Treering Blog

Whether you're excited to get the kids out of the house and into the classroom or kind of dreading the hussle that back-to-school season brings, another year is here! Fear not, we’ve got your yearbook back, cover, custom pages, and everything in between. We’re a yearbook company after all! The first six weeks of school are the best time to set up your yearbook for success.

This might sound overwhelming given you already have to absorb a million new routines, teachers, rules, and other back-to-school rituals, so we’ve simplified it to 5 simple steps to yearbook success this school year.

Set the yearbook's tone: enthusiasm is contagious

The first six weeks of school are when everyone is ready to take photos. Welcome back Moma-razzi! It’s a new year, with new friends, new teachers, and new pencils. Bringing this energy into the yearbook can set the tone for the entire year (with rough patches, obviously. We’re all human). The more excited you are to start the book, take and collect photos, the more excited everyone around you will be. Enthusiasm is contagious and engagement is demonstrated by leaders. If the yearbook editor and/or committee is excited, then it’s way more likely everyone else will join in.

Be in the know: reboot your inner Gossip Girl

Ok so maybe not exactly like the Gossip Girl reboot, but you get the idea. If you’re editing the yearbook, this is the time to know what’s going on. Since most yearbooks show the year in chronological order, be prepared for the first day of school photo opportunities like the car line, opening assembly, and bus drop-offs. You can even reach out to teachers (who are yearbook editors’ best friends) and try to either get inside a couple classrooms for first-day activities or ask them to share all the amazing photos from the day.

You’ll want to know all the back-to-school plans from the school —including the PTA calendar of events. Once you’re in the know, you can work with other parents and/or teachers to take some photos so you don’t feel like you have to be everywhere. If you’re working with students in yearbook creation, make sure you’re in the know about what you’re going to be teaching with an updated staff syllabus and curriculum.

K.I.S.S.: keep it simple silly

Alright, you’re excited and you know what’s going on the first day of school! You’re almost ready for a fantastic year of yearbooking fun, but we highly recommend getting ready for yearbook by setting up an easy photo system for contributors, whether they are coming from teachers, parents or students. Yearbook can be hard and stressful, so that’s why setting up a system where parents can upload pictures, like a Google Drive, or using a hashtag that’s specific to your school can be beneficial. By using a hashtag, you can tell parents that if they use it, it gives yearbook staff permission to use the photo. This can really take some of the burden off. Your unique hashtag can help you categorize the photos, and, since we’re all on social media these days, possibly get more photos than past years.

Another easy system to think about: Set up a regular posting cadence on the parent Facebook page, PTA group or the school’s main social media to encourage anyone with great photos to submit to the yearbook. Setting a realistic schedule up front makes it easier to stick to, and contributors get used to hearing from you. Starting a bi-weekly schedule up front instead of reaching out after the first six weeks of school will likely result in more photos. After all, it’s a lot less intimidating to send a couple photos at a time versus the “photo dump” some parents or teachers may have from the first six weeks.

Pay attention to your yearbook provider: they're your friends

Pay attention to “getting started” emails from your trusty yearbook company friends. The friendly yearbook companies - the ones with excellent customer service, not to name any names - will help you get your yearbook started, you just have to pay attention. Keep an eye out for email blasts to help kick off yearbook creation by walking advisers through back-end aspects of yearbooking. (Yes, it IS a verb!) Depending on what you’re looking for, you can get a mini-course on how to create a yearbook, more advanced design resources, marketing assistance and more. For a #MarketingMoment, brainstorm with your yearbook team on capturing your theme in your group photo. For example, if your theme is an anniversary book, you may want to photograph each member with a past yearbook. Another #MarketingMoment idea: Hype up your last yearbook to the PTA, students and teachers, and sprinkle in all the new plans you have for the first six weeks to build excitement!

Find Your yearbook crew: even if it’s just one other parent

Finding someone that can help you manage shot lists, reach out to teachers and come up with ideas is so important. As you know, and it bears repeating, yearbook is a lot, but it’s also a treasure for kids growing up. That’s what’s most important and what makes getting involved so worth it.

Food-for-thought on where and how to get involved:

Get in with the teachers. Classrooms can become like second homes to students, and their teacher is always there - that’s why they’re your best friend for photos. Ask to bring food and drinks to a staff meeting in exchange for 15 minutes to talk about the yearbook. Give teachers and administrators easy blurbs, talking points and material about the yearbook to include all of their back to school communications. There are some teachers who will not allow us to pull kids for interviews EVER, and some who prefer the first or last 15 minutes of class, so be prepared.

