STAFFER TAKEOVER: We submitted the book. Now what? This blog post was submitted and written by a fellow yearbooker. The school year is almost over. Spring sports are wrapping up. Anticipation for the yearbook to arrive is high. What’s next? Preparing for next year.  Communicate with your staff about next year as they are starting to plan ahead (hopefully for the yearbook) for next year. By having a sense of who is coming back, you have a good sense of where the staff’s strong suits and soft spots are. Here are a few tips to get the rest of the year filled, so next year can start off wi ..read more

Get Excited for these eDesign Features We have a variety of updates in the works for the coming school year. These new features are sure to take your new yearbook to the next level! Here are just some of the amazing tools you can start working with soon. 1. New fonts. Joining the more than 500 fonts currently in eDesign, we’re introducing a few more to add to your creative toolbox. Check out the new options coming for 2024 here. Please note that these are still being tested to ensure they pass our quality expectations. 2. Text wrap. We’re welcoming new enhancements that we know you’ve ..read more

Prince George HS // Prince George, VA Here’s Your Ultimate YBK Recruitment Guide RECRUIT THE BEST YEARBOOKERS The best yearbookers are everywhere. We want to help you find them. Fill your staff with students who have an array of interests and dreams, and teach them the skills to pursue any career they want with this all-encompassing YBK recruitment guide. PHONE A FRIEND. Ask for staffer referrals from your teacher friends and your current students. They know who will work hard and be team players. They are in class with students day-in and day-out, and chances are they already have peers ..read more

Desert Ridge JHS // Mesa, AZ Get Ready for the Best. Day. Ever. After the process of interviewing, designing, copywriting and staying up for many late nights, you’ll soon have yearbooks in hands and smiles on faces. Distribution Day is almost here! So, how can you make sure the day goes off without a hitch? Here are three ways you can ensure a fantastic distribution day for your staff. Prep the nitty-gritty details. We’re talking receiving, storing and sorting. Once you’re locked down on all shipping details (ship date, delivery location, hands to help unload), make sure to plan where to s ..read more

THE LOOK | PEKIN HIGH SCHOOL | PEKIN, IL Infographics are a quick and easy way to fill empty space and share stats, survey answers or bite-sized information. Plus, they’ll help remind your students what was popular during that school year. Ask about trending topics, go-to coffee orders or their favorite music artist. Interesting tidbits about current events — like the price of things — can be interesting as well. A next-level tip is to match spread topics or your theme! THE STEPS  Open a square canvas in Canva from eDesign. Tip: If you’re working on the page, you can do this from the ..read more

LEVEL UP YOUR YBK SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is a great tool for your staff to connect with your school and increase book sales! It is essential in growing awareness around your yearbook since it’s the place students (and even teachers!) spend most of their time. Think about it. How often do you catch yourself scrolling on TikTok at midnight? You’re probably not the only one. Since your school community is the audience you are trying to reach to buy your yearbook, it is important to meet them where they are at – socials! Here are eight social media best practices we have picked up along th ..read more

10 Reasons to Attend a Journalism Convention Learn something new. Conventions offer a variety of breakout session topics — not just about yearbook. Students can learn about journalism ethics and law, technology and design, marketing and business tips, photography or just the basics of writing and reporting. And that’s only the beginning. Students will learn skills, such as problem-solving and collaboration, that they’ll use long after they graduate. Bonus for advisers: You can receive additional training and certifications at journalism convention sessions. Step out of the bubble. It’s s ..read more

FIVE WAYS TO MAKE PORTRAITS EASIER Ah, Portraits. The biggest (and dare we say — most important) section of your yearbook. The portraits process may seem overwhelming, but our features in eDesign and other HJ YBK tools will make this section easier than ever. Check these out: Easily find students without a portrait. We understand that it may be unlikely for one person in the entire school community to know if all students got their portraits taken. That’s where our Missing Portraits Report comes in. With a name list in eDesign, it will match names with portraits to see who is missing ..read more

Camera Settings Cheat Sheet Save this for later Here it is: The ULTIMATE camera settings cheat sheet for all kinds of photo environments. Whether you’re new to photography, or you have loads of experience, this guide can help you get on the right camera settings quickly. Bookmark this post and share with your staff. View a downloadable PDF version of this resource here. Thank you to Yearbook Reps, Jen and Matt Johnson, for sharing this cheat sheet with us to share with you! The post Camera Settings Cheat Sheet appeared first on Yearbook Discoveries ..read more

How to be an Influencer for Herff Jones Yearbooks JOIN OUR TEAM We see you. You love your school, you love your yearbook program, and you’re ready to get out there and tell everyone how awesome yearbook is. We’re looking for passionate and creative advisers and students who want to share the power of yearbook through content creation on Instagram and/or TikTok. If this sounds like you, we need you for our influencer program. WHAT IT TAKES Have an online presence. Your profiles should be active with posts on a regular basis and your own personal brand, voice and style. Keep a public ..read more