Email

As you might know, I conducted an online survey a couple of months ago to assess the state of print and electronic publications in higher ed.

This was an updated version of a previous survey I did in the summer of 2007.

A total of 198 professionals working in institutions representing more than 2.3 million students completed this survey from January 29 to February 17, 2009.

The survey was completed by people working in marketing/communications (66%), web (7%) and other offices. 38% of the respondents indicated working in private non-profit 4-year colleges, 42% in 4-year public colleges and 6% in public 2-year colleges. The average student population across the data amounts to 11,936 students vs. 15,405 in 2007.

I’ve shared the 7-page executive summary with the respondents, but thought you might all be interested in the following high level findings:

There is a significant budgetary shift towards electronic publications: institutions with growing electronic budgets outnumber those with growing print budgets in the last 2 years— 42% responding note increasing electronic publications budgets while the same is true for only 27% of print. Note that in 2007 the percentages were 44% and 36%, respectively.

82% of survey respondents (vs 77% in 2007) state that their institutions are relying more on electronic publications (Web, blog, email, PDF, RSS, etc) to reduce the budget of print publications.

While the majority of the publications produced by surveyed institutions are primarily available in both print and electronic formats, there is a significant trend across most publications to have them in electronic format only.

• The main publication types showing this trend are: Newsletter (43% vs 29% in 2007), Press Kits (21% vs 10%), Financial Aid Handbook (19% vs 8%) and Student Handbook (25% vs 18%).
• Viewbook (40% print only) remains the only publication primarily available in print only. The Annual Report (34%) and the Admission/Search Brochure (31%) also show significant print only percentages.

Just like the 2007 survey showed, news-oriented publications as well as publications targeted to current students are the most transferable ones to electronic only according to survey respondents, and publications targeted to donors and alums as well as admissions marketing pieces seem to be the least transferable. However, for most publications, except Viewbook, there are on average 8% more respondents who think they can be transferred to electronic only.

40% of respondents on average across all publications types have started moving towards replacing print publications with electronic publications. This trend is most pronounced for Campus News (64%), Campus Calendar of Events (57%) and Newsletters (55%)

If you’d like to get a copy of the 7-page executive summary including charts, just post a comment below. I’ll email everybody early next week.

Whether it’s for the website, your social media initiatives or your email campaign, measurement and return on investment (ROI) have never been as important as they are today in higher education — for a good reason:

Shrinking budgets call for a better (re)allocation of your resources (money, staff and time).

While anybody can (think you can’t? yes, you can) set up Google Analytics on a website, making sense of all the collected data is actually a science and an art at the same time. But, it doesn’t take a 4-year degree to make sense of this data IF you get a chance to listen to some of the most passionate users of web and email analytics in higher ed.

Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth College), Shelby Thayer (Penn State) and Joshua Ellis (Penn State) belong to that small higher ed “club” of analytics nuts (Kyle James, probably the most prolific higher ed blogger on the topic unfortunately left higher ed before I was able to put together the series).

All 3 will share their knowledge and best tips with the attendees of Analytics 360 Webinars on March 24, 25 & 26, 2009:

Analytics 360: How to track and measure (and show to your boss) the ROI of your online initiatives
March 24, 25 & 26, 2009
“Analytics 360″ is a 3-webinar series that will help you jump start, fine tune and optimize an effective web and email analytics program for your institution or your department. It will show you the best way to track and measure important data with the help of the tool of the trade, Google Analytics, calculate return on investment and use your analytics program to improve your web and email initiatives.

• Web Analytics 101: How to plan, start and implement a comprehensive analytics program by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
  Shelby Thayer, Marketing Associate at Penn State World Campus and Joshua Ellis, E-Marketing Manager at Penn State Outreach will tell you all you need to know to jump start and fine tune your analytics program. After introducing the basics of analytics (goals, KPI, etc.), they will walk you through a Google Analytics implementation and explain how to set up your account to get meaningful results in no time.
• Advanced Web Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your web initiatives by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
  Shelby Thayer, Marketing Associate at Penn State World Campus and Joshua Ellis, E-Marketing Manager at Penn State Outreach will help you get the most of your web analytics program by sharing best practices and good tips. They will demonstrate through a few case studies (using analytics with CRM, measuring the ROI of advertising campaigns, etc.) why and how you should use your web analytics program to focus on what works and improve what doesn’t.
• Advanced Email Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your email initiatives by Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth College)
  Karlyn Morissette, Web Producer at Dartmouth College will explain why the right analytics can help you show the ROI of your campaigns and fine tune your email marketing strategy. She will share best practices and lessons learned to show you how to use analytics to focus on what works and improve what doesn’t.

