Treering Blog

Each unsold yearbook represents a missed opportunity for students to have a record of their memories from the school year and possibly is a financial burden for the school.  There’s also the potential for frustration among the yearbook staff: it can be disheartening to see our efforts go unrewarded and their expectations unmet. It’s the final stretch, so we have last-minute yearbook sales ideas. Let’s turn things around together. 

We interrupt this blog to remind you if you’re a Treering adviser, sales quotas don’t matter. We only print and ship what you pre-sell. And if someone wants to order a yearbook later, they can do that too.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Flash Sales

FOMO is real. It’s one part urgency, it’s one part excitement. A brief, pervasive push for last-minute yearbook sales has a clear call to action: buy now. Here are four campaigns to jump-start the year-end push.

• Offer a limited-time incentive for students who purchase their yearbooks within the next week. This could be as simple as a popsicle party or an extra 10 minutes of recess for classes with the most participation.
• Create a countdown timer on your school's website or social media platforms to create a sense of urgency.
• Hold a "Flash Sale" where yearbooks are available at a discounted price for 48 hours. Only do this if you bump up the price year-round and never as good as your early bird pricing to mitigate complaints.
• If you use a publisher that requires an order minimum, create a sense of exclusivity by emphasizing that yearbooks are limited in quantity and may sell out quickly. If you have fewer than 25, advertise it.

“Extra” Marketing Ideas

Naming this section “labor-intensive” might be poor marketing. That said, these ideas aren’t drag-and-drop solutions like Treering. They do require work, and if your team is primed for action, start your project plan.

• Hold a raffle where every yearbook purchase enters the buyer into a drawing for a special prize.
• Partner with local restaurants or cafes to offer discounts or freebies with proof of yearbook purchase.
• Hold a competition among classes or grade levels to see which percentage buys the most yearbooks, with a prize for the winning group.
• Stir up excitement by revealing sneak peeks of the yearbook content on social media leading up to the deadline.
• Initiate a "Yearbook Ambassador" program where students can earn rewards for promoting yearbook sales to their peers.
• Cultivate a sense of nostalgia by sharing throwback photos from past yearbooks on social media.
• Host a scavenger hunt around the school where students can find clues that lead them to purchase their yearbooks.
• Create a "Yearbook Memories" playlist on a streaming platform and share it with the school community to promote yearbook sales.
• Develop a social media challenge where parents, teachers, and students can win prizes for sharing their favorite yearbook memories.

https://blog.treering.com/seek-out-yearbook-sales-scavenger-hunt-can-get-everyone-excited

Events to Boost Last-Minute Yearbook Sales

We’ve learned the value of in-person events. Paraphrasing from the Elle Woods playbook: events evoke emotions, emotions create memorable experiences, and memorable experiences make up a yearbook. Seeing others choose to attend a yearbook event provides social proof, reassuring potential yearbook buyers that their decision is valid and worthwhile. (Yes, we know it’s a no-brainer.) 

• Invite every student on campus to the distribution and signing party.
• Set up a booth at all-school events, PTA meetings, and during lunchtime where people can purchase yearbooks on the spot.
• Create personalized advertisements featuring students and distribute them digitally or in print. Students want to know they are in the book. If you’re doing this at the elementary level, send the ad to mom. 
• Create a video featuring highlights from the school year to show off a bit of what’s in the book.
• Hold a live Q&A session on social media where students and parents can ask questions about the yearbook and the ordering process. 
• Host a custom pages webinar.
• Partner with the school's sports teams to promote yearbook sales at games and events. 
• Create a themed photo booth at school events where students can take pictures to be included in the yearbook. If you are at a uniform school, use this to show how many uniform combinations you have.

These limited-time promotions, strategic competitions, social media campaigns, and release events aim to maximize participation so your hard work gets into more hands. 

The 2024 Design Contest Winners are the most diverse collection to date. 

“Every year, our editors craft spreads that wow and inspire our judging staff.” said Marketing Manager Megan P.

With nearly 50 creatives combing through the submissions, each looked for their ideal. Purists advocated for hierarchy and balance, journalists dug through each piece of copy for the stories, graphic designers sought out-of-the-box applications, and empaths soaked in every moment. The three winners for each category are below, plus some favorites we had to showcase.

Lone Rangers (Teams of One or Two)

Solo yearbook coordinators hold a special place in our hearts; that’s why they have their own category. They tackle both administrative and creative tasks. They are the face and hands of their yearbook programs. And they shared some legendary spreads.

First Place Winner: Arianna Fang, Thomas Russell Middle School

Arianna Fang displays an understanding of how repetition and consistency enhance design. Fang uses several colors in the swirls and accents. They all share a palette, bringing harmony. One judge called out the “pop” the palette brings to each page.

“I love the use of color and design throughout this spread,” a second judge said. “It immediately sucked me in and made me want to read the page.”

Her spread uses elements of art to showcase students at work. From photo frames that look like brushstrokes to the dotted stroke details on the edging of a few photos, there is a DIY aspect. She also repeats the purple accents as a wash and leopard spots in different levels of transparency, bringing balance. 

“Even with all the elements on the pages, it has good movement and interest,” a judge said.

“Art is expressing ourselves,” Fang said. “And if you believe in the beauty of art, you can achieve wonders.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Second Place Winner: Karen Goodchild, COACH

Karen Goodchild had us at her brilliant use of modular design. Her spread has a variety of stories, excellent hierarchy, and multiple reader entry points. Several judges called out the detail of students holding up the page numbers.

“This entry includes a lot [over 60] of students without overwhelming the spread,” a judge said.

A dark background could be problematic. Goodchild demonstrates mastery of contrast by ensuring all the copy is readable.

“I appreciate the balance of traditional yearbook content with fun graphics and content,” a judge said.

