Recently, I was ho-humming my way through a stack of alumni magazines. (Yes, I really do review 1,000+ a year, and yes, I would love it if you added Capstone to your mailing list.)
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And then I came across On Wisconsin. I like their work a lot, so I picked up the magazine, opened it to the first page, and blammo:

I was transported to their football stadium via a gorgeous 11×17 photograph. (Try that, iPhone screen.)
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Whew, I loved it.

I knew I was in very good hands. And I was ready to follow wherever they wanted to take me. (And as a Minnesotan who is contractually obligated to side-eye Wisconsin, that’s saying a lot!)

Even more than that, it reminded me about the larger goal that all alumni magazines should have for their inside front cover spread.

Your inside front cover spread must instill reader trust

Of all the pages in an alumni magazine, the inside front cover spread is one of the most overlooked.
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Maybe it’s where you throw your table of contents, maybe a letter from leadership, maybe a masthead in the tiniest possible font.

It’s usually kind of a mess!

And it’s true, there’s a lot of information that has to go somewhere, and this spread often becomes the junk drawer of your magazine — the place where everything that doesn’t have a home gets shoved in and forgotten.

But that approach is a big mistake.
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It’s the first FULL spread your reader is likely to see.
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And while you’ve already done the hard work of hooking them with your front cover, this is the moment where they’re asking themselves: Do I feel like I’m in good hands? Do I trust what they’re doing?

A cluttered, chaotic spread doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

And it could just make your reader set it aside before they even get started.

Before and after: University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Here’s an example of what I mean.
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This is the inside front cover spread from an issue of UW-Platteville’s Alumni Today.

It’s pretty typical for an alumni magazine!
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But also, it’s a lot: table of contents, masthead, letter from the alumni association president, a “refer a Pioneer” callout. Everything is fighting for attention, and nothing wins.
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Now here’s what it looks like after a redesign I worked on with designer Kat Braz:

It’s clean and immersive. A single striking image demands your attention.

The table of contents is still there! But it’s organized and intentional.

This is a spread that lets readers know that true pros are at the helm — and that it’ll be worth readers’ time to keep turning the pages.

Another approach worth stealing

To be fair, not every magazine starts off with a table of contents. And in this case, you have even more flexibility. Here’s one example I refer to frequently:

This is from TCNJ Magazine.

Instead of a TOC on that first spread, they’ve created a beautiful, illustration-driven spread that brings together the best prompt responses from a previous issue: “What campus performances have stayed with you?”

I love this because it’s striking, it puts alumni voices front and center, and it immediately signals that this is a magazine that was built by people who truly care about the publication and their readers.

It works because it leans into what print does best. It creates an experience you can’t replicate on a screen.

Your charge: no more “lazy pages” in print

Right now, with tight budgets and the high cost of print publications, every page must earn its keep.

That’s exactly why your inside front cover spread can’t be an afterthought!

This is prime real estate. It’s one of the first things your reader sees. And it sets the tone for everything that follows.
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Is your inside front cover — whether it’s a table of contents page or something else — doing its critical job of earning your reader’s trust?