With your theme decided, it’s time to think about options that will make your book shine. From laser cut covers or endsheets to adding a gatefold inside, your options are virtually endless. Here are a few ways schools added a fab factor to their 2019 yearbooks. Now it’s your turn; let your imagination run wild! Split Covers Want to give …
Yearbook distribution is the most anticipated day for a yearbook staff and an exciting day for the student body. We know this. In my first years of advising, distribution was simply distributing the yearbook. We set up a few tables in front of a bench next to my classroom and the yearbooks were picked up. Done. What I didn’t realize …
With a phone attached to their hands, most people come in thinking they’re good photojournalists. But I believe there’s another level that we all want students to reach in our publications. Here are some of the strategies I’ve used to help them reach that level. Show quality photojournalistic images often Thirty minutes to showtime and the drill team was heading …
Everyone hopes for a year of smooth sailing, with an exceptional staff and an appreciative community. That rarely matches reality. Sometimes a curveball changes the program. It could be planned or hit you out of nowhere. Advisers who faced drastic culture shifts in their classroom offered sound advice. Understand your audience Not my yearbook After 11 years, Jai Tanner had …
Yearbooks are an integral part of any school year. However, as one of the only organizations at school whose very existence depends upon sales, keeping your program financially healthy presents a unique challenge. Keep your yearbook program in the black with these five yearbook marketing ideas. 1. Train a marketing manager Who knows how to sell to students better than …
Over the last several years, I became known by the title of Ask Mike. This is mainly due to the questions I get when traveling around the country or through my podcast called Ask Mike. Now it’s time to answer some of those questions. D’Angilo in Kansas writes: Hey Mike, when we look at our spreads, we have maybe seven …
In the world of yearbook, there is the short game and the long game. The short game includes everyday stuff like “What are we doing in class today?” “Who’s taking photos tonight at the volleyball game?” “How did your interview with Mr. Lottes go?” The long game for the adviser is always played in the back of your mind as …
For this issue of Idea File, I have collaborated with my good friend Becky Tate from Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. We decided there are two areas of design that everyone should pay attention to – deciding on and using fonts correctly, and creating pages/spreads that will visually help tell the story. Young designers are frequently …
To develop your yearbook editors and managers into leaders, begin in the spring and continue the training and bonding through the summer. A number of processes and resources are available for you to use. This article touches on just a few.
Quality yearbook content is reflective of the school population… So shouldn’t the staff be as well? At the front of the room, surrounded by boxes of yearbooks, Faith Pagan addressed the class. For many high school sophomores, speaking to a room full of peers would instantly incite an anxiety attack, but Pagan had no problem commanding the attention of more …