One of the best ways to engage employees is to create internal newsletters that share information and initiatives. Done imaginatively and constructively, introducing new company newsletter ideas can endorse your company brand voice and style and increase productivity. It can also play a pivotal role in internal communications.
According to a recent Forbes Advisor survey report on the state of workplace communication, 49% of employees say their productivity is adversely affected by ineffective communication. Slightly more maintain that it impacts job satisfaction, and 42% blame ineffective communication for increased stress levels.
Consistently distributing employee newsletters within a company tends to contribute positively to the work environment. It’s a relatively easy way to promote connectivity across the board, at the same time enhancing all-important internal communications. But the challenge is to present your company or employee newsletter in a way that it will be noticed and read. You want employees to look forward to it and not ignore it.
Here are some guidelines and 15 company newsletter ideas for 2024 to help ensure employees in your organization welcome every employee newsletter and see it as effective communication.
How Important Is The Company Newsletter?
Not that long ago, company newsletters were printed and distributed in-house. While they incorporated the benefits of look, feel, and touch, they took time to produce and were often costly. Today an employee newsletter is typically a digital document that is shared online or via email that keeps employees informed and engaged with the organization. Many employees will want to read it on their mobile devices, so this is an important design factor too.
A company newsletter provides the opportunity to share a wealth of content that will keep employees constantly informed. This may include company news, project updates, customer anecdotes, upcoming events, job openings, team member spotlights, and significant company achievements. Also, it can range from lighthearted and playful to serious and time-sensitive.
Whatever the approach, the aim is to actively involve employees, boost morale, and elicit valuable feedback from them. It is an omnichannel communication tool that may be used for desk-based and deskless remote workers.
With the right tools and platform, you’ll be able to personalize and automate the newsletter process, and ensure it’s being read. Before we share our top 15 ideas for a company newsletter there are some important questions to answer.
What’s the Best Way to Circulate a Company Newsletter?
We’ve said that internal newsletters are shared online or via email. Sometimes organizations have sections of their company web page that are restricted for internal use only. The company newsletter might be posted here for ease of access. But it makes it more difficult to ensure that employees will bother to read and/or download it. Apart from this, there is evidence from a Ragan report that 78% of communicators regard email as the best channel for internal communication.
The Forbes Advisor survey report backs up the Ragan findings. This states that most employees prefer email communication to other digital options.
Either way, the challenge is to get employees to open and then read every company newsletter you produce.
What is the Best Content for an Employee Newsletter?
We’ve mentioned some of the items you can include in your newsletters. But essentially, you need to be sure it is relevant to your employees. If it isn’t, they’re not going to read it.
The key lies in crafting newsletters that are brimming with valuable and relevant content that genuinely piques employees’ interest. It is imperative to incorporate captivating employee newsletter concepts that maintain a balance between content centered on employees and content related to the company. This approach will usually entice employees to consistently explore the contents of any company newsletter, ensuring readership remains high.
Of course, the content will also depend on the industry niche of the organization. For example, the topics that will keep healthcare professionals engaged will be quite different from those software providers will want to read about.
How Long Should an Email Newsletter Be?
Length is an important factor for any form of the written word. Since newsletters generally include a mix of content, as opposed to an email that generally focuses on one topic, it will be longer. But it’s important not to make it too long. You can provide fairly comprehensive content as long as it’s manageable for readers. Internal communicators need to prioritize content relevance and engagement to ensure that employees are motivated to keep reading.
Easy-to-use newsletter tools will enable you to format a company newsletter like a traditional newsletter or a quick read. Or you can opt for something in between.
So, how long should it be? There are so many formats you can use for newsletters, the length factor is versatile. The traditional format will be longer and will require at least 1,500-2,000 words, depending also how much of the newsletter is taken with pictures. A much shorter headlines-plus format could be as short as 500-1,000 words. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide on the best balance for your company newsletter. Just be aware that the longer your newsletter content is, the more difficult it is likely to be to retain employee engagement.
How To Get Employees to Read a Company Newsletter
Length and content are both key to getting employees to read a company newsletter. These factors are particularly important for those who will want to access the newsletters on their mobile devices.
Keeping them informed via regular newsletters and encouraging participation (ideas for content for example) should increase readership. But unless you check open and click-through rates you’re not going to know for sure what your success rate is. You’re going to need reliable software to achieve accurate data.