Register by March 16, 2009 (sooner than later as there’s a big chance this series will sold out before the registration deadline) at www.higheredexperts.com/analytics360

My second UB column for 2009 is now available in the February issue as well as online (featured on the homepage of University Business today): “More with Less: 7 Ways to Survive the Budget Crunch”

Here are the 7 ways/tips in a condensed form:

1. Look more closely at your print publication budget
2. Embrace (free) social media to reach your target audiences
3. Try new performance-based advertising channels
4. Fine-tune email marketing initiatives to supercharge their ROI
5. Say “good bye” to new web servers and “hello” to on-demand cloud computing
6. Don’t discard the DIY approach
7. Watch out for team morale by focusing on budget-friendly professional development alternatives including next week’s 2-webinar series “Saving Big” for which you can still register until this Friday

By the way, if you are a University Business reader who has just discovered collegewebeditor.com, welcome! Don’t forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS or email.

With the economic downturn, ‘Tis the time to be thrifty.

Most of you have probably been asked to kiss goodbye 10%, 20% or even more of your office budget for this year. Not yet? Well, I hate to say that, but it’s probably coming your way for next year.

So, I’ve decided to take on a new mission: hunt vendor deals and other bargains for you my dear readers. When I stumble upon a great deal offered by higher ed vendors, I’ll make sure to let you know (and, here is your cue if you’re working for a higher ed vendor and want to get featured on this blog – so, get creative and send me your best deals/bargains/offers, but beware that I’ll make the final decision to write about them. Sorry no free advertising on this blog).

Let’s start with a deal offered by the email marketing provider I recently switched to for my newsletters: Vertical Response.

First, the bad news for some of you: this deal will only work if you have 501 c 3 non-profit status (or the Canadian or UK equivalent) and can prove it.

That’s you? Great, keep reading.

What’s the deal?

Vertical Response will let you send 10,000 emails per month for free.

If you go beyond this cap, you’ll get a 15% discount on their rate starting at 15 cents per email.

What does the fine print say?

You just need to sign up for a free account (you can cancel your account whenever you want and you’ll be asked for a credit card only when/if you need to buy extra credits) and then prove your 501 c 3 status by filling out an online application.

How do you get started?

Just by signing up for a free Vertical Response account. You’ll get some free credits (I set up a new account yesterday for somebody else and got 100 free credits) to play.

BTW, you don’t need to be a non-profit to do the test drive with this free account.

If you want to say thanks for the tip, just use this link to sign up for your free account or click on the screenshot above (as I said, I’m a VP client and will receive $2 for each new sign ups)

If you prefer other ways to say thanks (an email, a nice comment or maybe chocolates?), here’s the other link to sign up.

And, last but not least, here’s the link for the non-profit online application.
Now, you’re all set.

And, that’s just the program for the months of January, February and March 2009.

I’ve just wrapped up the upcoming webinar series for the first quarter of 2009, and I hope you’ll like the result.

With the tougher budget times we’re all facing in higher education, I’ve decided to focus the next webinar series I design for Higher Ed Experts on topics that will help you do more with less: social media, saving big, going paperless with your publications and implementing effective analytics programs for your Web and email initiatives.

As usual, places are limited, so it’s always wise to register ahead of time if you want to secure a spot for your team. You can register by visiting each of the dedicated web addresses of the series.

Social Networks MBA: How to develop and nurture a thriving community
January 13, 14 & 15, 2009
“Social Networks MBA” is a 3-webinar series that will help you decide if your institution should launch its own private niche social networking website. After this series, you will know why and how to nurture and develop a thriving online community around your own social networking website.

