[Editors] Get Real, Get Read: Producing a Magazine Your Alumni Will Read, CASE webcast follow up

[Melanie Miller]

Hi fellow editors,
At the December meeting, I mentioned a CASE alumni magazine-centric webcast I was going to attend. It was fine, but I actually find more interesting this follow-up Q/A I just got.

Good answers if you'd like opinions about the best way to engage readers:
http://gcfonline.com/presentations/magcaseoss/

Thanks,
Melanie
_________________________
Melanie L. Miller
Communications and Development

Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 66-369
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA
T 617.253.6500, F 617.258.8992, E melmils[at]mit.edu
web.mit.edu/cheme/
Facebook: MITChemEng, Twitter: MITChemE



From: Robin Feldman [mailto:feldman at case.org]
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 2:30 PM
To: Robin Feldman
Subject: Q&A, Get Real, Get Read: Producing a Magazine Your Alumni Will Read, CASE webcast follow up

You asked, and we answered.

A number of questions were submitted online during our CASE Online Speaker Series video webcast, "Get Real, Get Read: Producing a Magazine Your Alumni Will Read" last month.

We tried to answer as many of the questions as we could, and here are the answers. Contributors include Betsy Winter Hall, Temple University; Tina Hay, Penn State; Michael B. Shavelson, Columbia University; and Brenda Foster, Greatest Creative Factor. Visit this url: http://gcfonline.com/presentations/magcaseoss/ to see the answers to these questions.


General
* What are the strengths and weaknesses of theme-based issues? How effective are thematic editions?
* What are some specific things that you can do in print that you can't do otherwise?
* Is there any data on the "less than 4 x a year" means less reader connection and benefit assertion?
* What are your thoughts on putting paid advertising in the magazine?
* I am producing a 40-page magazine that really can only come out once a year for a small independent day school. Is there one particular season that stands out to hit their in-home mailbox for optimal chance of being read?
* What tools do you use to gauge readership?
* Someone asked earlier what the difference between a newsletter and a magazine is, and I'd like to hear the panelists' thoughts on this.

Content
* Is there a difference in editorial freedom between University funded magazines and alumni association funded magazines?
* Can you provide some examples of compelling stories that will draw in readers? What content is the most engaging and attractive to readers of alumni magazines?
* What role does recruiting new students play in determining content?
* Should every story you print be considered a feature story, or do you try to balance those with shorter pieces?
* If you've never included "Class Notes" in your magazine, what would be the reason to do so?
* How do you convince administration to take risks with magazine content and design?

Technology
* Have you seen any college magazine apps developed that are more than page-turners?  These apps may be interactive and incorporate video, photo slide shows and audio.
* Are you familiar with any successful university magazines that are now available apps for mobile devices?
* In this Facebook age where people share baby photos freely it seems, do magazine editors gather photos the old fashioned way and wait for people to mail them or do you feel okay peeling them off their personal sites?
* Do you incorporate QR codes or another form of technology to integrate an online component in your print publications? If so, how do you utilize them (e.g., sending them to the alumni page on your website)?
* I'm hearing personal anecdotes about why you think online page-turner magazines don't work. Do you have data that backs up this assertion?
* Do you recommend having your publication available in print and online? Is there an argument for having it only available online?
* Should some content from the alumni magazine be online for free? All the content? None of it?

Fundraising
* How much should fundraising appeals be a part of the magazine?
* The vast majority of our philanthropic gifts come from our alumnae and our parent giving is below average. With these dynamics, how would you suggest we position our magazine? Who should our target audience(s) be and how should we address them?
* Instead of full donor profiles, how do you feel about mini profiles in an ad?




Robin Feldman
Director of Online Education<http://www.case.org/x30.xml?view=all&Location=253>
Council for Advancement and Support of Education
202.478.5671
feldman at case.org<mailto:feldman at case.org>



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