You can read more about how to ensure employees don’t miss your next employee newsletter. It all hinges on creating what we describe as “a personalized cross-channel experience” your employees will appreciate.
Once you’ve done the research, keep successful company newsletter examples in a file so you can refer to them later on.
Best 15 Employee Newsletter Ideas to Include
The best way to ensure employees will read a company newsletter is to get them excited and engaged. Including them in the newsletter in some way is also a great strategy. But what should a company newsletter include?
Asked to share their strategies for creating the most effective newsletters, members of Forbes Communications Council came up with some useful suggestions. These range from keeping content simple, fun, and lighthearted to including video links and interactive content. Consistent employee engagement is a particularly important factor.
- Ask employees what they want to know. Amanda Ponzar, chief communications and strategy officer at Community Health Charities, likes to ask employees to contribute ideas for internal newsletters. It’s also good to include an employee representative to help create and review content. She also emphasizes the need to measure open rates, click-throughs, and other metrics to assess what content is being read.
- Be transparent and share information that aligns with company goals. Kobi Ben-Meir, founder of Marketing Trailblazer, believes in sharing future plans and management news. Community and culture news is also valuable when it aligns with company goals.
- Share issues that trigger a response. Irene Froehlich, chief communications officer of DrFirst, Inc., advises sharing content that elicits an emotional response. This can be things that employees are busy with or ways that the business impacts its customers. While her business is healthcare, the same idea translates to the full spectrum of industries.
- Inspire and educate employees. Parna Sarkar-Basu, founder and CEO of Brand and Buzz Marketing, LLC, likes to share insights from entrepreneurs and innovative business operators. She also finds news and industry reports useful. Her top tip is to make sure a company newsletter is visually appealing and not just a list of informative text.
- Make content meaningful and inclusive. Johannes Marlena, owner and chief marketing officer of Paradigm Shift, aims to keep content focused on employees. At the same time, it needs to be relevant to company values and culture, he says. The way to do this is to encourage employee input or to present some of their stories.
- Keep content short and simple. Michelle Gabe, marketing director at TRUFF, likes to share any information that will get employees excited. But, she says, keep it short and simple.
- Include employee content. Kate Barton, marketing manager at Clearview Advisory, reinforces the idea of including employees in a company newsletter. Use their pictures, quote them, and invite them to provide original content. It makes perfect sense. If they are included, they’re going to read the newsletter and encourage their friends and colleagues to read it too. And don’t just share news, “talk with people it will affect.”
- Get team leaders to contribute. Roger Boutin, vice president of communications at SCORR Marketing, agrees that it’s great to get the CEO and other top management to contribute, but invites input from executive leaders as well. This can be especially valuable in companies that have diverse management teams.
- Provide a means for employees to share news on social media. Tracy Sestili, chief marketing officer of Intellimize, advises organizations to always include some kind of industry and/or company news in an internal employee newsletter. Also, make it easy for employees to share relevant news on various social media platforms. An important caveat (that she doesn’t mention) is that it is important not to allow employees to share privileged company information that might be included in the newsletter.
- Highlight community participation. Robert Neely, director of marketing at Lima One Capital, tries to encourage camaraderie via newsletters. A good way to do this, he says, is to highlight charitable efforts and community events that might appeal to employees.
- Spotlight employee achievements. Brittney Manchester, director of communications at Catholic Charities of Oregon, echoes what several others have said. She favors spotlighting employees and teams, particularly if they have been working outside of their department. She says this is one of the best ways to break silos in an organization. It illustrates how the work of everyone in the organization connects to the overall mission.
- Don’t be too serious. Melissa Kandel, CEO of Little Word Studio, emphasizes how important it is to ensure that a company newsletter isn’t “dry.” She reckons it’s easy to do this by adding lighthearted, fun turns of phrase. The caveat here is to ensure that they are appropriate.
- Include a video link. Pat Scheckel, vice president of product management at Singlewire Software, encourages employees and internal communicators to add links to short videos. Ideally, these should be recorded by people within the company. The benefit, he says, is that it creates a stronger connection with your internal employee audience.