Third Place Winner: Sabrina Reimann, Westmont Junior High School

First day traditions at Westmont Junior High include red carpet and music on campus. “Our 6th graders are always nervous, and we make it welcoming for them,” Sabrina Reimann said.

This spread captures that energy.

The DIY look is a huge graphic design trend. It resonated with several judges who said, “The bulletin board vibes take me right back to the first day of school” and “This looks like my school yearbook.”

The layered effect helps the art and photos work together.

“It is a fantastic representation of what you can design with Treering's available background and graphic options,” a judge said.

Group Gurus (Teams of Three or More)

While yearbook clubs and classes use teamwork to create their books, they do it while balancing delegation, learning communication, and trusting one another. The top three team collaborations had little in common stylistically. Where the won the hearts of the judges is in their storytelling.

First Place: Jensen Ranch Elementary

Many judges-slash-parents had an emotive reaction to seeing these role models and campus influencers on display in this way.

“Students are going to revisit these pages because not only are they able to see their teachers’ photos as a blast from the past, but their words are influential,” a judge said.

These “relatable” and “heartwarming” “pearls” (the judges’ words) are the result of the yearbook team’s efforts. They collected the quotes and photos, a labor-intensive task in itself, and organized them in the winning design with uniform sizing to keep such a content-rich spread from becoming cluttered. 

Adviser Johnetta Maduakolam said, “It captures the essence of our school community from the past to the present.”

Second Place: North Star Academy

Ownership.

“None of the 22 students [in the yearbook program] actually chose to be there,” Adviser Carol Landers said, “Once we got the Treering software, the excitement kicked in, and kids started asking for jobs.”

Now look at them. From theme explanation and the colophon to the stats (hello, 86% in the yearbook 2x or more) and job descriptions, the team at North Star Academy used the space to educate others on their campus about the facets of yearbooking. 

From a visual perspective, there’s so much more to love about this spread:

• “Great mix of images and text to carry the reader’s eye through the spread.”
• “Colors are cohesive and match a beachy theme.”
• “Loved seeing the theme subtly applied to the background, colors, graphics, and text.”
• “Great use of space, equal and consistent spacing, and font choices.”

Third Place: Northern High School

Our love of this spread stems from the fact that everything points back to the theme:

• Wordplay
• Blueprint background “pulls it all together“
• Storytelling

“I love the story that this spread is telling,” a judge said. “You can tell that the school is building and making a positive change for the students.”

The team at Northern took care to design each module to fit the content. For example, the timeline is a graphic quick read, and the first-day saga is a feature story with multiple perspectives. The photography is also diverse: action, headshots, groups, and in-progress views.

“It gives readers a great sense of this school’s big move,” another judge said.

Design Contest Honorable Mentions

The above slidwshow contains designs from

• Karen Goodchild, COACH
• Matt Jones, Mission Oak High School
• Carren Joye, Academy Days Co-op
• Carol Landers, North Star Academy
• Yuri Nwosu, Lennox Middle School
• Brooklyn Vanderhey, Brookings-Harbor High School
• Bri Webb, Rooted Christian Co-op

Avoid common yearbook mistakes with these tools and tiny changes to up your design and proofing game in the nth hour. Panicked, you shout, "Do I even have time to make changes?"

You'll make the time to avoid notoriety like this. 💚

1. “Unintended Cropping”

Eeek: you created a legendary layout, and then, poof. A classmate vanished. Unintended cropping is a nice way to describe the disappearance of a student caused during printing and binding. So often we focus on proofing and editing yearbook copy, that we neglect our showstopping images. 

How to Proof Photography

Take precautions with photos on the edge of each page: the gutter between facing pages and the bleed areas can be problematic. Double-check both.

Gutter Space: This is where the yearbook pages meet at the binding. Be mindful of the gutter when placing photos across spreads. Avoid the mistake of placing important elements, such as faces or text, too close to the gutter to ensure they are not "cropped" in the binding process.

Trim and Bleed Areas: If photos extend to the edge of the page, ensure they extend beyond the trim line (where the printer cut your pages) into the bleed area. This prevents white borders from appearing along the edges of the printed page due to slight shifts during trimming. Keep faces on the inside of the trim lines.

2. Poor Photo Quality

Another photo mistake has to do with our favorite extension of ourselves: our phones. Cell phone photos print beautifully in the yearbook when you follow these caveats:

• Since original images work best, set up shared folders so parents, students, and teachers can share directly. This ensures that the highest quality version of the photo is available for printing.
• Avoid destructive edits and filters; if you’re not using Lightroom, chances are, you’re ruining the photograph’s quality. 
• Beware of texting photos, as some apps automatically reduce the file size. 

Saying it loud for the people in the back:

• A screenshot is not a hi-res image. 
• Your DSLR on auto will never get that volleyball in focus. 

I feel better. 

Built-In Proofing Tools

Treering warns you when your image may not print well while designing.

Your printed proof* is also the best guide. This allows you to identify any potential issues with image quality before officially going to print.

*A printed proof is just that: your yearbook as-is printed IRL so you can mark up mistakes, double-check contrast, and see your in-progress work. The best part: your Treering account includes one free. 

3. The Same Kids Over and Over

And over. And over. Sometimes, it seems there are only two students on campus:

1. The tri-sport athlete, who is also ASB president, the lead in the spring musical, a student ambassador, in eighty-five (OK, it just seems like it) AP classes, and works part-time as the PM custodian.
2. The student whose name is on the roster.

Both are valuable members of the campus. The second is a little harder to find.

Creative Yearbook Coverage Ideas for Camera-Shy Students

Include more students (like #2 above) with modules dedicated to

• Student spotlights and mini-feature stories
• Academics coverage through classroom candids 
• Artwork and gallery spreads
• Quote bars
• Pet photos

4. MIA Spring Sports and Events

We see it all the time in yearbook adviser groups: the woe of covering the final quarter of school with a traditional publisher. If your multi-year contract leaves you with no options, try

• A spring supplement
• Creating photo slideshows and linking them via QR codes

How Do I Include Spring Events in the Yearbook?