Start a "gotcha!" list. Using the early enrollment roster from the front office, make a card for each student with their name and grade. Once a week or so, go through your coverage report/index and mark off the students you’ve captured. Set a goal to interview or photograph every student at least three times with questions of the day or activities they’re involved in.

Celebrate! Set easy wins to give yourself, your crew, the PTA or school a reason to celebrate. Oh, you received 50 photos from the first day? BAM! Let’s go get dinner. This classroom submitted the most photos after the first six weeks of school? BAM! Reward that teacher and students with a little prize. Even small milestones deserve a celebration, and each celebration will motivate more people to participate.

Have questions on how to start building a better yearbook? Check out our Help Center for customer support.

UPDATE: see 2023-2024 yearbook theme ideas. For more post-pandemic design trends, keep reading.

Using nostalgic designs, organic colors, and handmade elements, check out how you can harness the design and color trends for your 2021-2022 year(book) themes. The design world is unanimous: joy is back!

Treering has pre-released 15 new on-trend yearbook themes for 2021-2022! Log in to the app (for free) to see the full line of backgrounds, fonts, layouts, and artwork included in each theme to find some inspiration for your yearbook this year. Whether you're a Treering user or not, you can always look and use our ideas no matter who is your yearbook provider.

Trending now: new yearbook theme sneak peek

Check back in late August for the full collection of new themes joining the Treering catalog. In the meantime, check out our top on-trend themes below.

Our top five yearbook themes and trends

2022 yearbook theme design trend: nostalgia, color

Nostalgic design is synonymous with retro and vintage with the caveat it evokes emotion. Research shows pieces from the past produce positivity in the present! Pair nostalgic elements such as colors, fonts, and images with old school photos from past yearbooks for a complete blast from the past.

Get the look with Treering:

The 90s are back and with it memories of Lisa Frank binders, Zack Morris phones, and NSYNC songs. As you rock your acid wash jeans and baby doll Ts, check out the vibrant colors and iconic graphics in the Back to School yearbook theme that have as much pop as your fav boy band. Outdoorsy colors—think sunshine, spring water, and wildflowers—brighten up this design with drag-and-drop school supply artwork and backgrounds.

2022 yearbook theme design trend: organic, illustrative design

In a year when we’re going back-to-basics in the classroom, you can bring them into the yearbook room. Celebrating living things is a tenet of organic design. Flora and fauna pop up in many of the new themes for 2021-2022 (hint, hint).

Hand-drawn images and line art continue to dominate the illustrative graphic design trends. Outlines, line art textures, and freeform shapes get their inspiration from the natural world.

Get the look with Treering:

Now and Zen is an airy collection of crisp lines, layers, geometric shapes set in this yearbook theme's neutral color palette. Like flannel, this design trend is meant to be layered.

2022 yearbook theme design trend: nostalgia, symbols

We’ve established nostalgia gives us all the feels. Neon’s century-long presence in the US conjures memories from riding in classic cars and drinking malts with grandparents to wearing Electric Youth perfume and sweating through skate nights.

Symbols can do the same. A thumbs up or a heart means you’re getting noticed. A border means READ ME! Arrows tell you to keep going because exciting things are forthcoming! And we all have our go-to emoji for wearing our feelings on our screens.

Get the look with Treering

We modernized the look of neon by adding emojis and icons you can use to divide academics, extracurricular, and personality pages. Because of this, Neon Lights is a complete theme package that will lighten the load for your yearbook team.

2022 yearbook theme design trend: organic, illustrative design

After a year inside, the outdoors are calling! Natural textures, shapes, and colors are hot in the interior, industrial, and graphic design. They soothe. While it may not be as sappy as the nostalgic design trend—see what we did there—being in nature boosts creativity and reduces stress. And we need those two things for a budding yearbook program!

Get the look with Treering

The Beyond BeLEAF yearbook theme has illustrative, organic shapes and neutral colors that echo Treering’s commitment to sustainable business practices (shameless plug, I know...). Leafy borders, overlays, and frames hug your photos.

2022 Yearbook Theme Design Trend: Illustrative Design

The glory of illustrative design is its many manifestations: cartoon illustration picks up where the seriousness of the line art design trend leaves off. It’s whimsical and potentially nostalgic. It’s bold and bright. It’s fun and funky. If a playful yearbook theme aligns with your team’s vision, this is the trend to implement!

