If your site isn’t growing as fast as you’d like, or if your visitor numbers aren’t soaring, or your online donations aren’t piling up, consider the following . . .
| Great Ideas
Admin Service – available at an extra cost should you not have anyone to administer your site. Referral Program – can reduce your cost up to 80% by telling your colleagues of our service. Data Import – can take your existing membership list and import it into your new site so all your data is in one place. Online Payments – will allow you to accept payment for donations, tickets sales and merchandising opportunities.
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Two of the most important aspects of alumni relations are “communication” and “content“. Over the years we found that you need to communicate to your members at least 5x/year, or perhaps once per month, depending on your needs, your news and what’s happening. You also need to make sure there is information on your web site that will attract and retain alumni interest.
Alumni want to hear what’s happening at your organization, goings-on with other alumni, alumni profiles, construction updates, event details, and how they can get involved (either monetarily or voluntarily).
You need to communicate often enough to keep members coming back to the site. Here’s a schedule that works well for alumni e-newsletters, which you can send via your web site by class, or to your entire membership:
- September 15 – after all younger alumni have started school, or older alumni have settled into new homes
- November 15 – before the Thanksgiving and religious holidays; before some younger alumni leave their universities/colleges
- February 15 – after holiday message; younger alumni are back to school
- May 1 – Spring message before Summer; before seniors graduate, leave their schools, and change their e-mails
- July 15 – mid-summer; younger alumni may have new e-mails with their new jobs; United States Fourth of July holidays are over
To attract alumni back to your site, use “teasers” (reference items, news, etc. in your newsletter), but then give complete detail on your site.
Finally, these sample topics may be of some help when planning your next newsletter:
- Alumni News
- School / District Updates
- Upcoming Events and Important Dates (school and alumni)
- Reminder to Update Profile
- Reminder to Tell Friends and Family (about the site)
- Site and Alumni Association Statistics (number of members, growth since last news)
- Special Features
- Needs and Wants
- How to Donate / Donation Information / Giving Back
- Alumni Notes / Alumni in the News
For more ideas on how to make the most of your site, ask for a copy of our “Success Plan” with tips on setting up your site, conducting a kick-off meeting, launching and promoting your site, giving reunion planning assistance, and creating your own alumni activities/events.