Creating Content for Alumni Newsletters

Following up on our last post about how frequently to send out alumni newsletters, we’re going to discuss what to include in alumni newsletters. For many alumni, especially those that no longer live near your chapter, the newsletter is their only method of involvement. The decision of what to include in a newsletter is even more important considering some alumni will just glance at a few sections of the newsletter, and dismiss it entirely if the content they happen to browse isn’t something that interests them.

Alumni like to hear about other alumni. Did someone get married or have a kid? Earn a big promotion? Start a successful business? Perhaps an alumnus achieved national recognition in a sport or hobby. Alumni feel like they relate to other alumni, so reading about their peers is interesting.

Alumni want to hear about things they remember from their time in the chapter. Thursday night’s party is nothing special, and not worth writing about. On the other hand, Polynesian Party 09, the one your chapter has every year and spends $10k and 2 weeks preparing for, is exciting to alumni because they remember how much fun they had when they were an active member. On the same token, if your chapter has been historically strong in homecoming’s karaoke competition, alumni are likely to want to hear about this year’s event since they remember enjoying that activity when they were in school.

Newsletters should also include events that alumni might be able to attend. They aren’t going to want to attend a weeknight party, but things such as founder’s day, homecoming, and brotherhood retreat are all activities alumni may participate in. Invite alumni out as much as possible. Can you do a monthly alumni night at the meal plan? Events like this are excellent because it costs very little to add a few extra plates for alumni, and there’s no loss if none show up.

A successful alumni relations program is important to any Greek organization. See how GoZuus alumni newsletters can help out your chapter’s alumni relations program.