With yearbook deadlines in February, a supplement used to be the only way end-of-the-year activities made it in the book. Technology changed that. With digital printing and a three-week turnaround, spring sports, ASB elections, and award ceremonies can be in the book. 

Need even more time? Treering’s ship-to-home option eliminates the summer shuffle and back-to-school distribution.

5. Inconsistent Formatting

Someone once told me if a bunch of yearbook advisers were in a room and our proofs fell on the ground, we should be able to rebuild our books just by the the design consistency. It’s a mistake to not have a cohesive look.

New to yearbooking? A templated solution may be the best. A Treering theme built with consistent formatting elements maintains uniformity across pages and sections.

Use the styles panel to establish guidelines for text (size, alignment, formatting) and images (border, effects) to ensure consistency. While you can have all the styles in the world (please don’t), make sure they are intentional. 

https://blog.treering.com/yearbook-fonts-make-or-break-yearbook-design/

When in doubt, use Garamond for body copy (8-point for captions, 6-point for portrait names). If it’s good enough for Harry Potter, it’s good enough for your yearbook.

6. Ignoring the Principles of Design

Piggybacking on formatting, we’ve all heard the adage, “Learn the rules, then break them.”  The rules exist for a reason. (Did you read that in my teacher voice?) 

Design 101

Designing from scratch? Start from the center and move out.

1. Place your dominant photo. Contrast in photo size helps guide the reader.
2. Build out related content. Captions help identify the subject of the photo and supporting images give the full event story.
3. Add secondary content. Use pull quotes, interview bars, modules, and graphs to diversify your storytelling.
4. Add theme visual elements. Everything should go back to your theme. Everything.

7. Costly Yearbook Overruns

Sales quotas and surprise boxes of “extra books” add up. The same digital printing that allows for a three-week turnaround also gives you peace of mind when it comes to ordering. Say goodbye to guesstimating in November what you’ll distribute in May. Treering only prints pre-paid orders. This way, every year is a sell-out year. Additionally, there’s no waste and no leftover books. 

Yearbook mistakes occur in design and coverage, affecting the quality and reception of the final product. The simple changes above, including proofing, understanding how design affects the (no pun intended) whole picture, and using back-end tools that help–not hinder our process–you can elevate the overall vibe of your yearbook program.

Camaraderie. Team work. Unity. Stress relief. Fun. These are just some benefits of adding games to your yearbook class. Balancing academics, extracurricular activities, and personal commitments can be demanding for students and advisers. Obvious statement: the yearbook production process adds a layer of responsibility. Playing games with your yearbook team early in the school year can be a way to break down walls. At the end of the year, playing games is a way to reconnect, rejuvenate, and review (because, if your district requires it, games can be a summative assessment.) Our curriculum team put together three games.

https://blog.treering.com/7-things-to-do-when-the-yearbook-is-done/

1. Off-Limits, Yearbook-Style

This is the game of forbidden words. In teams, students try to get their teammates to guess the word on the card without saying the word itself or any of the off-limits words listed on the card. We created a mini-deck of 12 cards as a quick (and potentially loud) warm-up.

Rules

1. Divide the group into two teams.
2. Each team will alternate as the guessing and enforcing teams.
3. In each round, one person from the guessing team will serve as the clue-giver. The clue-giver draws a card from the deck and tries to get their teammates to guess the word written on the top of the card. The clue-giver is not allowed to say the word itself or any of the “off-limits” words listed on the card. 
4. One member of the enforcing team will keep an eye on the “off-limits” words. If the clue-giver accidentally says an off-limits word (this includes variants) or phrase, the word is forfeited with no points awarded.
5. Set a timer for each turn, typically 30-60 seconds, depending on age.
6. When the guessing team correctly guesses a word, they earn a point.
7. The game continues until all cards have been used. The team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Variations for Play

• Project a card on the screen, and have the guesser stand in front while classmates deliver clues.
• Send a card via Team, Slack, Band, etc. and have team members comment with clues.
• Share a card on social and see if your followers know yearbook terminology.

2. Sketch Charades

Drawing and guessing go hand-in-hand in this guessing game. It challenges players' drawing skills and ability to interpret visual cues.

Rules

1. Divide players into two teams. Each team selects a player to be the “artist” for their turn.
2. At the start of each round, the artists draw one card.
3. Without using any letters, numbers, gestures, or verbal clues, the artists sketch an image representing the word or phrase on the card. Both teams are guessing the same word.
4. Set a timer for each round, typically 45-60 seconds, depending on age.
5. If a team guesses the word correctly before time runs out, they earn a point.
6. Rotate artists each round.
7. The game continues until all cards have been used or until a predetermined point goal is reached. The team with the most points at the end wins the game.

3. Category Countdown

Based on a classic party game, Category Countdown facilitates players to try to come up with unique words or phrases that fit specific categories in a hurry. Creative thinkers come up with some answers that push the limits–that’s why this is a crowd favorite.

Get 50 Prompts here.

Rules

1. Display a category related to yearbooks. 
2. Set a timer for one minute, and have students take turns writing down items that fit within the category. 
3. When time is up, have a student read off their list. If no other student has the word, it’s one point.
4. The student with the most unique answers after five rounds wins.

Variations for Play

• In larger yearbook classes or clubs, break students into teams. One team can negate the others with duplicate words.
• Have students create a yearbook alphabet by brainstorming one answer per letter, A-Z.
• Use a random letter generator to limit responses to one letter.

