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Most fraternity alumni newsletters are pretty lame, especially those that are written and assembled by undergraduates. We haven't done a good job of telling you what we want to read. I want to offer you some practical advice on what makes an alumni newsletter excellent.
First, let's talk about student news. The biggest mistake students make when producing an alumni newsletter is thinking that alumni want to read four pages of columns by student officers about the life of the chapter. I know it's confusing, but I really only want a little bit of this, and I really only want to hear the positive stuff: the awards, the great recruitment numbers, the sports victories, the student members who have been elected to important student leadership positions. Show me you're doing worthy things. Otherwise, I probably don't care. You don't have to describe every single thing you've done this year, and you sure don't have to give me endless paragraphs badly written by chapter officers. Skip telling me how great your parties were. Honestly, if the entire newsletter has 20-percent or less of this sort of stuff, that's fine by me.
So, here are some ideas of what the other 80-percent should be:
Alumni Updates. This is the stuff I care most about. Tell me what my contemporaries are doing. Where are they working? What are their positions? Where do they live? Do they have children? How many and how old are they? What are their email addresses so I can reach out to them? You should assume that I'm completely out of touch with my brothers, and I'm dying for all the fun little nuggets of information you can give me.
Photos. Give me photos of what my brothers look like now (I'm dying to see how old and fat they've gotten!). Get a family photo if possible so I can see if their kids are cute or homely. Show me some pictures from the last alumni event, and encourage brothers to send pictures of the last time they hung out with another brother. Maybe even run some old photos from 10, 20, 30 years ago. Those old photos are a blast to look at, and they bring back great memories.
Wish List. Tell me the 5-10 things that the chapter is wishing for. Need a computer? Need a new sidewalk? And, let me know who I should contact if I can help line up a donation, or if I want to write a check. You'd be shocked how much cool stuff your alumni can get for you if you just make a point of letting them know what you need. Plus, I'm more likely to contribute some money if you show me some good things you plan to spend the money on. I would never contribute to a new bar for the party room, but I would probably donate for a scholarship, new ritual equipment, or to the renovation of the chapter room.
Campus News. Give me just a little bit of this. I'm interested to know if new buildings have been built on campus. Give me a picture of the new library, student center, or rec center. Or, show me the new fraternity house that was built down the street from ours. Tell me which chapters have closed and which new ones have expanded on campus in the last year. Make me feel a little bit connected to the college or the university, because chances are I'm pretty out of touch.
Articles by Alumni. I'd rather read something fun or amusing written by an alumnus than something earnest written by a student. Sorry, but that's the truth. Get alumni to write articles, and you'll boost readership.
Important Dates. The more notice you give me about Homecoming, the better the chance I can plan to be there. It's never too early. List important events for next school year. When you send an alumni newsletter three weeks before Homecoming promoting events, it's too late. I can't be there. You should have told me four months ago.
Current Contact Information. Make sure you always print the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of the chapter president, the chapter advisor, the campus Greek Advisor, the alumni association or club president, the housing corporation president, and any other leaders I might want to reach. If your chapter has a well-maintained website, tell me that also. If you don't maintain it, don't bother telling me about it.
Some National Information. When is convention? Where is it? Who donated last year to the fraternity's foundation? It's easy to get some of this stuff from your national headquarters.
The truth is that the best alumni newsletters have strong alumni involvement. As a student, you can help assemble it, print it, and distribute it. But, when it comes to content, alumni know how to write things that other alumni want to read. If you're a new group that doesn't have many alumni, ask for help from your fraternity's alumni affairs director.
