This goodbye is a month late. With shelter-in-place orders and temporary shutdowns, we were in a holding pattern for a while. But, now with the plant back at full speed and books being delivered daily, it’s time to wrap up this crazy, unusual year.
Normally, in this final Tuesday Tip of the year we’d remind you of all the last-minute things to do and encourage you to relax into summer. Alas, as you’re well aware, this year is a little different. Although for comfort’s sake, we do have a few typical reminders. Here we go!
Set up your auto-reply message.
Bless technology and the ability to create an email auto-reply message. With later-than-normal distributions, this is a prime chance to address questions about picking up books and extras. Here’s a sampling of auto replies if you need guidance. Also, the auto-reply message is another chance to remind buyers the book is a student publication that will have mistakes.
Attend a workshop.
Although you might be Zoomed out, a summer workshop could be just the thing to get your students ready for 2021. And the beauty of virtual workshops this summer is you can attend anywhere in the country! The Balfour Southern California office will host their annual Ignite Yearbook University online, offering instruction and software training, July 21-23 and mentoring, design, writing and photo assignments, July 27-30 (Registration ends Friday, July 3). The Balfour Florida office also switched to a virtual yearbook seminar, July 21-23. The Houston office will offer a one-day workshop, July 31. All three workshops will offer training in writing, photography, theme and coverage with an emphasis on how to manage 2021 publications. Both the Florida and Houston workshops are free.. If you live in northwest Texas, you can attend the Lubbock office’s in-person workshop, July 28-29.
In addition, we’ve moved Amplify, our 2020 Adviser Training, to an online event, July 28-30. We’re offering more than 50 virtual sessions on writing, design, photography, coverage and more. We’ll also address yearbook-related concerns in a socially distant world—motivating students, restructuring staffs, how books will look different and how to gather content in a virtual setting. We hope you’ll join us.
Submit your book.
Before completely packing up for the year, take a moment to submit your book for evaluation. Critiques are a valued tool for assessing the book and recognizing places for improvement. We recommend joining your state’s journalism organization and consider also becoming members of CSPA and/or NSPA. In addition, consider submitting your yearbook for competition. State and national organizations offer individual contests as well as for the overall book. Awards are a nice resume boost for staffers and PR boost for the program.
And now it’s time to say goodbye…
Together, we’ve endured a crazy, unprecedented year. We’re now going to socially distance ourselves for a while. We’ll be back in August with additional ideas, ready to embrace the challenges for 2021. (You can always catch up on previous blogs and reach us on the Balfour Advisers Facebook group or Twitter.)
In the meantime, we hope you’ll take some time to refresh and enjoy what’s left of summer. You’ve earned it.
