Recently, I was flipping through an alumni magazine that (like many alumni magazines!) had been published continuously for many decades.

Unfortunately, it was showing its age.

The pages, a Frankensteined mix of department highlights, board lists, leadership Q&As, and donor profiles, felt unworthy of the institution it was representing.But I could also easily imagine how it had become what it was.

• A president came up with some ideas about including specific types of stories many years ago, and those ideas were dutifully implemented – even long after the president had departed.
• Other departments were added when a single alumni complaint jolted the team into action
• Under the banner of “fairness”,” lackluster stories and voices got more prominence than anyone particularly wanted
• Crunched timelines led to “good enough” design and art

Slowly — in the same way that rocks are shaped over geologic time by countless small shifts and pressures, the magazine had become something no one had intentionally created, but everyone had learned to accept as the way things were always done.

Maybe you recognize your publication in some of those bullet points above!

But your magazine is perhaps the single most expensive line item in your budget, and it’s got to be intentional, maximizing every benefit that print offers — and excising all of those vestiges from the past that are dragging it down today.

Print plays a different role than it did in years past, but it remains a resilient communications tool for your school.

In survey after survey, between 65 and 95 percent of respondents say that the print magazine is where they get most or all of their information about their alma mater.

So what’s next?

Ask this essential question

Most of us spend our time in the weeds when we’re working on our publications: deadlines, approvals, last-minute tweaks.

But I want you to zoom out and ask this question:

“If we started our magazine today, what would we do differently?

If you take the question seriously, it will illuminate insights quickly.

Here are just a few examples:

1. If we started our magazine today, we would…think bigger

You’ve probably got some page templates and go-to story approaches.

Are they working?

If not, it’s time to blow them up for something better.

• Instead of page-filling donor profiles, you could create an ambitious Gifts at Work spread.

• Instead of filling every nook and cranny with words, you could devote a full spread to a gorgeous feature opener that signaled your ambition to readers.

• You could create your very first theme issue — and commit to doing one at least once a year.

If you’re getting other magazines and feeling a sense of envy, pick ONE thing you love and figure out how to adapt it for your school’s publication.

2. If we started our magazine today…we’d build a methodical process designed for great work

If I had to sum up how most teams operated in a single word, it might be this: scrambling.

And I definitely get it! We’re all very busy (especially now, in the thick of commencement season).

But imagine what you could do with your issue — with even a single story — if you could devote a little more time to make something exceptional.

• You could turn that boring “by the numbers” list into a beautiful infographic.

• You could attend the class you’re writing about to create an immersive lead that helps the reader feel like they’re there with you.

• You could send a note to every source after the magazine has published to thank them — and encourage them to promote it, if they wish, on their own social feeds.

What’s one thing you could implement TODAY to make your next magazine a little bit better than the last one?

3. If we started our magazine today… we’d be clearer about what success looks like

Success can be surprisingly slippery in the context of alumni magazines.

Often, teams shift focus based on data points as small as a single tepid review from a reader survey — or resist change despite armloads of evidence that their approach will be poorly received by the vast majority of readers.

So what does success look like for you?

• Is it an “better than benchmarks” result in the CASE Magazine Reader Survey?

• A congratulatory note from a board member or president?

• A major gift sparked by a story?

• An increasing number of class notes, letters to the editor, or prompt responses?

• A trophy case of awards from regional or national organizations? There’s no single right answer, but the ways you think about this important question can point you and your magazine in a useful direction.

There’s no single right answer, but the ways you think about this important question can point you and your magazine in a useful direction.