Great Yearbook Programs Incorporate: 5 Simple Ideas

Family is at the heart of everything we do. With Tripp Walsworth joining his father, Don Walsworth, and grandfather, Don O. Walsworth, at  the company in August of 2023, our family-owned business is now four generations strong.

Tripp spent the last year getting to know the inner workings of our organization and visited over 95 schools. We sat down with Tripp to hear more about his time spent at those schools, what commonalities he observed in successful yearbook programs across the country and what he learned from his own time as a yearbook photo editor on his high school’s yearbook staff.

1 | TRAINING MATTERS

Students don’t know what they don’t know. From staff management to utilizing available resources, it all starts with the adviser showing students their potential. Tripp noticed immediately that advisers who prioritized training early on had a smoother experience the rest of the year. And what tops the list for training? The importance of deadlines.

“The biggest commonality between successful yearbook programs is that they turn their pages in on time. To have any successful yearbook, you have to have a book,” Tripp said. “I once heard someone say, ‘There really isn’t too much of a difference between a really, really good book compared to a great book. The biggest difference is one’s turned in on time, and one’s not,’” Tripp said.

Training your staff to respect deadlines and turn their projects in on time will be a beneficial life skill that will remain with them long after the book is submitted. But deadlines alone won’t make a great book. Sometimes, you have to anticipate potential problems. Recalling his own yearbook staff in high school, Tripp emphasized that the yearbook belongs to the school, not an individual, and that interpersonal skills can make or break your year.

“Struggles come when one person wants it to be their book when it should be the whole school’s book. Coming together, hashing out differences, really being on the same page and collaborating is extremely important. It may mean having hard conversations,” Tripp said. “But it teaches you real-life skills like communication, collaboration, teamwork and dealing with conflict,” Tripp said.

So, what specific training items should you focus on, and how can Walsworth help?

“Give your students the right amount of training to do the job. Utilizing Walsworth for our resources and having students cross-training so they can take photos and write spreads and wear multiple hats, especially when students go on field trips, get sick, are out on vacation, etc., is extremely important to be successful,” Tripp said. “Some of our best resources are Adviser Academy, Elite Weekend, and That Yearbook Podcast with Jim Jordan, Sabrina Schmitz and Mike Taylor, which has been a huge hit, and the marketing tools as well. Schools love these,” Tripp said.

2 | YOU NEED A MARKETING STRATEGY

“Having a plan for marketing and sales is extremely important because you need to get that book out to as many people as possible, and you want them to see all these really cool, creative spreads your staff created,” Tripp said. “That starts with the adviser expressing the importance of marketing.”

But understanding why you should market is different from actual marketing. So, what works? You can find plenty of marketing resources and tips at walsworthyearbooks.com/marketing, and Tripp has also seen many in-school efforts pay off.

“There have been a lot of unique ways I have seen students market the yearbook, like PEP [Parent Email Program], coupons or discounts early in the year and putting up the index on lockers. That’s one of my favorites because everyone flocks to the index to see their names. A few schools have a whole marketing team AND a creative team to separate those tasks from the get-go. That can depend on the staff, but having students devoted solely to marketing while others focus on design and photos so it’s split evenly can help. That way, everyone has a responsibility.”

Marketing is about more than just sales and dollar signs though. Tripp explains how the yearbook also markets the school and its culture.

“If I was new to an area, had kids and was visiting schools, I would look at the yearbook because the yearbook should solidify the school’s culture. How many clubs are there? Is there a balance of academics, athletics and other types of organizations? The yearbook is a great marketing tool for schools.”

3 | Cultivate Your Classroom Culture

Tripp noticed that the classroom environment and energy around the yearbook play a huge role in attracting and engaging the right students for your program. In fact, it’s what attracted him to yearbook.

“I was on the yearbook staff all four years. People would say, ‘You must have been pressured to be on the yearbook staff,’ but it was actually a choice I made. I went to a school where the yearbook reveal party was a really big deal. Some of the guys I looked up to were on the basketball team, the golf team and also on the yearbook staff. They were cool kids, but they also had a really strong presence in our community, which I thought was extremely important. So, I joined yearbook as a balance between academics and athletics. I developed a passion for photography, so I worked hard and became photo editor my senior year.”