• Besides and Beyond Facebook: Do’s and Don’t’s for your niche social network by Mark Greenfield (University at Buffalo)
• ROI-Oriented Social Network in a Box: Why and how to buy an integrated social network by Adam Stahr (UNL)
• Add-Member Social Network Mix : Why and how to host your free online community on Ning by Mike Caulfiled (MIT OpenCourseWare)

Register by December 19 January 9, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/socialnetworksmba

Saving Big: Winning strategies to get better results even with a crunched budget
February 4 & 5, 2009
“Saving Big” is a 2-webinar series that will show you how embracing the right digital approach can help you dramatically cut costs while still meeting the needs of your target audiences. It will show you why and how social media can become a very budget-friendly asset in the battle to attract, engage and win over the brightest, but also why and how to save on any publication budgets without alienating readers and compromising editorial quality.

• Recruiting on a budget 101: Master plan to win the social media jackpot with prospective students by Rachel Reuben (SUNY at New Paltz)
• Taming the print beast: How to stretch the publication dollars of your institution by Joe Hice (UF)

Register at by January 26, 2009 www.higheredexperts.com/savingbig

Stop the Presses: Why and how to go digital with your magazine or newsletter
March 3, 4 & 5, 2009 July 7, 8 & 9, 2009
“Stop the Presses” is a 3-webinar series that will show you why more and more higher ed institutions have gone digital with their news-oriented publications. It will also help you get ready for an eventual switch from print to electronic or to better integrate both media at your institution by sharing winning strategies, lessons learned and practical advice from editors of higher ed digital magazines.

• Going Paperless: How to prepare and survive the transition from print to digital by John Lofy (Michigan University)
• Paper and Pixels 101 by Bonny Griffith (Ithaca College)
• The Editor’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy: How to edit a paperless and multimedia magazine by Karl Bates (Duke University)

Register by Feburary 23, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/stopthepresses

Analytics 360: How to track and measure (and show to your boss) the ROI of your online initiatives
March 24, 25 & 26, 2009
“Analytics 360″ is a 3-webinar series that will help you jump start, fine tune and optimize an effective web and email analytics program for your institution or your department. It will show you the best way to track and measure important data with the help of the tool of the trade, Google Analytics, calculate return on investment and use your analytics program to improve your web and email initiatives.

• Web Analytics 101: How to plan, start and implement a comprehensive analytics program by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Web Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your web initiatives by Joshua Ellis and Shelby Thayer (Penn State University)
• Advanced Email Analytics: How to track data, measure ROI and improve your email initiatives by Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth College)

Register by March 16, 2009 at www.higheredexperts.com/analytics360

Questions? Email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now:

How can we manage to keep up with all the amazing content and interesting conversations taking place in so many higher ed websites and blogs?

I tried the catch-up-date post a few weeks ago on this blog, but realized quickly they were also drawn in the sea of published content.

So, then I thought about email (maybe because I was promoting the Email Marketing 360 webinar series starting tomorrow)

Why not try to compile the best of the content published on all the sites we wish we could visit more often in a short right-to-the-point email newsletter sent every week or so?

The results of the survey we ran a month or so ago showed me it was worth trying (80% of the 540 respondents indicated they would be interested in receiving updates every other week), so I did and sent this morning – to the registered HEE members only – the first issue of this new email newsletter compiling:

• the latest higher ed jobs from www.higheredexperts.com/work,
• upcoming events and conferences pulled from the higher ed calendar I maintained on this blog,
• the 5 most engaging discussions on the uwebd Ning website,
• the 5 must-read posts from the higher ed blogosphere,
• the latest video website reviews from educheckup.com
• the 5 most popular websites at the edustyle gallery for the past 7 days

Want to check out the first issue sent this morning?
Here it is:

[higheredexperts.com] All the higher ed content that matters

If you’re a registered HEE members, you should have received it. If you’re not, but want to give this newsletter a try, you can just subscribe to it by filling out the form below:

Once again I found in my inbox this morning a couple of messages from people who wanted to register for the upcoming webinar series: “Email Marketing 360″ (the initial registration deadline was yesterday at 9PM).

As a result, I decided to postpone the registration deadline until next Friday (November 28 – I know it’s the Thanksgiving weekend in the US, but I figured out that Canadians and Europeans might appreciate the extra days) at 9PM ET.

If you want to learn how to do email marketing right and use it to reach your audiences in these difficult economic times, this 2-webinar series featuring Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth) and Carmella Manges (St Edward’s University) will bring you up to speed.

