Email Request Program
Benefits of the Email Request Program
One of the issues we have consistently heard from our club network is that email newsletter communications are very taxing and lead to volunteer burnout. Additionally, as data privacy has changed, the university is responsible for protecting alumni and student data. The MSU Alumni Office will no longer be able to provide data to alumni clubs.
To address this, we have been working with our staff, campus partners and club leaders to implement a solution to support the communication needs of our alumni club network. There are several positive outcomes for alumni clubs as our office will take on the responsibility of building communications for your alumni club and will create and maintain club websites!
This process improves communications for our alumni clubs in many ways, including the following:
- Decreasing time spent by club leaders on the logistics of building and sending an email, freeing up more time to focus on the content and your club's activities.
- Improving email quality through professional copy-editing and design assistance.
- Improving email performance and club engagement.
- Maintaining MSU brand standards in all communications.
- Adhering to strong data practices.
How Do I Submit Our Email Request?
- Submit a request. Simply fill out the survey.
- Allow four full business days for your email to be built. Giving us four business days ensures that we have enough time to create your email. For example, if you need an email to go out on a Friday, the request should be submitted by 11 a.m. EST that Monday.
- Review the Preview. If you have given us four full business days, we will send an email preview at least one business day before the requested send date. Please reply with any feedback, and we will make any adjustments, if needed, within a business day. When you approve your preview, we will schedule the email.
What Do the Emails Look Like?
We've created an email template for our alumni clubs that is modern, clean and — most importantly — full of Spartan Spirit! These templates are cohesive (so that any MSU alumni moving from one city to another will recognize that it is an alumni club email) while still allowing for club personalization through photos, graphics and text.
Who Will Be Included In Our Emails?
Beginning on July 1, 2022, we will include the following audiences in your geographic region: MSU alumni, current parents, retired faculty/staff and friends (anyone in our database who has made a gift in the last ten years). This will allow your club to further expand its reach to additional audiences that may be interested in connecting with your alumni club. We also have the ability to add current students as needed (summer picnics and service projects, for instance).
In addition, we will create a form where anyone interested in receiving your email communications can sign up to be included. If you are new to the Email Request Program and have previously been using Mailchimp, we recommend exporting both your subscribers and unsubscribes and sending them to us at myalumni@msu.edu. That way, we can ensure that anyone who has been receiving your email continues to receive it, and anyone who has indicated that they do not want to receive emails will be removed. Here are instructions for exporting your data from Mailchimp.
Next Steps for Alumni Clubs New to the Email Request Program
Next Steps for All Alumni Clubs
- Club president to read and sign Memorandum of Understanding.
- Start submitting Email Requests!
Resources