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

Why The Best Schools Succeed

Successful schools have three things in common. One is that they create relationships with trusted partners and vendors in the community. In my experience relationships are key to any successful school. Our office fields many calls throughout the year from schools with unique issues. Perhaps an administrator wants to give a Yearbook to a student that can't afford a one but has great academic performance. In this case we will make available a handful of Yearbooks to assist the school and we can talk pricing strategies to allow the school to have Yearbooks on hand every year for these situations. 

Secondly, successful schools are always thinking two and even three years down the road. What do we want the Yearbook to look like in 2015? Recently I had a meeting with a new school that asked a great question. "How are you different than the other publishers". How long do we have to talk? ;)

Finally great schools focus their first editors' meeting on the Yearbook NOT the budget.  Nothing brings a meeting down quicker than talking about price, copy counts and page counts.  Start with the dream and work the finances around it.  

#yearbooksuccess is easy when you start now. Visit www.yearbookdiscoveries.com the best schools are already there.