Bonus: Yearbook Escape Room

We created this yearbook freebie, which includes four puzzles that “unlock” the final clue. Yearbook advisers, use this print-and-go lesson for vocabulary review. 

https://blog.treering.com/yearbook-escape-room/

When you use these games for moments of shared fun, be sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok when you share the videos.

Treering’s annual layout design contest is back! We want to celebrate the layouts you create for your school community. And since it’s Treering’s 15th birthday, we’re stuffing the winner’s goodie bags with free yearbooks and Amazon gift cards.

Official Participation Rules and Steps to Enter

1. Entries open from March 6 to March 20, 2024 at 8 PM PDT.
2. You must be 18 years or older and a parent, teacher, or student at a US Treering school to participate.
3. To participate, complete the submission form and include a screenshot of your favorite 23-24 yearbook* (the current school year) spread and a short paragraph (250 words max) about your school’s story.
4. Double-check everything for accuracy, especially your email and phone number (this is how winners will be notified and prizes will be distributed) and your school name and address (city and state).
5. For a bonus, share your spread on social media via Facebook and/or Instagram

Incomplete entries will not be accepted.

Social Sharing

To share the post using your personal Facebook/Instagram account or your school’s Facebook/Instagram account,

• Include the screenshot of your yearbook spread in your post.
• Tag @treering on Facebook and @treeringcorp on Instagram in your post.
• Use the hashtag #treeringwin in your post.
• Ensure this post is shared publicly so we can see it and include your submission.

Judging and Finalist Selection

Entries close March 20, 2024 at 8 PM PDT. A panel of yearbook parents, journalism educators, and graphic designers will select first, second, and third place winners from two categories: 

• Lone Rangers (fewer than 3 people)
• Group Gurus (Club/Committee)

Winning spread designs will appear on the blog, Facebook, and Instagram on April 2, 2024.

Prizes

Treering will send Layout Legends: 2024 Design Contest Winners prizes by Friday, April 5, 2024.

The gift cards will be sent electronically to the email provided in the form. Free book coupons will be loaded into the school's Treering Yearbook account and may be used in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 school year.

Ownership

By submitting your yearbook spread, you have verified the approval of others pictured, and you approve Treering to use your name, write-up, and school name for any marketing purposes, including but not limited to showcasing on www.treering.com, sharing on social media, and sharing with media. 

Enjoy yourself! To us, you’re a legend! If you have any questions, contact us at marketing@treering.com.

This is the final installment in a four-part series on creating a yearbook in 60 days. By now, portraits and spreads are in the book, and it is time to polish both. Day 46-60 tasks center around communication to parents and the print process. 

Yearbook (yes, it is a verb) along with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

1. Custom Page Reminders

Marketing Rule of Seven aside, parents are busy. Teachers are solving the world’s problems. We need reminders (not the “loving” ones that are really sassy in disguise). Remember the parent purchase date you set during days 1-15? This is the date by which parents should customize and purchase their yearbooks. 

While parents do not have to fill their free, two custom pages with memories, a little education goes a long way. Here are a few ideas for reminders:

• Include a flyer in the monthly newsletter
• Share a video tutorial on your parent group’s social media page
• Create a virtual parent event aligned with one of Treering’s parent webinars to “attend” together
• Host a custom pages night and walk parents through the process

Custom Page Resources

Remember, you must use the login button to access the editor articles.

• Editor Video: Reviewing All Students' Custom Pages 
• Parent Video: Creating Custom Pages with Page Builder 
• Parent Video: Creating Custom Pages from Scratch with Page Editor 
• Spring Parent Webinars: Yearbook Club

2. Make Corrections

Continue using those PDF proofs and the page warning tray to manage duplicate images, low-resolution images, margin warnings, and spelling errors. 

Page Warning Tray Resource

• Editor video: Page Warnings 

3. Print Ready Process

You tell Treering when to begin the printing process. When your Finish Editing Yearbook Deadline arrives, your yearbook does not automatically head to the printers. Remember, your three-week turnaround begins from the date you send the book to print.

It will take 15-20 minutes for you to complete the pre-print process below.

After you complete the checklist and select the dancing “Print my Yearbook” button (cue the confetti), you will receive an email with your final-final PDF proof and instructions if you find a grievous error and need to stop the printing process. There is an extremely short, blink-and-it's-over window to do this; it may cause production delays.

Sending Your Yearbook to Print Resource

• Video: Setting the Yearbook to Print Ready

4. Never Say, “No.”

You will never have to turn away a student at a Treering school who wants a yearbook after the print deadline. With Treering, you can even order and personalize past years’ books. 

Additionally, with the fundraiser and book donation options, you can ensure students in need have books as well.

Post-Print Ready Resources

• Parent Video: Buying a Yearbook for a Previous School Year 
• Article: After Deadline Orders 
• Video: Fundraiser Disbursement Options When Setting Your Yearbook to Print Ready 
• Case Study: Yearbook Hero Janet Yieh Gives Away Yearbooks 

Feeling Adventurous? Plan a party!

Yearbook signing parties need not be extravagant: tables, pens, tunes. 

Yearbook Signing Party Resources

• Blog: 10 People To Thank
• Blog: The Best Yearbook Distribution Ideas

You did it! How will you celebrate building a yearbook in 60 days? Be sure to tag @treering on Facebook and @treeringcorp on TikTok and Instagram to show us. Happy yearbooking!

Two blogs ago, we began our journey to start and finish a yearbook in 60 days. From establishing a ladder and crowdsourcing structure to flowing portraits and adding in fall events, the first month yielded a near-complete yearbook. These next fifteen days of our adventure include proofing, promoting, and packing in spring events. All the resources you need are linked below (for help center articles, you will need to log in to the editor help center).

Yearbook (yes, it is a verb) along with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

1. PDF Proofing

Just because we are speeding through the yearbook creation process doesn’t mean we will be careless. Proofing tools such as downloadable PDFs and a free, physical cover-to-cover proof of your yearbook are free through Treering.