Institutions registered for this series include:

• St. Matthew’s University
• Baker University
• Pasco-Hernando Community College
• Duke University, Pratt School of Engineering
• Fairfield University
• DePaul University
• Lake Forest College
• Reseau HEC
• Brown University
• The Ohio State University
• University of North Texas
• Bay of Plenty Polytechnic
• Univ. of Md, University College
• Eastern Kentucky University
• Viterbo University
• Indiana University East
• llegheny College
• Rhodes College
• University of Washington
• Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
• Saint Michael’s College
• Connecticut College
• American University
• University of Colorado Denver
• Inver Hills Community College

For more information and to register online, just go to www.higheredexperts.com/emailmarketing360

And, if you have any problems or issues, just send me an email at karine@collegewebeditor.com

As the AMA conference chair, Elizabeth Scarborough explained in her blog post yesterday, Karlyn Morissette’s session attracted a full packed room yesterday at the conference for her session about email marketing:

Karlyn Morissette, Web Producer at Dartmouth, had a packed house for her session on taking email to the next level. She framed her presentation with Barack Obama’s email campaign and talked about why it was so effective. I’m pretty sure Karlyn’s session had the highest attendance of any track session so far.

Missed this hit (or the AMA conference altogether)?

Register by tonight for the webinar series, Email Marketing 360, including a very similar session presented by Karlyn and another presentation given by Carmella Manges from St Edward’s University about email analytics.
You can register at www.higheredexperts.com/emailmarketing360 for only $240 for both webinars secheduled on December 2 & 3, 2008.

Questions or need more time to register?
Email karine@collegewebeditor.com

After blogs yesterday, today is the turn of email.

This week, I guess I’m on a mission to rescue you from the sirens of the lost technologies casting the premature death of very good marketing/communication channels with great proven return on investment.

So, let me put it this way right from the get-go: email isn’t dead.

Email marketing is still very relevant in higher education especially in these difficult economic times where ROI is going to become even more important.

At one condition though, you got to do it right.

Both speakers from the upcoming Email Marketing 360 webinar series, Karlyn Morissette (Dartmouth) and Carmella Manges (St Edward’s University) have been very successful with their respective email marketing strategies and agreed to share their expertise and experience with you just after Thanksgiving on December 2nd and 3rd.

Interested? Intrigued?
Keep reading the description of this 2-webinar series below.

Already sold on the idea?
Register by November 19 at www.higheredexperts.com/emailmarketing360.
At only $240, the total cost per connection for both webinars (you can stuff a room with people from all your offices on campus) is quite budget-friendly.

“Email Marketing 360″ is a 2-webinar series that will show you that email is far from dead – even for communications targeted to younger audiences – when done right. You will learn why and how to set up an email marketing strategy for your office, department or institution. You will also find out how to make sure you measure the ROI of your campaigns.

December 2, 2008 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: December 9, 2008 1PM-2PM ET
Marketing to Inboxes: 5-Step Plan to Effective Email Campaigns
Karlyn Morissette, Web Producer at Dartmouth, will guide you on the road to successful email marketing campaigns. She will explain why and how email can help you get your message across, recruit more students or generate more gifts by following her 5-step plan.

December 3, 2008 1PM-2PM ET – Rain date: December 10, 2008 1PM-2PM ET
Analyze this! How to inform your email marketing strategy with the right analytics
Carmella Manges, Director of E-Marketing at St. Edward’s University, will explain how the right approach with analytics can help you show the ROI of your campaigns and fine tune your email marketing strategy. She will share best practices and lessons learned in implementing a complete email analytics program for her institution.

For registration and information, just go to www.higheredexperts.com/emailmarketing360.

Since we had to postpone to January 13-15, 2009 the series initially scheduled this week, Social Networks MBA, you can still get a $25 Amazon certificate if you register for both series. More details about this offer can be found on this previous post. I’ve already issued a few gift certificates for registered folks.

Got questions? Email karine@collegewebeditor.com

As promised in one of my latest posts, blogging has been very light lately. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in full mode soon.

In the meantime, you might want to have a look at a feature-long article I wrote for the August issue of University Business about email outsourcing: E-mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and Beyond.

And, if your institution went that road, I’d like to hear from you about the whole “email outsourcing” experience.

Do you think this is as good as it sounds in my UB article?

Tell us by posting a comment!