Part of that classroom culture includes letting your students take ownership of the book, even when it can feel like it might be easier to do it yourself as the adviser sometimes. Tripp stressed that teaching these journalism skills sets students up for success in the real world, whatever their chosen profession.

“What makes a successful yearbook is the kids doing it. Students being cross-trained, remaining open to feedback and having strong communication, collaboration, teamwork, everyone being on the same page and striving to achieve the goal of creating a yearbook are the main things that help build a good culture in the classroom. That’s contagious. It’s like having a manifesto of the whole school spirit captured in that yearbook.”

4 | ALWAYS REMAIN OPEN TO FEEDBACK AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Yearbook becomes very personal with how much of yourself you pour into the publication, which can sometimes make feedback feel intimidating, but Tripp explained how the most successful programs are always learning and building upon what they’ve done in the past.

“Having a mindset of continual growth and learning – being open to change and wanting to learn new things – it’s huge. In our current culture, if you’re stagnant and stuck in your ways, you’re going to get passed. If you’re open to strategic change and are a continuous learner, you and your program will benefit,” Tripp said.

That’s not just an observation for Tripp – it’s a life and business philosophy. As a company, Walsworth also continually works to incorporate new and better ways to help our customers have the best yearbook experience.

“There are so many new ideas, new ways to design spreads and new ways to incorporate things into your yearbook. With Walsworth’s resources, you can see what the new trends are. If you’re focused on the same trends as 15 years ago, your book could potentially be passed up for journalistic recognitions. I always think it’s important for you to set that culture of continuous learning, and that’s because your students need to be continuously learning for them to be successful – in the yearbook room but also outside the yearbook room. You might not be taking advantage of everything Walsworth is doing to make your job easier.”

5 | BUILD MEANINGFUL YEARBOOK CONNECTIONS

Tripp recognizes that being a yearbook adviser is a unique role not everyone can understand. That’s why it’s so important to build your community of support with other yearbook advisers and your Walsworth family.

“Having people around you makes a huge difference so you feel like you’re part of a network. You can bounce ideas off each other. You can talk about what you’re struggling with and what your challenges and success stories are. I think the whole Walsworth network is extremely valuable because we’re going to hold your hand and be there with you throughout the yearbook process. The last thing you want is to feel like you’re stranded on an island because, as a yearbook adviser, not many people in your school know how hard it is to make a yearbook. Only other yearbook advisers and your students know,” Tripp said.

Tripp has seen the value of yearbook connections in his visits to schools, and their significance cannot be overstated.

“The number one resource is your sales representative. I was talking to an adviser in California and asked them, ‘Why have you stayed with us for 35 years?’ And she replied, ‘It’s the people and the resources.’ It’s all about that networking community. As a school or yearbook adviser, you are not a number; you are a person. We understand that the school year will present a lot of challenges. There will be some highs and lows, and we will be right by your side. We’re in this together. That’s why the sales reps wear so many hats. They have to be there for you. The school year is challenging, and there are many curveballs. So let’s figure out how we can manage this together.”

+ | BONUS: STAY ORGANIZED

The difference between success and failure can come down to one simple thing: organization – or the lack thereof.

“You’ve got to be organized. As an adviser, you deal with so many kids, potentially across multiple classes. If you’re struggling with organization, your sales representative can help you with organizational strategies, but if you’re not organized, your students might not be organized, and you might miss deadlines. You don’t want deadlines missed, and you don’t want to miss capturing the big moments your school has throughout the year.

If your school has a really nice Veterans Day ceremony that is part of the school’s culture, and there are former students who are now veterans coming back for this, but you completely miss it even though it’s been in the yearbook for 20 years – the yearbook could be impacted. It really all starts with organization.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

During his extensive travels, Tripp had an up-close view of the joys and struggles that go hand in hand with yearbook advising. What stood out to him was how rare the opportunity to do something as meaningful as yearbook is.

“Being on the yearbook staff is a great honor. You get to make a strong impact at your school. The yearbook is a history book. As a yearbook adviser, you are leading that charge, and we want to be there to support you however we can.”

While there are various metrics each person will use to qualify success, you are the ultimate decider of how successful your program will be and how it will be remembered.

“People define and look at success differently. Looking back on my yearbook experience, we didn’t have a big journalistic background and did not win any Pacemakers or national, prestigious awards,” Tripp said. “But a yearbook is all about collecting the best memories of the year. If you’ve captured that, you’ve created a successful yearbook.”