Let’s start with PDFs. English teachers everywhere will tell you errors that are missed on the screen often pop on paper. Read any copy (stories and captions) aloud to assess for tone and errors that digital proofing tools missed. These are low-resolution (the actual print file size might crash your computer), so you can download them quickly.

Use your PDF proofs to also

• Triple-check your portrait pages: correct spelling of names, the accurate placement of students and teachers in classes or grades
• Ensure faces aren’t lost on the edges (margins) or in the middle (gutter) of your spread
• Students are visible in the photos: sometimes, a photo box is the wrong size, and the faces are either huge or unrecognizably small. When possible, try to make all faces on a collage spread the same size.
• Show sneak peeks to your buyers - when parents see their child is in the book, they will buy the book!

Pro tip: use as many of your 99 PDF proofs as possible! 

Yearbook Editing Resources

• Video: Ordering PDF and Printed Proofs 
• Blog: Free Yearbook Proofing Tools 

2. Design Pages (Spring/Second Semester Events)

Last time, you learned two ways to design. Because the second semester is unfolding as you build your yearbook, it may be easier to collect photos. This is the time to evaluate those first semester spreads: if they are not full by now, combine events and re-allocate space.

Coverage Resources

• Blog: Six Ideas to Fill Pages in Your Yearbook
• Article: Adding Pre-Designed Pages (You must login to the editor Help Center to view)

3. Purchase Reminders

In these remaining 30 days, up your promotion game by doing at least one thing a week to share about the yearbook:

• Reach out after each school event with the appropriate photo share link and email
• Call or email parents of students who are in the book three times and have not purchased 
• Have a contest: the grade or homeroom with the largest percentage of purchases earns extended recess
• Remind purchasers to customize their yearbooks (more on this next time)
• Ask campus influencers (ASB, PTA/PTO accounts, athletics) to hype the yearbook
• Have flyers at a school-wide event, such as the band showcase

Yearbook Sales Resources

• Google Slides: Customizable Flyers 
• Article: Tools for Promoting Your Yearbook
• Blog: 5 Social Media Posts to Sell Yearbooks

4. Printed Proof

Treering’s Marketing Manager Megan P. likes to say, “Works in progress welcome!” Because you need your printed proof in hand before your final deadline, order it now. It can take up to 18 business days for this yearbook freebie to arrive.

With portraits and fall events in the book, there is plenty to evaluate. Use your remaining PDFs for copy and photo edits.

Pro tip: When my printed proof arrives, I take a Sharpie and mark it up. Then, I use it as a tool to clean up each spread one by one.

Proofing Resources

• Video: Ordering PDF and Printed Proofs 
• Blog: Free Yearbook Proofing Tools 

Yearbook with a Friend

Involve a second or third set of eyes during the proofing process. Potential yearbook proofing heroes include:

• Front office staff (they know all the things)
• Student TAs 
• The secretary of the parent group
• Coaches and club leaders
• A friend who owes you a solid

Next time, we’ll send the yearbook to print and prepare for distribution.

This blog is part two of a four-part series on creating a yearbook in 60 days. Each part contains two weeks' worth of tasks and inspiration, and this time, it’s all about promoting and designing the yearbook.

There are links to articles, videos, and additional blogs throughout. Treering editors, you'll need to log in to your dedicated help center to view some.

Yearbook (yes, it is a verb) along with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

1. Share the Good News

You’re building a yearbook, which is a mic-drop task in itself. People need to know how awesome you are the yearbook will be. Treering created flyers, QR codes, and personalized links for you to quickly share.

Yearbook Marketing 101

“Buy your yearbook” is not your only message. 

Yes, you are selling the yearbook. You are also rallying stakeholders (administrators, teachers, plus students and their families) to support the yearbook project by purchasing, sharing photos, donating books, and joining the yearbook staff next year. So, go get them!

Identify the best to reach each stakeholder where they live. In other words, go to them. Utilize all the communication channels available to you and evaluate which ones work best for each group. 

Possible channels include:

• Email
• Staff newsletters
• Morning announcements
• All-call services
• Parent organization website
• In-school bulletin boards
• All-school events
• School meetings
• School sports games
• School arts events
• Social media

Yearbook Marketing Resources

• Article: Tools for Promoting Your Yearbook
• Blog: 5 Social Media Posts to Sell Yearbooks

2. Autoflow Portraits

Ready to level up your yearbook achievement? Portraits comprise 40-60% of a yearbook. Between the choice of a Heritage Cover and building portrait pages, you’ll be halfway finished. Take a minute to let that soak in.

If a professional photographer took your school photos, chances are you have a PSPA (Professional School Photographers' Association) file. This is industry standard. With it, you'll be able to go to the portrait tab and follow the prompts. (If you don’t have a PSPA file, you can still use autoflow. See the resource section below for instructions.)

Portrait Resources

• Video: Importing Portraits with Portrait Auto Flow
• Article: Uploading Portraits Without a PSPA File

3. Fill Your Photo Folders

Remember when we set up the photo folders, and some were green? That means only the editorial team (you!) can see them and their contents. The yellow public folders are marked public, and your school community can share photos by

• Emailing to the folder
• Using a link to access the folder
• Signing in and accessing the public folders
• Using the Treering app to upload

Treering’s privacy measures prevent just anyone from uploading to your shared folders. Only your invited school community members with activated yearbook accounts can see and share. 

Parents and editors can add photos from their computer or mobile device as well as third-party connections to your personal Facebook, Instagram, Dropbox, Google Photos, and Google Drive. 

5 Ideas to Source Yearbook Photos

If you build it, will they come? 