Get the look with Treering

By taking inspiration from popular games (that’s plural for a reason, people!), we created options for those who want their book to be timely, on-trend, and totally relatable to tweens. Start with the Crewmates theme, then Level Up.

If you'd like more help selecting a yearbook theme and design trend for your community this year, check out these five questions to ask your yearbook team.

As the student rising to the call of leadership, the teacher who is a champion of her students, or the parent hero stepping in, you should have a say in your schedule. You can work out on-demand, watch TV on-demand, why not publish on-demand? Adhering to multiple deadlines while committing to book sales and page counts is impossible when you don't even know how many events will take place this year. At Treering, we believe that schools, parents, and students should be given the flexibility and freedom to build a yearbook without the stress of ANY commitments.

Flexible Deadlines: Finish Your Book When You're Ready

With Treering there's only one deadline: the day you want to finish your book. Three weeks from that day, your books will arrive to your students. Period. Want to change that date, no problem. The date can be moved at any time, to any date you need. The choice is yours.

Flexible Distribution: Ship Your Yearbooks to Your School, or Directly to Each Student's Home

We offer free sorting (alphabetical, by grade, by classroom) and free bulk shipping to the school. If you want more time to capture prom or graduation, you can have the books shipped directly to each student's home for a flat-rate shipping fee. It's your choice!

Flexible Details: Decrease (or Increase) Your Pages or Even Cancel Your Book

Should something change and you need to decrease your page count, we will let you do that anytime before you hit print ready! Need to cancel your school's book altogether (we hope not), you can do that without worrying about incurring any fees. Your school never pays us anything, and your parents only pay if they decide to buy a book.

No contracts and no minimums mean no worries and no stress.

Flexible Collaboration: Collecting Content from your School is Easier than Ever!

For the sake of inclusivity and to capture all aspects of school, it's important to get photos and help from your community. (Repeat after us: "I can't do it all!") Our shared folders and mobile app make it extremely easy to collect content from your school. By making it simple for everyone to submit photos, you're guaranteed to have everything you need to build a unique book this and every year.

Flexible Designing: Thousands of Innovative Page Ideas at Your Fingertips

Complete book looks, including layouts, fonts, graphics, and color palettes, are free for all Treering customers. Don't worry, they are flexible enough that you can make them even more to your liking. You can even upload your own spreads.

Choosing the right yearbook company is no small feat. To help guide you through this crucial process and ensure the perfect fit for your school community, Treering has crafted a list of ten essential questions every adviser should ask potential yearbook companies.

1. What is the real price per book, including all fees?

Determining the actual price per yearbook can be complex, although it shouldn’t be. There’s a reason: hidden fees (similar to this $30 hamburger!). Here are a few you can ask about now so you’re not surprised later:

• Minimum book requirements
• Missed-deadline fees
• Shipping costs (include customs fees for books printed outside the US)
• Software subscriptions
• Training and support costs
• Custom cover upgrades
• 100lb. paper upcharge
• Personalized pages costs
• Online photo storage fees

Request a detailed quote that breaks down all expenses, deadlines (more on these in a bit), and exclusions. Some companies offer per-book pricing that encompasses all these elements and more.

2. Are there any costs for which the school is responsible?

We believe the yearbook shouldn’t cost schools a single penny. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Traditional yearbook companies often burden schools with additional expenses.

Explore options that remove schools from the financial equation completely (except for the ability to earn money - see number eight!). Treering, for instance, adopts an all-inclusive, per-book pricing model. Families handle online purchases, and schools stick to the fun part - designing a beautiful book.

3. How user-friendly and powerful is the yearbook software?

Effective yearbook publishing software should be user-friendly and collaborative, facilitating the quick design of beautiful pages. Seek platforms with professionally curated templates, InDesign compatibility, unlimited photo storage, and seamless integration with popular services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and social media platforms.

Request a live demonstration to gauge the software's capabilities. See how to add and move a page in the yearbook, whether portrait pages auto-adjust when roster changes arise and what system they provide to help you collect and organize photos. Even better, request a free trial and explore the features for yourself.

4. How are each student's memories captured in their copy of the yearbook?

Raise your hand if you were ever disappointed when opening your yearbook because you were only featured once or twice.

Treering believes every child deserves to see personal memories in their own custom yearbook. In today’s world, where children have photos documenting their entire lives, it would be wonderful to include these unique memories in their individual copies of the yearbook.

