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  • Communications
    • Blast E-mails
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Communications

• Blast E-mails
• Websites
• Event Mailings
• Phone Blasts
• Web Event Calendar

Blast E-Mails

Most alumni chapters utilize e-mail on a regular basis to communicate with their members. It's an easy, effective, and an economical way for chapters to share information with members about upcoming IU activities. Some chapters send event reminders via e-mail while others create a monthly e-newsletter detailing a variety of chapter activities or IU programs.

Keep it Simple!
Each blast e-mail should communicate simple or essential information about an upcoming chapter activity, or in some cases a series of future chapter events (i.e. an e-newsletter from the chapter).

For a sample of chapter blast e-mails, click here.

Chapter E-mail List
The IU Alumni Association maintains an e-mail list for every chapter. Be sure to encourage alumni in your area to register with the IUAA Online Directory so they can receive chapter e-mails. If they're not registered, they won't receive your chapter messages! Also, contact information (name, address, phone, and e-mail) for your chapter members is available online at IUAA Chapters Computing Services.

Sending Blast E-mails to Chapter Members
Each time a chapter wishes to send a blast e-mail, they simply write the text for the message and post it to the Chapters Online Request Center. It's easy! Even a Purdue graduate can handle it! Once you've submitted the text for the message, you simply select your chapter's name from the pull-down menu, and submit your e-mail request. From there, the message is distributed automatically to chapter members in your designated area. Once your chapter e-mail is posted to the Request Center, IUAA can typically send it within 2-3 business days.

For specific instructions about submitting and sending a chapter e-mail blast via the Chapters Online Request Center, click here.

Chapter Blast E-mail Guidelines and Restrictions Although, the IU Alumni Association allows chapter volunteers to create the text for blast e-mail messages, it sets limits on the overall length of the message and the number of e-mails chapters can send each month.

• How Long Should Chapter E-mails Be?
  All e-mails are text-based messages (no graphics or photos are included). The length of each message is limited to 50 words or less when promoting a single chapter event. For e-newsletters that promote multiple chapter events, the length should be limited to five subjects or less. Each subject should be 50 words or less.
  
  
• How Often Can Chapters Send E-mails?
  Because everyone receives too much e-mail, IUAA restricts the number of e-mails a chapter can send each month. The current restriction is one e-mail per week (or roughly 4-5 e-mails per month). IUAA also restricts chapters from sending blast e-mails when the monthly IUAA e-newsletter is published. Please note that during the final week of the month, IUAA sends a monthly HTML e-newsletter to all IU alumni. We prefer chapters not send blast e-mails the day before, the same day, or even the day after the IUAA monthly e-newsletter is sent to alumni. Always keep this in mind when you are planning to send a chapter e-mail.