1. Send each teacher a link to their class folder; ask them to share it with their room parents
2. Share event-specific (hello, last Friday’s zoo trip) asks via social media
3. Show coaches and club leaders how to add photos via their phones
4. Connect with event organizers so they know you have dedicated space and you need pics
5. Comment, “Will you share this for the yearbook [email/link]?” on Facebook photos you want to include

Crowdsourcing Resources

• Article: Email Photos Directly Into A Photo Folder
• Article: Sharing Photo Folders with the School Community

4. Build Your Spreads (First Semester Events)

As your photos fill your folders, drag them onto your spreads. There are two ways to quickly complete pages using Treering’s built-in tools: auto page layout and templates. 

Everything is fully editable, so if you need to add or remove a photo, text box, or piece of theme art, permit yourself to do it!

Yearbook Design Resources

• Article: Changing the Background on a Page (remember to login to view)
• Article: Page Editing Options - Graphics
• Article: Page Editing Options - Layout and Design 

Feeling Adventurous?

Create your own layouts using Treering’s drag-and-drop design tools. 

Intermediate and Advanced Design Resources

• Examples: Winners of the 2024 Design Contest 
• Blog: What is Modular Yearbook Design? 
• Article: Setting Default Text Styles 
• Article: Setting Default Photo Styles 
• Article: Alignment Tool - Customizable Guideline Grid 
• Templates: InDesign

Halfway through building a yearbook in 60 days, you should split tasks between gathering photos and adding them to the book. The cover is finished. Portraits are flowed. First semester events are filling in. Congrats!

Two types of people start a yearbook towards the end of the school year: those handed the crown minutes ago, and those with hundreds of other tasks for the school and now have “free” time to begin one more. Creating a yearbook in 60 days is doable. Promise. We’re breaking it down for you in four parts, each with two weeks' worth of tasks and inspiration. Consider this your yearbook easy button.

Throughout the series, there will be resources for inspiration and help. Watch this quick video to see

• How to log into the Ediotr Help Center for exclusive step-by-step articles
• Where to find resources to share with parents
• Where to get design inspiration, lesson plans, and more

Yearbook (yes, it is a verb) along with us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

1. Confirm Your Book Details

It’s tempting to jump into the glamorous yearbook tasks such as theme and design. There’s a little back-end work you need to do first for two reasons:

1. Your dates will direct your workflow
2. Your yearbook details determine the price of your yearbook

Dates

With Treering, you can change your dates at any time. Remember, your three-week turnaround begins once you hit Print Ready, and send your book to the printers.

For Parents: Custom Pages Deadline

Parents will see this date on their account, indicating when they should purchase the book or complete any customized pages. It doesn't impact the printing schedule. 

Some parents {raises hand} need a little extra time and reminders to complete theirs. Treering recommends a cushion of about two weeks.

For Editors: Finish Editing Yearbook Deadline and Estimated Delivery Date

This is your one and only deadline for editing the book—and you set it! Select a date three weeks from when you want to distribute it. 

You won’t be able to edit the delivery date directly. Treering automatically populates it by the date you choose for your deadline. If you need additional time to capture year-end events, no problem. Your three-week turnaround will align with your new deadline.

In part four, you’ll learn how to send your yearbook to print. 

Pricing

The yearbook price will change in real time when you adjust the page count and cover finish. The best way to firm up your page count is to create a ladder (more on this below). 

Shipping and Index

Bulk shipping to the school is free. If you select this option, you choose how to receive your yearbooks:

• Sorted alphabetically
• Sorted by grade and then alphabetically
• Sorted by teacher and then alphabetically

Alternatively, many online or hybrid academies and schools electing to do a fall delivery choose the ship-to-home option. When parents order yearbooks, they also pay a flat rate shipping fee.

Book Details Resources

• Video: Chief Editor Dashboard
• Free Live Webinars: Treering’s Yearbook Club

2. Build a Ladder

A ladder is a chart that represents the pages in a yearbook. It’s the industry-standard tool to help you stay organized. On it, you allocate a topic to each yearbook spread (that’s yearbook-ese for two facing pages). 

Because yearbooks tell the story of the year, there isn’t a codified order to how things go. Typically, they include

• Academics: school distinctives, achievements, and activities
• Events: fundraisers, activities, performances, before- and after-school activities
• Organizations: clubs and teams
• People: student, staff, and faculty portraits
• Thematic content: larger books employ divider pages to separate sections

To build your ladder, look at the last few yearbooks and the latest school calendar.

1. Brainstorm the non-negotiable events, sections (people, arts, sports), and yearbook traditions
2. Brainstorm features, specials, and theme-related content
3. Decide how you will organize the book
4. Allocate spreads

We love doing this digitally because it can be fluid. If your page count is looking overwhelming because of time or budget, combine some topics. Remember to update your page count on your book details so it matches your plan.

Yearbook Ladder Resources

• Google Sheet: Free Yearbook Ladder Template
• Google Sheet: Example Ladders (there’s a separate tab for elementary, middle, K-8, and high school examples)

3. Set Up Photo Folders

The best photo organization tip I can give came from Yearbook Hero Katie Parish. She said to create folders to mirror your ladder. This way, you know you are collecting content for every single spread you planned. And spoiler alert, your design process will look like this.

By investing the time to set up folders this way, you can simplify your workflow. Just open the corresponding folder and click, drag, drop, and done! 

In the video below, you’ll see how to add folders and set up crowdsourcing features. Notice the Art Show folder is Editor Only. This means only you, the editor, can place photos in this folder. After activating their accounts, parents will see the yellow “public” folders and be able to share. At any time, you can make a folder Editor Only and vice versa.

In Part Two, we will give you five strategies to fill those shared folders with content so you can build your pages.