- Pay attention to design and headlines. Daniela Martucci, president and CEO of DMH & Associates Communications, recognizes the art of creating good, effective headlines. As with all forms of written communication, a good headline will trigger interest and encourage employees to read the content. The key here is to ensure that the message the headline portrays matches the audience it is intended for. Design, she says, should be responsive but simple.
- Include interactive content. Carol Kimura, vice president, brand, digital, and growth marketing at Omnicell, advocates including interactive content in newsletters. This, she says, will boost engagement. Examples include surveys, calculators, games, and interactive infographics.
Company Newsletter Examples for Different Industries
While the basic rationale for producing internal newsletters remains the same across the full spectrum of industries, the focus needs to be different depending on the business and application. For example, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and technology industries will all target different areas of interest.
Here are some examples. In each case, the topics should be tailored to meet the specific interests and needs of the organization producing an employee newsletter. A hospital newsletter will be different from a pharmaceutical company internal newsletter. And a bus company that provides transportation will have a completely different approach in its company newsletter to a manufacturing company producing buses.
Company Newsletter Ideas for Healthcare
Health and safety updates can provide information about health protocols, safety measures, and any changes in healthcare procedures. Related to this, it would be interesting to provide information about the latest medical technologies, treatments, and breakthroughs.
But not all employees want to read technological topics. This is why it’s important to balance updates and information with content that recognizes healthcare professionals for their dedication and exceptional care. Inspiring stories showcasing successful patient outcomes and recoveries are also well read, particularly when employee roles are highlighted.
The other area of interest for a healthcare company newsletter is community outreach. Here you can share initiatives, events, or health education efforts in the local community.
Company Newsletter Examples for Manufacturing
In the many varied fields of manufacturing, news about production milestones, process improvements, and efficiency enhancements can make great content. Quality control insights about processes and achievements in maintaining product quality will interest some people. So will information on supply chain resilience, logistics, and vendor partnerships.
To ensure a balance, be sure to include employee spotlights as Brittney Manchester suggests. Highlight employees’ contributions and innovations on the factory floor.
Another area to focus on involves sustainability initiatives. Depending on the relevance to the organization, you could include snippets updating environmentally-friendly practices, recycling efforts, and sustainability goals.
Company Newsletter Ideas for Transportation
Transportation is a very varied field, but safety and compliance issues are important. These might include updates on safety regulations, compliance measures, and accident prevention that employees need to know about. Industry trends may also be interesting to some. These could include emerging trends in transportation, such as electric vehicles or autonomous driving.
Depending on your audience, information on fleet maintenance, fuel efficiency, and vehicle technology upgrades could be topics that employees would value and want to read about. You might also consider including tips and strategies for optimizing transportation routes and reducing costs.
But again, it’s the all-important balance that’s important. For instance, make sure you include stories that recognize the value of your employees. These might be exceptionally dedicated drivers who have achieved noteworthy safe-driving records.
Company Newsletter Examples for Technology
Technology is another hugely varied industry. Company newsletter content might include industry insights that highlight industry trends, market developments, and/or technology advancements. Product releases might also be something employees want to know about. But check out your audience, and consider giving those who are keen to learn a link to get more information.
Cybersecurity updates are another area of potential interest. You might consider including ongoing snippets of information about cybersecurity measures, data protection, and best practices in the digital realm.
But never forget about your employees in the technology sector. Recognize and celebrate employee-driven innovations and projects. And showcase how the company’s technology solutions have benefited customers and solved their problems.
Benefits of a Well-Crafted Company Newsletter
We’ve discussed the importance of internal newsletters together with certain factors that will ensure your company newsletter is well-crafted and effective. Elements include well-written content that is relevant, as well as optimum length. But what are the benefits of a well-crafted internal newsletter?
Sticking with the numeric theme of 15 ideas, these answers indicate what a well-crafted company newsletter can achieve.
- Effective communication. This serves as a reliable channel for sharing important information, updates, and news with employees, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
- Employee engagement: Engaging content fosters a sense of belonging and interest among employees, making them feel more connected to the company and its mission.
- Information dissemination: A well-crafted company newsletter efficiently delivers vital information. This will include company news, project updates, and announcements, ensuring that your employees are well-informed.
- Morale boost: Recognition, spotlights on achievements, and positive stories can boost employee morale and job satisfaction.
