In this podcast we interview Park Trails Elementary Yearbook Advisor Deanna Russo. In this challenging year, Deanna has some fantastic feedback on creating yearbook content, selling yearbooks and more.

Deanna answers the following questions: 

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been working on the yearbook at Park Trails Elementary. How did you get started working on the yearbook?

1. This is obviously a challenging year for creating yearbook content. What are some of the challenges you faced this year when it came to creating content and how did you overcome them?

1. With so many students doing virtual school this year yearbook sales have been slower than normal. What have you all done this year to try to drive up sales?

1. What kind of push back did you receive from parents about pushing yearbook sales when students were not in school? How did you respond?

1. You all have sold a significant number of personal ads. Probably more than most schools. What is your secret to getting parents to participate in the ad creation for their child?

Welcome to YearbooksLive, the podcast that teaches you everything you need to know about yearbooks with your podcast for the real-world. I’m you host, your teacher and coach coming to you from sunny South Florida.

In today’s episode we are going to talk about the state of the yearbook and photo industry. A lot has happened in the last year and we are going to cover the questions you should be asking your yearbook company for the upcoming year. So sit back relax and let's get into it.

So what’s happened?

Bankruptcies – Photographer and publishers both - Is yours one of them?

Consolidation - Less local offices - Has your local office moved? Do you still have a local rep? Do you really need a local rep in the world of Zoom? Is your customer service department working from home? Are they available when you need them?

Layoffs- There's less customer service available.  Is the printing plant opened on a full time basis? Will there be a change to you delivery dates? Do they still have the resources and staff to produce your yearbook?

Talk is cheap. Verify.

So Until next time happy yearbooking.

In today’s episode we are going to talk once more about what to include in your yearbook when you may not have students in the school or maybe you’re in school but there’s no photographer or school related events.  I’m going to point you to 101 ideas you can include in your yearbook.

Yes, your yearbook may be smaller this year but there’s still a whole lot of content you can add to make this a one of kind yearbook. I’ll show you how on this week’s episode of YearbooksLive. So, sit back relax and let’s get into it.

With Covid-19, this is year is like no other and many schools may not have portrait photos because there is no photographer allowed at the school. In many counties, the districts have banned the photographer from entering the building and in others only a portion of the students are at the school so there’s very few students to take school photos. Without portraits, events or students it makes it more difficult to do a yearbook.

You can download this PDF at on the Yearbooklife website at Yearbooklife.com/distance-learning-yearbooks. Take a look at this comprehensive guide to help you with content ideas for this year’s yearbook.

This could be a really cool and unique yearbook. One like they will never have again. Don’t pass up the opportunity to offer your students this special keepsake. They will thank you later

In today’s episode we are going to talk about what options are available if you have no school photographer this year, what a distance learning yearbook can look like, reaching out to parents to sell the yearbook, what to do if you don’t have the time or energy to put a yearbook together and show you a very inexpensive way to get everyone a yearbook this year.

The media guide for high school and youth sports teams is a great way to preserve memories of any season and a real way to generate money when selling advertising in the book.

Cindy and Ed Schissler have 7 years experience as Co-Presidents of the Flanagan High School baseball team. They have some fantastic tips on how to use the media guide to raise money and discuss other ideas to fund raise for your team.

If you're looking for a way to raise some money for your team this is the episode for you.

Today we want to give you some tips on creating the best yearbook cover,. What options do you have? Are you doing custom endsheets? What’s it all cost?

The cover is the most important first impression you will have for the entire yearbook. You cover may be the determining factor if someone will even purchase the yearbook.

Take time to review as many ideas as possible and have your yearbook representative describe ALL of you cover treatments and options. 

Allow everyone involved to be apart of the decision-making process. Some great ideas will come from people you’d least expect.

There are two basic yearbook cover styles – soft cover and hard cover. With hard covers normally you have tree binding types:

Library Bound or Side Sewn – Most common in everyday printing

Smyth Sewn – Lays Flatter. Seen in high schools

PUR bound – Glue

Softcover – Saddle Stitched and Perfect Bound-PUR

The parts of a hard cover are:

Front board – The front of the yearbook. Most of the design will take place here.

Spine – On the spine of the yearbook –Usually includes the year of publication, name of school, maybe the volume number and or city and state and publication name.

Back board – Back of the yearbook. Rarely incorporates any of the specialty design like foiling, embossing. May include logo and continue the theme from front.

Some of the cover features available to you are:

Embossing

Debossing

Foiling

Die Cuts

Lenticular

Student Designed  Art

Spot UV

Leatherette

Don’t forget Endsheets :

Endsheets are the thick paper attached to both the inside of the cover and the printed pages of the yearbook. You will notice that this hard paper is either left blank in a choice of color or white for autographs from the student body, or it is designed in one or two inks or in full color.

Thank you so much for listening to our show today. We want to also thank our sponsor YearbookLife and www.Yearbooklife.com. We hope you’ll stay with for all of the upcoming episodes. Please tell your friends, share us to the world. You can visit our show notes and listen to us again at www.yearbookslive.com or you and your friends can find us on Itunes, Spotify, or just about anywhere you listen to your podcast.

Welcome back Yearbookers. Happy New Year! This is episode 1 of season 2 of Yearbooks Live. Holidays are over, everyone is back to school and we want to give you some pointers on what you should be doing this month to stay on track. ­­­­­­­­­­­­ We cover this and more in this episode of Yearbooks Live. 

In today's podcast we want to let you know about a few changes coming to the Yearbooks Live Podcast.

Starting in January all of the new podcasts are going to be in a series format. Think of it as a new season like you’d see from one of your favorite TV shows. We haven’t finalized exactly how it will look but our idea is to have six or so podcasts per season and to have two seasons a year.

The series will start in January and continue with episodes through May. We’ll take the summer off and start new episodes from September to November.

We will focus more on what you are doing in those months. So for example, in January we may discuss sales and marketing and end with a discussion on yearbook distribution. We’ve received some good feedback on our interviews, so we’ll plan on more of those as well. All the current content isn’t going anywhere so you’ll have access to all the content for as long as you need it.

Be sure to check out our website for the podcast videos at www.yearbookslive.com. This is where you can see my handsome mug and get all of the same podcast content in video form.

If you have ideas or suggestions on topics you’d like to hear and see on the podcast be sure to send us an email to [email protected]

So stay tuned for some great Yearbooks Live content. We’ll see you in January. Enjoy the holidays and happy yearbooking.

Yanet Spitler has four plus years as an the yearbook advisor for her children's elementary school. She shares some great tips, tricks and insight on how you can make your elementary school yearbook experience easier than ever.