Photo Organization Resources

• Article: Creating Folders and Subfolders (this is one of those Editor-only resources, so you'll need to log in)
• Article: School Photos

4. Choose a Whole-Book Look

The Styles menu is where it’s at: you can create font and photo presets, adjust your margins (#TeamMarginsOff), and select the theme for your yearbook. Because I have 60 days to create a yearbook, I am skipping all the customization options and selecting a pre-designed theme to give my yearbook a unified look.

For a cover-to-cover drag-and-drop experience, the design team recommends the following Treering themes:

Theme Resources

• Google Slides: All Treering’s Yearbook Themes
• Blog Category: Theme Ideas and Inspiration

Remember, get to know your dashboard; it’s the first thing you see each time you log in. Part two of this series will outline the promotion tools built in the yearbook builder and start the design process.

Yearbook with a Friend

You can also recruit team members to help you build and market the yearbook. With Treering, you can set permissions and assign pages to help delegate your workload. Additionally, parents, teachers, and students can help gather content and promote book sales.

Organization Resources for Yearbook Teams

• Article: The Difference Between Chief Editors and Staff Editors 
• Blog: 5 Yearbook Volunteers to Recruit

Treering Yearbook Heroes is a monthly feature focusing on yearbook tips and tricks.

While at her desk in the library, media specialist Allyson David overheard the yearbook planning among the voluntold team. She asked to help. At the time, excess yearbooks filled a storage room at Lanier School for Inquiry, Investigation, and Innovation, and the school was losing money.

How did you turn things around?

My sister is a high school yearbook adviser, and she told me to look into Treering. After I received my sample, I took all the selling points to my admin. I told him we won't have boxes of leftover books, families can customize a couple of pages in there, and we can even integrate a fundraiser. It was a no-brainer: we went from losing money to making a profit.

You went from being on a yearbook team to managing the project solo. 

As a media specialist, it naturally works; this is what we do. Since we are a Google school, teachers put pictures in a shared folder on Drive, which seamlessly integrates with Treering’s software. We have pictures throughout the year that I pull from to put in the yearbook.

I start designing with our fifth-grade ads. We sell quarter-page recognition ads to parents, grandparents, and extended families. Then I flow the portraits. The remaining pages go to school events. 

Tell me how you come up with your yearbook theme.

The yearbook theme is based on the teacher of the year. This year, it’s cactuses. The teacher of the year this year is a SPED teacher whose classroom is decorated with cactuses. When I asked her why, she said, “Cactuses are resilient, and my kids are resilient. Both have to show up and be determined to thrive.”

I reveal the theme at the beginning of the year and put the cover on all the flyers and promo materials. It helps with sales: after the reveal, I get a surge. Now, we don't reveal anything else that's in it; they'll just see the cover, but they don't see any of the spreads or anything until it comes out.

You love the Treering themes!

My favorite one was when I made “Where the Wildcats Are.” 

When we were using the other company, I would get frustrated every time I opened their design program, and I didn't look forward to working on the yearbook. With Treering, I see a theme I really like, and I envision this spread is going to look this way. It's exciting to go in there and actually see it come together. Treering is so much easier to use to resize pictures and change the shapes of graphics.

Something else I love about Treering is I have until April to get it together. Before, with our other company, I had to finish the yearbook in January. We have a signing day in May after lunch, so I get to hear what the students say about the book. Most of them don’t know I‘m the one who puts it together.

You’re the unsung yearbook hero.

I'm proud of that book; it doesn't bother me that they don't realize that I do it. 

Improving yearbooking skill sets is an ongoing process, and we sometimes forgo instructional time as deadline season creeps in. Using these five mini-yearbook lessons, you'll be able to improve your photography skills with a DSLR, mirrorless, or cell phone camera while still having plenty of time for yearbook production.

https://blog.treering.com/essential-yearbooking-gear-and-equipment

Lesson 1: Rule of Thirds

Imagine your photo divided into a tic-tac-toe grid, with two horizontal and two vertical lines, creating nine parts. Instead of placing your subject dead center, try aligning them along these gridlines. The asymmetry adds interest to your composition.

Action should flow across your photo, not off it. The same goes for eyes: you want your subject looking in.

Try It!

Head out to the school courtyard and practice the rule of thirds with your classmates. Practice taking both vertical (portrait) and horizontal (landscape) portraits, ensuring your subjects are placed along the gridlines for a visually pleasing result.

Lesson 2: Angles in Composition

By experimenting with these angles, photographers convey different emotions, perspectives, and stories in their images.

Practice each of these photo angles during your lessons.

• Eye level: This is most common because the photographer captures subjects at the same height as the camera.
• Worm’s eye view: This varies between dramatic and unflattering, so use with caution. By lowering the camera, the subject appears larger.
• Bird's eye view: A great view to use when students are collaborating on a project, this captures scenes from above.
• Close-up (Macro): Cameras and their phone counterparts usually have a setting to help focus on small details or subjects up close. This is great for art class or some science labs (not dissections) when you need to reveal intricate textures and patterns.
• Wide-angle: Oh, the 0.5 that is trending! A traditional wide-angle shot captures a broader view and exaggerates perspective. 
• Over the shoulder: Sometimes, the story is in the work, not the student. (This also helps with camera-shy students.)
• Overhead angle: For flat lays (e.g., what’s in my backpack modules), shoot downward from an overhead position.

Try It!

Stage a student at work in the classroom. Taking turns, yearbook photographers should circle and move around the subject, snapping photos using the above angles. For more application, one student can “direct” the photoshoot, explaining which angle to practice and how to achieve it.

Lesson 3: Cell Phone Photography

Cell phone cameras make yearbook photography more convenient for students–it’s a familiar and comfortable way to document the day. While DSLR and mirrorless cameras give more control over light, cell phones are lightweight and on your person nearly 24/7.

As with a traditional camera, you want to hold the phone steady with both hands, elbows in. This adds stability and reduces blur, especially in low-light situations. 