5. Are you locked into a specific quantity of yearbooks?

One of the reasons traditional yearbook companies still use printing presses is because they’ve invested a good deal of money in them, resulting in a revenue model strongly favoring the publisher.

With this model, schools must commit to a certain number of books in advance. If you predict incorrectly, you’re either stuck with costly leftovers or you have students who can’t purchase a book. One of the benefits of Treering’s flexibility is that you don’t have to take this gamble.

6. How many deadlines does your yearbook company require?

Streamline the yearbook creation process by focusing on a single deadline—the day the book needs to be print-ready. Treering empowers editors to control and change this date at any time without incurring fees.

7. What's the turnaround time?

A yearbook publisher using digital, on-demand printing technology and domestic printers can guarantee that your yearbook will arrive within three weeks of clicking the print-ready button, allowing you to document more of the school year.

Ask about inclusive pricing that includes bulk shipping to the school and custom presorting for easy distribution. (Bonus if they provide a free, printed proof so you can ensure your final product is perfect before it goes to print!)

8. Can I raise money with the yearbook?

The yearbook can be a great way to raise money for essential areas like technology and supplies. With traditional yearbook companies, these fundraising dollars often go to paying a yearbook invoice instead.

If you add a fundraiser to the core price of your yearbook, you’ll want to make sure your school -  not your yearbook company - receives those funds.

9. What is the cost and level of support you'll receive?

Many yearbook companies will provide you with a local rep, which can be great if that person is readily available anytime you need them. Everyone edits their yearbook at different times, and you'll want someone who works on your schedule.

Make sure you’ll have help when and how you need it, see if they charge for different levels of support, and ensure you’ll have free access to help videos, training events, and articles.

10. How is the yearbook print quality?

Request a sample so you can see their print quality for yourself. Don’t worry; you don’t need to be an expert to judge the quality.

First, do the “see-through test.” Hold up a page - can you see through it? You’ll be able to easily see images from the other side of the page if the paper is less than 100lb. Next, do the “pull test.” Grab a page in the middle of the book and bounce the book up and down. Does the page rip or pull out? Finally, do the “fade test.” Leave the book out in the sun for a day. Does the cover start to fade? If it’s not UV-coated, it might.

Materials matter. Your yearbook not only holds the memories of the school year, but it’s something people hold onto for a lifetime - and should last that long.

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

Uncertainty. That was the word of the year in 2020. Just two weeks before the school year began, Emily Wilson unexpectedly stepped into the role of yearbook advisor.

At the time, Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy (CSPA) was one of the few in the area offering both in-person and virtual classes. Like many, they faced challenges: masked students and staff, strict social distancing, limited outside visitors, and restricted volunteer involvement. These constraints forced a complete reevaluation of traditional yearbook creation methods.

To meet these challenges, the school switched to Treering, drawn by its intuitive software, online support, and the ability to crowdsource photography—a feature that became essential with reduced staff and student participation. Now, five years later, the school is producing its fifth yearbook using Treering.

How did you become the Yearbook Adviser?

Before becoming the yearbook advisor, my career focused primarily on teaching English, literature, and creative writing. Journalism and yearbook production were never areas where I expected to excel, but I always admired our previous advisor for the award-winning program she built. Her accolades still hang in our hallway, a constant reminder that there is always room to grow. Over the years, I’ve gained confidence as an advisor, building relationships with our student staff, and producing yearbooks we’re proud of. The experience has been transformative for both me and my students.

How has your involvement with your state’s journalism association impacted your skills and opportunities in the field?

In 2022, I was honored when the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) invited me to serve as a judge for their yearbook competition. It was a valuable opportunity to see what award-winning yearbooks looked like up close and personal, and it gave me insights into how our own yearbook could evolve. To my surprise, we were much closer to hitting the mark than I had anticipated. That experience gave me the courage to submit our book for critique, and we anxiously awaited feedback from MIPA.

After three long months, the results came in: we had earned a Bronze award for our 2024 yearbook, with a commendation for excellence in photography. The recognition was a testament to my students’ hard work and dedication. But what stood out most to me was their reaction. Rather than getting too comfortable with their achievement, students immediately started thinking about ways to improve for next year.

One of my editors-in-chief said, “We were only 47 points away from earning a Silver Medal,” and immediately began brainstorming ways to improve. That mindset—that focus on what we can achieve next—is what makes this journey so rewarding.

