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