You know who loves class notes?

Pretty much every alum you’ve got. It’s why class notes consistently rank as the most-read section in alumni magazine readership surveys.

You know who hates class notes?

Pretty much everyone in your institution who’s even tangentially involved in their production.

As a former class notes editor, I get it.

They’re difficult to keep track of, they’re fiddly to produce, and alumni ALWAYS find errors, despite your best efforts.
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It’s also why, every single month, I hear from at least one editor who wants me to bless their efforts to move their class notes section online.

So easily updatable! So expandable! So great to free up space in your print publication!

Friends, you can keep sending me your very good reasons to put your class notes online for the next 30 million years.

But the answer to your question “Should I move my school’s class notes online” is, and always will be, ABSOLUTELY NOT.

The number of people who will read class notes in print is almost always extremely high.

The number of people who will read class notes online is almost always extremely low.

Ditch the class notes in print, and you might gain a little more print real estate. But you’ll also lose all the readers who thought they were only coming for the class notes — and then stayed for everything else.

Class notes are the gateway to the rest of your magazine (and a whole lot more)

When you don’t have class notes in your publication, many readers will send your magazine straight to the recycling bin.

With them? You’ve got a good chance of nabbing readers’ attention for a few more stories.

And the more submissions you get, the more value you’re generating beyond the page.

A robust class notes section is a stealth intelligence source for your whole institution.

• You might find the seed of your next great profile
• The career office might flag an alum who could mentor students.
• Advancement might spot a donor prospect.

In other words, yes, class notes are good for your readers. And they can also be great for your whole school.

Here’s how to make a class notes section worthy of your readers’ attention.

1. Go big

For most publications, 20-35 percent of your pages should be devoted to class notes, obituaries, and alumni news.

People are always interested in learning about their classmates. (And no, your readers don’t “already keep up with all of the people they knew in college on social media.”)

The data shows that people love class notes no matter how big the institution — it’s true if you’ve got an alumni body of 5,000, 50,000, or 500,000.

So keep asking for class notes!

That can mean:

• Making the request more prominent in your magazine (like, REALLY prominent, maybe)
• Asking survey respondents to send in their news
• Attending popular on-campus alumni events like homecoming or reunion, setting up a table, and asking people to fill out cards with their latest news

Even adding a single page to your class note page count can bring new people to your pages and more readers to your magazine.

2. Encourage competition

I’ve noticed that a number of magazines will run the best photo they get on a full page or even a full spread (!!), either as a tacit or explicit competition to get readers to submit incredible photos.

Here’s one from Penn Stater:

It works!

And even if you only run one “winning” photo, it often boosts the quality of all the photos you get.

3. Expand your lens

Class notes can go beyond weddings, promotions, and babies. Consider adding:

• ​Archival photos or objects ​
• Prompts (here’s a great one that features alumni award winners)
• ​Alumni encounters​

4. Get personal

Sure, it’s fine to call your class notes section what it is — class notes are class notes!

But there’s something really lovely about publications that have class notes sections that offer at least a tiny nod to the personality or purpose of the institution.

Here are a few:

• The University of Chicago gives a nod to their academia-focused alums by calling their class notes “Peer Review”
• All those doctors reading Harvard Medicine’s magazine head to a class notes section called “Rounds”
• UConn Magazine’s alumni section? Straightforward and effective: “UConn Nation”

Your section headers can help illuminate the story of your institution.

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It’s true that class notes aren’t easy. But they’re worth the headache, the page count, and your very best editorial thinking.

Instead of ditching them or moving them online, find ways to make your class notes section even better and more valuable for everyone.