Let’s talk about that critique. How did it benefit your team?

One of the most valuable aspects of submitting our yearbook for critique is the detailed feedback we receive, which helps us grow. We are focusing on a unifying concept and improving coverage.

To be more competitive, we need to create more original graphics and artwork for the yearbook rather than relying on pre-made designs. Fortunately, Treering’s platform makes this process straightforward. For instance, last year, one of our International Baccalaureate Art students designed the cover art, which we seamlessly integrated as the background for the cover.

Additionally, we learned that carrying the theme throughout the book is essential—right down to the headlines and titles. Last year’s theme was “Our Stories,” but we could have done more to tie the theme together by using idioms or expressions related to storytelling across different sections of the book.

Design consistency is one of the easiest ways to make a bigger impact. MIPA suggested that we choose one unifying style for the entire book—colors, patterns, and layouts should be consistent throughout. This allows us to maintain a cohesive aesthetic while allowing for flexibility in layout design.

While we did a solid job covering our school’s 11 non-athletic clubs and 17 athletic teams, we need to focus more on individual stories—highlighting specific student achievements and weaving in features that reflect the times, like the cost of living. We’re also working on improving our balance of academic content; as MIPA pointed out, “Not every student is in a club or plays a sport, but every student sits in a desk in class.”

What is your area of strength?

We were thrilled to receive commendations for our photography, an area where we truly excel. Our focus on candid photos and capturing moments of excitement paid off. Moving forward, we’ll continue to refine our photography skills, paying more attention to cropping, editing, and ensuring that photo credits are included on every image.

What will be your focus this year?

Writing is where we have the most room for improvement. Every photo needs a caption, and those captions should follow journalistic writing standards—using active voice, varied sentence structures, and avoiding overly descriptive language like “is running” or “is playing.”

We also need to use secondary headlines to draw readers in and provide additional context. The critique also reminded me that, as an English teacher, I’ve been teaching students to write like English students, not like journalists. This is an area where I plan to invest more time, learning more about journalism standards so we can elevate our writing to meet those expectations.

What is the role of a yearbook adviser at CSPA?

Our yearbook, “The Sentinel,” is a labor of love produced by a small but dedicated team. I advise a staff of four students. We serve a high school with approximately 320 students. Every year, we produce a 150-page yearbook that covers everything from the start of school through prom, delivering it to students during the last week of school.

Additionally, we create a 28-30 page supplemental softcover book for the senior class, which includes coverage of senior-specific events like Senior Sunrise, Senior Awards, and Graduation. This supplement also features graduation speeches and letters from teachers to the graduating class. Design-wise, it complements the theme of the main yearbook. We print the student commencement speech in this supplement.

To bring our yearbook to life, we rely on a combination of Treering’s software, Canva, and Adobe Lightroom. Our resources are modest—one laptop, one large monitor, and two Rebel cameras—but we make the most of what we have. Fundraising through Treering has helped us pay for essentials like new camera lenses, a journalism camp for our editors, and lighting equipment for portrait photography. This year, our goal is to raise enough money for a new camera and upgraded lenses to continue improving the quality of our work.

What’s next for “The Sentinel?”

As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue improving. We’re going to hang our Bronze Medal plaque on the wall as a reminder of how far we’ve come, but our eyes are already set on the next challenge. We’ll keep pushing ourselves to tell more meaningful stories, refine our writing, and produce a yearbook that our school can be proud of. Ultimately, it’s not just about winning awards but about creating something our students, staff, and community will cherish for years.

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Whether you’re excited to get the kids out of the house and into the classroom or kind of dreading the hussle that back-to-school season brings, another year is here! Fear not, we’ve got your yearbook back, cover, custom pages, and everything in between. We’re a yearbook company after all! The first six weeks of school are the best time to set up your yearbook for success.

This might sound overwhelming given you already have to absorb a million new routines, teachers, rules, and other back-to-school rituals, so we’ve simplified it to 5 simple steps to yearbook success this school year.

Set the Yearbook’s Tone: Enthusiasm is Contagious

The first six weeks of school are when everyone is ready to take photos. Welcome back Moma-razzi! It’s a new year, with new friends, new teachers, and new pencils. Bringing this energy into the yearbook can set the tone for the entire year (with rough patches, obviously. We’re all human). The more excited you are to start the book, take and collect photos, the more excited everyone around you will be. Enthusiasm is contagious and engagement is demonstrated by leaders. If the yearbook editor and/or committee is excited, then it’s way more likely everyone else will join in.