- Feedback collection: Newsletters can include surveys or feedback mechanisms, facilitating two-way communication and providing valuable insights for improvement.
- Team-building: Features on employees, teams, or departments promote a sense of community and teamwork within the organization.
- Promotion of company culture: It reinforces company values, culture, and goals, aligning employees with the company’s mission.
- Training and development: employee newsletters can offer resources and insights on employee development, training programs, and career growth opportunities.
- Promotion of initiatives: They can raise awareness about sustainability efforts, corporate social responsibility, or community involvement, encouraging employee engagement and participation.
- Internal marketing: Promoting internal events, initiatives, or products/services can substantially increase employee engagement and support for company initiatives.
- Time and cost efficiency: A well-structured company newsletter can streamline communication, reducing the need for individual emails or meetings.
- Consistency: Regular company newsletters establish a consistent rhythm of communication, creating stability and reliability for employees.
- Inclusivity: Newsletters can include content that celebrates diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the organization.
- Recruitment and retention: Sharing success stories and positive company culture can attract potential hires and retain current talent.
- Knowledge sharing: Well-crafted company newsletters facilitate the sharing of industry insights, best practices, and lessons learned among employees.
Ultimately, a well-crafted internal newsletter can (and should) be a versatile tool that enhances internal communication, employee engagement, and overall organizational success.
Cerkl Solutions for An Engaging Employee Newsletter
Once you’ve got a strategy for creating good, relevant content for internal newsletters, you’re going to need to decide what design and production path you’re going to follow.
It’s extremely important to have the right tools to create an engaging and successful digital company newsletter. These are different from the tools used for the traditional printed newsletters of the past.
Cerkl Broadcast has an ideal platform that enables organizations to build employee newsletters using failsafe templates.
You will find one capability incorporated in the hugely popular Email Blasts, which offers an easy-to-use drag-and-drop email builder with an employee newsletter template.
News Digest is another great solution. It organizes, presents, and sends personalized newsletter-type wrap-ups to employees automatically. The best part about News Digest is that you can allow your employees to select their own special interests as well as when and how often they want to receive News Digest. The same applies when you use News Digest for customers.
If you opt for News Digest, you will find that it’s incredibly easy to personalize results for your subscribers. To achieve this, there are preferences or options that you can choose from. These relate to topics, schedules, format, and the people you want to send your News Digest to.
Format is a vital element. There are three options. The traditional format mimics the old-school (sometimes still popular) newsletter. On the other end of the scale, you can opt for a headline-only format. That can work if you want to provide links. Otherwise, you can use the headlines-plus format. This includes headlines and images that draw readers in, as well as short text or summaries.
Then there are analytics.
How to Measure Success with Cerkl
Email Blasts has an audience metrics page that provides stats including unique opens and the open rate, and unique clicks and the click rate.
News Digest has its own Insights that provide a snapshot as well as delivery and subscriber metrics.
Snapshot gives you an engagement score, an open rate, a click-through rate, and a personalized percentage for your audience. The delivery metrics tell the delivery, open, and click-through rates. And the subscriber metrics reveal your total audience, subscribers, and the number of people who unsubscribe.
What’s Next?
Are you ready to create an employee newsletter template for your internal communications strategy? We’ve got lots of ideas to help you do this. But first, we’d like to show you how to improve communications in your organization using our specially curated internal communication audit template.
FAQ
An internal company newsletter provides information that is useful for employees. It is also an important resource that all kinds of organizations can use to recognize employees and promote productivity. The best internal newsletters engage employees and make them want to read them on an ongoing basis.
There are lots of ideas for company newsletter content. But, above all, it needs to be relevant and interesting so that a large percentage of employees read it and look out for the next one.
You can introduce a sense of fun into a company newsletter by changing your tone and making it lighthearted. Even if you are introducing a serious topic (in fact more so), you can lift the mood with a bit of humor. Employee input can be invaluable here. So, ask for anecdotes that will make other employees laugh in a positive way.
This is a million dollar question. But it has a very simple answer. An internal company newsletter is successful if it engages employees and makes them want to read it. Of course, content is vitally important and so is design. But if the best-written, beautifully designed employee newsletter remains unread by a large percentage of the workforce, it cannot be labeled successful.
