. Arlene Furst, our National Sales Manager usually accompanies me to schools meeting Yearbook editors, Advisers and Administrators, but this day would be an exception. Instead she accompanied me to the local food bank to drop off all of the donations. Usually it's a quick stop at the fire hall, but this year I decided to go to the source of all donations. We met Peter, the local manager and "go to" person for all food banks in Vaughan. We had a tour, learned where all the food goes and were shocked to learn the food bank helped serve 1.7 million meals last year. Incredible! I came home to dinner that night a little more thankful and appreciative of everything our family has. Thanks to the editors of our schools for making a difference in the lives of our community and giving this sales professional a something to ponder this Thanksgiving.  Life is good. #yearbooksuccess

Matt Sloan
The Office of Matt & Mary Sloan, Representing Herff Jones Inc.

The Big Event Yearbook Workshop - Why it's great and why it exists

On Tuesday September 30th we will welcome over two hundred keen Yearbook editors at our annual Yearbook workshop. The Big Event Workshop is the main "kick off" to the school year as schools from all over Ontario attend and take part in a great networking experience. Augmented Reality is the BIG draw this year and I can't remember a time when there was such excitement in the air. How do you make the Yearbook come alive? How do you add depth to the pages and give even more value to the students? Why not utilize their smartphone or tablet? It's cool and everyone is blown away when they see it. I can't wait to see everyone at the workshop! www.bigeventworkshop.com #bigeventworkshop

Crossing Borders To Help

As we approach our fifteenth anniversary representing Herff Jones it seems fitting that we try to help even more people. In fact why not try helping Yearbook staffs we may never meet!  This week we launched "A Survival Guide For Yearbook Advisers". Our first ebook is now available on Smashwords, Google Books and has been accepted by Apple,Kobo and Kindle as well. We expect the book to be available on all platforms within a couple of days. Exciting! We expect more volumes to come as we continue to help more people create great Yearbooks. While the ebook is a new format for us,our mission has not changed. Help people make great Yearbooks by using the latest technology, best software and just good old fashioned advice and sometimes a shoulder to lean on. Enjoy the week. Life is good.

~~~ Yearbook Curriculum Course = Student Success ~~~

It's almost September and a skid (yes, a skid) of Yearbook Curriculum has just arrived. Ready for distribution to our schools and ready for #yearbooksuccess  AWESOME! It's clear that schools that focus on Yearbook journalism make great yearbooks. Direction is what is needed and what our Yearbook Curriculum delivers. New and experienced Yearbook Advisors receive Powerpoints, Rubrics, Workbooks and more. Are you ready? Is the school Yearbook Advisor ready? Remember The Big Event Yearbook Workshop is Thursday September 25th, 2014- register now at www.bigeventworkshop.com.  See you there! P.S. PLEASE Order the Yearbook Curriculum soon- Mary wants to park her car in the garage this winter! :) 

Design & Deadlines

With September only a few weeks away we are already starting to get a trickle of emails from brand new Yearbook Advisors. Panic is starting to set in. What they don't know is the Yearbook Kit, which is crucial to begin the design process, is probably already waiting for the at the school. The summer, although a month to recharge, is actually a busy time for us. We prepare welcome back packs, workshop dates and more. We're ready for you. How do you prepare? Attend our workshop. The largest fall workshop in the country. Dates to be announced. Stay tuned! #yearbooksuccess

Social Media And Why Your Yearbook Publisher Should Be Helping You

When our office visits a potential new customer we never talk about number of copies and pages.  Why? Because your students don't care about how many pages the book is or how many copies the school orders. What they DO care about is how the Yearbook makes them feel when they open it for the first time. Do they feel connected to the Yearbook? Do they feel connected to their school? Yearbooks really have not changed much over the years but what has is how schools should be using social media to enhance the Yearbook experience. Stitch- our social media portal has been a big part of schools this year. It's worth checking out at www.hjstitch.com. What else is new? How about rolling a smartphone over a Yearbook photo to watch and listen to video or see a slide show of additional content?

Ask your Yearbook Sales Professional to consult with you on social media and forget about number of copies and pages for a moment. Taking this route will engage more students, celebrate their accomplishments and ultimately improve school spirit.  That's how the traditional printed Yearbook can make a difference in your school and that's #yearbooksuccess