Email Marketing for Alumni Programs and Campus Partners

Suzanne Clark, Miami UniversityAssistant Director, Electronic Communications

& Social Media

Topics• Creating and distributing communication

pieces while maintaining the integrity of our email lists;

• Providing statistics for open rates and click-through results to use for future emails;

• Recommendations on best practices.

Our Motivation• Departments/Areas want to send emails to

alumni.– We know about your rogue databases and we won’t

help you build them!– We will help you communicate with them by sending

the information for you.– We want to keep good relationships with our campus

partners

• Good customer service for our Internal partners – Alumni and Development Offices

Getting started• Email usage policy

• Email procedures

• Email request forms

• Or contact us!

Meeting with our partners• Partners within and outside of our

division

• We have lots of great ideas!

• We will help as much as we can!

• They have lots of choices!

Email details• Who will the email be sent from (name

and email)?

• Who will be the point person for the project, providing final approval?

• Who do you want to receive the email?

Distribution Lists• Alumni audience should be as

specific as possible

• Additional emails can be included

Design• Provide a simple email template

matching their web presence

• Newsletters can be within or linked from the email

Content• All content (text and images) due

five business days prior to sending

– Text should be minimal, linking to full details online.

– Images should be relevant.

• Define the goal of the message

• Message content– Don’t overload

with too much information

– State key purpose up front– Provide a call to action– Provide something to click on– Use your logo

Keep it Relevant

Personalization• Tokens• Role-based text

Tied directly to individual record:• Forward to a friend• Unsubscribe footer

Approval Process• One point person

• Unlimited changes to content

• Email is not sent without final approval in writing

Best Practices• Subjects: no more than 40 characters

• The top 400 pixels-most important content

• Top image no more than 120 pixels high.

• Keep number/size of images within email to a minimum.

• Evaluate the day/time with the best open rate

Subjects Matter!• Entice people to open the email

• Should be relevant

• Subjects should have a verb

Subject Line Do’s & Don’ts

It’s okay to…1. Reference location2. Use questions3. Be brief4. Convey Urgency5. Make “from” clear6. Be specific7. Include call to action

It’s not okay to…8. Use special

characters (%, #, *, etc.)

9. Include numbers10.Use all caps11.Include first name12.Ask for help

Internal Responsibilities• Schedule communications thoughtfully• Develop publications calendar• Provide follow-up using statistics• Integrate with social media• Consider mobile readers• Final review checklist

Checklist From Line – How people recognize you. Subject Line – Gets your email opened.� Preheader text (Secondary Subject Line)� Image Alt Text� Balance of Images & Text – 80/20 rule� Copy –Break up into small chunks� CTAs (Calls to Action)� Length – Start short and link to website� TOC – Use a Table of Contents�

Checklist (continued) Scanability – Bullets, short chunks of copy, headlines and �

subheads. Links – Lead readers to more content� Text links vs. Button Links� Forward to a Friend Links� Social Media “Badges” and Links� Social Sharing� Facebook Like Button� Check Links� Proof Read� Preview In Multiple Email Readers�

Followup with Email Stats

• Messages Sent• Message Kickbacks• Delivery Rate• Message Opens• Clicks• Unique Clicks• Unique Click Rate• Link Clicks within email• Unique Link Clicks within email

Questions?Contact me at 513/529-6024Or suzanne.clark@miamioh.edu

Resources• MU Advancement Services Email Usage Policy• MU Advancement Services Email Request Proc

edures• MU Advancement Email Request Form