Be in the Know: Reboot Your Inner Gossip Girl

Ok so maybe not exactly like the Gossip Girl reboot, but you get the idea. If you’re editing the yearbook, this is the time to know what’s going on. Since most yearbooks show the year in chronological order, be prepared for the first day of school photo opportunities like the car line, opening assembly, and bus drop-offs. You can even reach out to teachers (who are yearbook editors’ best friends) and try to either get inside a couple classrooms for first-day activities or ask them to share all the amazing photos from the day.

You’ll want to know all the back-to-school plans from the school —including the PTA calendar of events. Once you’re in the know, you can work with other parents and/or teachers to take some photos so you don’t feel like you have to be everywhere. If you’re working with students in yearbook creation, make sure you’re in the know about what you’re going to be teaching. Treering has a free curriculum and Adviser Handbook to help.

K.I.S.S.: Keep it Simple Silly

Alright, you’re excited and you know what’s going on the first day of school! You’re almost ready for a fantastic year of yearbooking fun, but we highly recommend getting ready for yearbook by setting up an easy photo system for contributors, whether they are coming from teachers, parents or students. Yearbook can be hard and stressful, so that’s why setting up a system where parents can upload pictures, like a Google Drive, or using a hashtag that’s specific to your school can be beneficial. By using a hashtag, you can tell parents that if they use it, it gives yearbook staff permission to use the photo. This can really take some of the burden off. Your unique hashtag can help you categorize the photos, and, since we’re all on social media these days, possibly get more photos than past years.

Another easy system to think about: Set up a regular posting cadence on the parent Facebook page, PTA group or the school’s main social media to encourage anyone with great photos to submit to the yearbook. Setting a realistic schedule up front makes it easier to stick to, and contributors get used to hearing from you. Starting a bi-weekly schedule up front instead of reaching out after the first six weeks of school will likely result in more photos. After all, it’s a lot less intimidating to send a couple photos at a time versus the “photo dump” some parents or teachers may have from the first six weeks.

Pay Attention to Your Yearbook Provider: They’re Your Friends

Pay attention to “getting started” emails from your trusty yearbook company friends. The friendly yearbook companies – the ones with excellent customer service, not to name any names – will help you get your yearbook started, you just have to pay attention. Keep an eye out for email blasts to help kick off yearbook creation by walking advisers through back-end aspects of yearbooking. (Yes, it IS a verb!) Depending on what you’re looking for, you can get a mini-course on how to create a yearbook, more advanced design resources, marketing assistance and more. For a #MarketingMoment, brainstorm with your yearbook team on capturing your theme in your group photo. For example, if your theme is an anniversary book, you may want to photograph each member with a past yearbook. Another #MarketingMoment idea: Hype up your last yearbook to the PTA, students and teachers, and sprinkle in all the new plans you have for the first six weeks to build excitement!

Find Your Yearbook Crew: Even if it’s Just One Other Parent

Finding someone that can help you manage shot lists, reach out to teachers and come up with ideas is so important. As you know, and it bears repeating, yearbook is a lot, but it’s also a treasure for kids growing up. That’s what’s most important and what makes getting involved so worth it.

Food-for-thought on where and how to get involved:

Get in with the teachers. Classrooms can become like second homes to students, and their teacher is always there – that’s why they’re your best friend for photos. Ask to bring food and drinks to a staff meeting in exchange for 15 minutes to talk about the yearbook. Give teachers and administrators easy blurbs, talking points and material about the yearbook to include all of their back to school communications. There are some teachers who will not allow us to pull kids for interviews EVER, and some who prefer the first or last 15 minutes of class, so be prepared.

Start a “gotcha!” list. Using the early enrollment roster from the front office, make a card for each student with their name and grade. Once a week or so, go through your coverage report/index and mark off the students you’ve captured. Set a goal to interview or photograph every student at least three times with questions of the day or activities they’re involved in.

Celebrate! Set easy wins to give yourself, your crew, the PTA or school a reason to celebrate. Oh, you received 50 photos from the first day? BAM! Let’s go get dinner. This classroom submitted the most photos after the first six weeks of school? BAM! Reward that teacher and students with a little prize. Even small milestones deserve a celebration, and each celebration will motivate more people to participate.

Have questions on how to start building a better yearbook? Check out our Help Center for customer support.

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