Additionally, remember to zoom with your feet. My yearbook adviser gave me this photography lesson back in the 90s, and it still holds. This means photographers move to the subject and avoid a single, stationary vantage point. Ultimately, the composition and photo quality will be better. 

By pinching and zooming, you reduce the pixels in the photo, thus destroying its quality. It’s better to zoom and crop once the photo is on your spread.

Try It!

Turn the grid on your phone cameras (Android, iPhone) and repeat the previous exercises on the rule of thirds and angles. Remember, the principles of photography are universal.

Yearbook PSA

With a camera in most teachers’ and parents’ pockets, you have an additional photography crew on campus. Creating shared photo folders and communicating how to get pics in them allows more stories and POVs to be told.

Lesson 4: Depth of Field (Portrait Mode)

Depth of field is a crucial aspect of photography, influenced by the aperture setting on a camera. The aperture is the physical opening in the lens that controls the amount of light entering the camera. The wider the aperture opens, the more light passes through. 

https://blog.treering.com/aperture-lessons-for-yearbook

Portrait mode on a cell phone mimics depth of field by using depth mapping, selective focus, and, sometimes, multiple lenses to create a shallow depth of field, similar to what is achieved with a wide aperture on a traditional camera. (Click here for the full technical read.)

Try It!

Using both a camera and a cell phone, take headshots of your yearbook staff. Try f/22, f/8, and f/1.4. Repeat, focusing on objects, such as a baseball or pointe shoes, in the hands of a student.

Lesson 5: Assessment

Every unit needs a culminating activity. And since we love gamifying yearbook class, here is a photography Bingo card. You can use this in a few ways:

• Coverall: assign students the card to complete
• Traditional: make it a race to get five in a row
• Collaborative: as a group, work through the card; you may assign teams a row or column
• Minute-to-win-it: Give students a time limit (more than a minute) to achieve as many tasks as possible

What Makes a Great Yearbook Photo?

The short answer: storytelling photos. 

A yearbook narrative of the entire school year. Candid moments, such as in-class discussions, reactions at a game or awards ceremony, or spontaneous interactions between friends, are emotive. While posed pictures have their place–the portrait section is full of them–action shots bring a sense of vitality and excitement to your yearbook.

By applying the composition tips above, your yearbook photography is already diversified. The variety of angles and depth of field alone will increase the visual appeal of each layout.

Taking multiple shots of your subject is a great way to ensure you get the best pose, reaction, and composite. Deleting unwanted images only takes seconds and not getting the most effective image in the first place is a missed opportunity that can’t be duplicated.

Additional photography resources for yearbook classes and clubs:

• Photography Bell Ringers
• Classroom Photo Tips
• Crowdsource Content for a More Equitable Yearbook
• Photography module from Treering’s Free Yearbook Curriculum

Adding an interactive element to your yearbook pages can increase engagement and personalization in a culture measured by double taps and shares. Interactive yearbooks can have modules or spreads where students can record their ideas or engage with content. (And if you know anything about Treering, we’re all about making yearbooks as unique as your students.) Below are four ideas, from drag-and-drop solutions to those requiring a bit more delegation (wink) for your yearbook.

Interactive = Personal

The most hands-off way to help others interact with your yearbook is Treering’s custom pages. These two free pages in every yearbook are prime real estate for artwork, celebrations, firsts (lost tooth, car, homerun, etc.), and what matters most to each family. Knowing they are creating a keepsake, many parents opt to add more pages.

These custom page examples from the Treering team include non-school sports, pets, milestones, and family trips.

All About Me Pre-Designed Pages

While seeing all that our school community achieved in a year gives us the feels, adding opportunities for students to share their take captures a deeper moment in time. It shows students how they contribute to the whole with their unique take on the school year. Adding an All About Future Me component allows students to dream. (Moms, it also gives us something to read aloud at their graduation, “Yes, Erikson, you really did aspire to be an underwater ninja.”)

Pro tip: many Treering themes have these templates ready for you to drag onto a page.

Fill-in-the Blank Stories

Part 80s nostalgia, part English teacher ploy to get us to know our parts of speech, fill-in-the-blank stories can range from nonsensical to [fill in the blank]. 😉

We created one you can copy and paste for your yearbook.

Puzzles

Including puzzles in a yearbook enhances personalization because they can play with words, images, and situations unique to your campus, fostering a sense of ownership. Simultaneously, these activities bring additional engagement into the yearbook, making the publication more dynamic. You can choose to add content with words and pictures.

Word Puzzles

Word searches, crossword puzzles, and the like add an entertaining interactive break from traditional pages. Additionally, for younger students, they can be a means to involve family members who may enjoy solving the puzzles with their child, creating another shared yearbook experience.

Include things in your puzzles such as school subjects and the 

• Mascot
• School address (street and city)
• Special events or all-school activities
• Principal’s last name
• Names of clubs, teams, or electives

An online puzzle maker can help you customize an interactive puzzle.

People Matching

More fun than a history quiz, a yearbook matching module is a way to use your interactive content to increase coverage. Answers can share a page with the colophon.

Match

• Students to cars 
• Baby photo to the students or teacher
• Teachers to their first job
• The cleat to the sport
• The fundraising total to the class

The easiest ask: pets. 

Side note: maybe I should have titled this, “Gamify your yearbook.”

I Spy

There are two takes on this:

1. Search for objects such as eight basketballs, 14 pencils, and five nets. These items already exist within a section or the yearbook as a whole; you're just asking the student body to take a closer look.

2. Find a person. This is the most labor-intensive: hide a COB of your mascot throughout the yearbook. (Yearbook Hero Katie Parish had a great take on this.)

Adding one or all four of these interactive yearbook page ideas gives students a place to reflect, share their “voice,” and foster a sense of community ownership of your collective narrative.