@CorynnMyers I try to emphasize this almost every day. Every additional piece of jargon, unneeded form field, overcomplicated sentence, extra login, additional requirement, emphasis on institutional structure, and so on and so forth is a student giving up.
@CoachTiers Such a hard concept in enrollment for most! But also the difference between those who make intentional impact and everyone else who is spread too thin to have any at all.
@tracyplayle I certainly can't argue with that. In a sea of sameness, at least show me how you're "innovative" rather than just parroting it back to me like everyone else. A lot of my criticism (and I'm including myself in that) is just trying to claim things rather than show them.
Can you replace your university or town in your recruitment copy with another and it still works? If you're "world-class," "innovative," "welcoming," and "[insert more jargon here]," you are the same as every other institution.
Tell your students why you're different. #emchat
We held our second-most attended event of the recruitment year last night. It was a webinar for parents.
I've heard frustration this year about online engagement dropping as events return to campus, but it's still there if you find the right audience and timing. #emchat
@will_patch @BettyFlambert We bumped our birthdate prompt to secondary forms but we also send a birthday message if we have that info. Consistently get appreciative feedback โ I'd guess most schools are not using that data!
@will_patch Lots of schools use birthday to de-dupe records. That's my guess.
I use this exact example to explain the difference between prioritizing student experience vs. your internal university processes quite a bit.
If a student needs to dig through instructions on whether or not they should use a tool that tells them whether or not they need to take an exam that tells them whether or not they need to take a class... it might not be a student-friendly process.
Currently editing copy that uses highlights, asterisks, bolds, underlines, and all caps for emphasis. One thing it doesn't include is a concise explanation of why students should sign up for the opportunity.
Please stop blaming students for "not reading emails." #emchat
Every single recruitment email I have received from colleges for the past month have been event invitations or "apply now" messages.
Where is the value? Answer why I should do something before you ask me to do it.
@bcalbertsen @mhames Yep, that's why I feel forced to do it. Too many ifs and buts to keep up with so we ballpark it instead.
(Not that that endless complexity for the sake of complexity a good reason for much)
Schools abandoning virtual offerings are limiting their prospective students and their ability to connect, especially certain populations. Underrepresented populations report to have higher interest AND attend virtual events more than visiting campus (Niche/TCS data). #emchat
Seeing some pretty significant boosts in email open and click averages this year compared to last. Any other #emchat folks seeing the same thing?
We made what I think are some good changes but having trouble attributing all of it to those tweaks.
@josieahlquist I'm probably 60% remote but my team is still 100% remote. Likely to start having some in-office days but only for collaboration - your choice otherwise. I'd be surprised if we are ever back more than a day a week as a team.
@KCMills15@CorynnMyers@ColoradoStateU That means so much! Our team has spent the last couple years rebuilding and rewriting all of our email email campaigns. Glad it's landing. :)