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Should I Use Massmail . . . or Something Else?

CITES > Massmail > Should I Use Massmail?

There are many well-established channels for communicating routine information to broad audiences on campus.  Before requesting a Massmail message, carefully consider whether your message can be delivered using one of these other methods. This chart can help you decide whether Massmail is the right option for your message; see below for further explanation.

For general announcements and publicity purposes, consider the following options:

• Campus Calendar: The Campus Calendar can be used to publicize a lecture or talk that is open to the campus. Some of these events are published on the campus home page. There are instructions at the Campus Calendar web site for adding an event to the calendar.
• The Daily Illini:The daily student newspaper, The Daily Illini, is often used to publicize events, conferences and symposia, new courses, and similar items.
• Inside Illinois: Inside Illinois, the faculty-staff semi-monthly newspaper, publicizes events of all kinds of interest to faculty and staff members.
• Eweek: Eweek is a weekly announcement email newsletter sent out to all faculty and staff of the Urbana-Champaign campus. It is ideal for short announcements that only needs to go to faculty and staff.
• Campus Flyers: Flyers announcing upcoming lectures and other events are routinely sent to the relevant department offices for posting on bulletin boards.

For more focused distribution of messages to narrower audiences, consider the following options for delivering bulk email messages:

• Targeted Massmail: CITES offers another bulk emailing service for sending email messages to more narrowly defined, but still large, audiences.  See the Targeted Massmail homepage for more information.
• Individual Mailings: Individual email deliveries can be made to the particular faculty, staff, or students who will be interested in a particular event or announcement.
• Dean, Directors, and Department Heads Listserv (DDDH): The Dean, Directors and Department Heads (DDDH) Listserv can be used for "official University business"; information should apply to a broad range of campus units and should be relevant for a selective, executive-level audience. Typical examples are changes in administrative responsibilities, services or policies, and information about procedures that are critical to the University. Judgment about the appropriate use of the list is the sole responsibility of the moderator.
• Advisor-L Listserv: The Advisor-L Listerv is commonly used to disseminate information about course offerings to all undergraduate advisors.
• Other Listservs: Many groups on campus communicate through their own independent listservs, which might be effective in reaching a specific audience.