Quick Advice To Help Your Emails Sound More Authentic

As humans we value honesty and authenticity from others.

Unfortunately, according to the ongoing survey research I do for Top Tier, prospective students continue to feel that the majority of emails they receive during their college search are copied, pasted, and sent to the masses.

Part of the problem is most colleges and universities only highlight their ‘positives’. We both know, and so do prospective students, that no college student at any school is happy 100% of the time and without any worries, concerns, and challenges… especially as a new student.

The amount of spam this generation is hit with on a daily basis has caused them to be very skeptical. Polished marketing and stories that seem almost too good to be true can feel fake or misleading.

Because of that, it’s never been more important for admissions counselors, tour guides, and those writing college related messaging to come across as genuine, authentic, and empathetic in their storytelling.

One way you can do that is by telling more stories about struggles, challenges or failure. Those kinds of stories can act as a roadmap for students as they think about navigating college life.

I encourage you to consider incorporating that kind of content during campus tours, open houses, college fairs, high school visits, and in your enrollment communications.

Be open to sharing stories of current students who struggled with common things like navigating different parts of their college search, the transition to college level learning, making new friends, being homesick, being depressed, changing their major, time management, or learning how to be more independent.

What did the student learn? What advice and tips would they (or can you) offer? What resources on your campus (and which people) did they utilize?

And remember, anytime you’re telling a story, details matter because stories help to create connections.

Utilizing this strategy can enhance your credibility, plus authenticity is something most prospective students are actively look for during their college search.

DID YOU KNOW:

My summer calendar still has a few open dates for staff training in July or August. Training is the not so secret tool that transforms your staff’s customer service, boosts their job satisfaction, and increases yield. Let’s start a conversation about how I can help you and your team grow.

Leadership, student recruitment, personal growth, failure, self awareness, and managing stress are just some of the topics that I’ve covered on my Mission Admissions podcast. All 89 episodes are free and can be found on Apple and Spotify.