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Campus Partner Communications

Communicating with alumni is important for not only your department/college, but for the entire University as a whole. There are many great vehicles available for communicating with alumni. These vehicles are ways to promote an upcoming event/program or highlight a particular faculty member, alumnus, or student. Don't forget to include a giving message in all communications.

Potential communication vehicles include:

News

Found online at News.IllinoisState.edu, News is the home for articles, events, and digital media from all around the Illinois State community. This one is a great avenue to do exactly as the title says, share your news. These stories could be about a recent or upcoming event, notable accomplishments by students or alumni, or a new milestone for your department. Everyone has a story to tell, here is your chance to let it be heard.

Also, anything that you want to be included in your College e-newsletter needs to be entered into News as well.

To get started, contact your appropriate College/Department contacts:

Timeline: Individual posts can have a quick turnaround. In order to be included in that month's e-newsletter (General or College) the story needs to be submitted by the 15th.

Monthly General Alumni e-newsletter

Sent on the last Wednesday of every month (except July and December), an electronic newsletter is sent to alumnus for whom the University has an email address. One newsletter is sent to all general alumni. Another newsletter is segmented by college and the content is customized accordingly to the college's targeted alumni audience (Ex: College of Business e-newsletter is sent to all College of Business alumni with an email reported).

The Alumni E-Newsletter is a great way to showcase accomplishments and news about alumni and current students.

All content for the monthly newsletters is fed by features in News.

Be sure to submit through your News content coordinator for easy submission to the newsletter.

Illinois State Magazine “Class Notes”

The Illinois State Magazine is mailed three times a year (spring, summer, winter) to the University’s alumni, donors, and friends that have opted to receive it. Alumni can also select to receive an online version of each edition rather than the printed piece. Features in the magazine are tailored to appeal to all alumni, not just one specific college/department.

Within the magazine, the “Class Notes” section is a great way to include a larger feature on students/alumni or highlight smaller accomplishments (new jobs, marriages, etc.).

Print Mailings

While email and social media can be a great way to reach alumni, sometimes the best way to reach your alumni is with tried and true direct mailings. Combining your message with an effective design, alumni and friends will find this printed piece in their mailbox with all the information they’ll need.

For the best results, a slightly longer timetable is needed for direct mail pieces. Get started now!

Relay Emails

Best way to send a mass email to alumni and friends. These can be targeted to a certain demographic (age, location, etc.), affinity group, organization, and more. The emails can be used to promote an upcoming event on or off campus with appropriate links for registration or even more information.

Get started with Relay emails.

2023-03-01T11:29:37.970181-08:00 2023