Increasing email list reach

Evanne Montoya

Ideally, every family would have access to the information they need to help their student succeed. Increasing access to your email updates is one way to increase access to this information. However, when not every family member will sign up for orientation or visit campus, it can be difficult accomplish. Here are some of our best suggestions, what other ideas or constraints do you have?

Create a place to sign up on your website

Most email servers allow you to create a sign up form that can then be embedded on a web page. Make sure you have a prominent call to action on your site that gives access to the email sign up. Sometimes it helps to tell your viewer directly what they would receive and why that would be helpful. For example: “Sign up for monthly updates including important deadlines, information about key campus resources, and invitations to campus events.”

Bring a tablet to events to allow parents to sign up directly

If you have a website sign up form, bring a tablet or several to events and have the sign up page pulled up. A clipboard and list will work also, but having parents sign up directly online saves your team from transcribing information and having to decipher handwriting.

Send an appeal to students

Most universities have the ability to send students updates. At key times (such as before Family Weekend), send an announcement to students encouraging them to forward the email to a parent. Include a link to your email sign up.

Evanne Montoya

Read more by Evanne Montoya

Evanne Montoya is the production manager at CollegiateParent where she has worked with universities to create parent support materials for four years. She graduated from Whitworth University in 2013 with a double major in Journalism and Spanish. Evanne brings her recent college experience, along with her relationships with Parent and Family Program Professionals, to her writing for CollegiateParent.