How to write internal newsletters? – 5 things you need to remember 

(Un)obvious choice 

The question if it’s still worth bothering with newsletters has been asked recently by many internal communication specialists. Until now, internal newsletters were an obvious choice in most organizations. Today, employees are increasingly talking about data overload, which forces companies to verify their information channels in terms of their effectiveness and usefulness. In the case of newsletters, it’s easy to verify the situation with the help of data analytics provided by a good internal communications support platform. The results aren’t always favorable. 

Employee Experience on the offensive 

Unfortunately, it often turns out that internal newsletters are not very popular among employees. Instead of being a valuable source of information, they are treated as unnecessary spam, overwhelming with their length, inadequate subject matter, or uninteresting form. Its authors forget that employees should be treated like customers, being taken care of their time, and provided with the highest quality product. Although in the rush of responsibilities it can be difficult, it is worth devoting more attention to internal newsletters, because a well-written and properly designed one can be a powerful tool for shaping organizational culture and providing employees with necessary information. 

How to create internal newsletters so that they fulfill their task in the best possible way and the statistics go up? 

5 things you need to remember when creating internal newsletters

The role of internal communication should not be limited to informing. The starting point of any communication that comes out of the hands of IC professionals should always be the communication strategy, created in line with the organization’s strategy and business objectives. Internal newsletters writers should therefore be mindful of their role in co-creating (along with leaders) a culture of respect, trust, and safety, which in turn help build engagement – that translates to the bottom line. So, what should you keep in mind to create an engaging and therefore effective, internal newsletter? 

1️⃣ Personalize the communications 

Personalization is a tool that has been successfully used in marketing for a long time. At its core lies the assumption that the recipients of messages are different and have different needs.

Personalization is not just about changing the popular “Dear All” to “Dear Tom”. This is of course the basis, but contemporary intranet platforms offer way more possibilities, for example, the segmentation of recipients, and the creation of personas or groups interested in certain issues. This allows us to direct messages to the right people, thus reducing the number of messages sent via internal newsletters to all employees. We send separate newsletters or messages to specific segments of people. With the right tools, this does not have to mean double or triple work – e.g., internal newsletters can be created automatically on the intranet. 

2️⃣ Conduct a dialogue, not a monologue 

While creating internal newsletters, be sure that you support the sense of autonomy and influence. Employee engagement is built by allowing employees to express their opinions and, more importantly, by creating a sense of security that their opinions will be heard and considered. So instead of just informing, encourage expression and conversation. How can you do this with an internal newsletter? The easiest and most effective way – is by allowing comments on the messages sent on the intranet or internal social networks, forums, and groups.   

3️⃣ Tell a story 

One of the most effective communication methods is storytelling. People want to read the stories, not communications. They want to read about themselves, their coworkers, mutual successes, and challenges. They want to know about failures so they can learn from them.  

How can you transfer storytelling to corporate communications?  

Encourage employees to share their personal stories. Two aspects are important here. First, maintaining authenticity – using the language of the protagonist and allowing them to tell the story on their terms. Second – creating an atmosphere of trust, which is part of the broader organizational culture. In an exclusionary, judgmental, and unaccepting environment, employees’ sense of security is disrupted. That can discourage them to share their personal experiences. 

4️⃣ Take care of the form 

The look is not the only thing that matters. If you don’t have the resources for creating a visually attractive newsletter, photos, graphics, infographics, audio, and video materials, take care of the quality of the text. We live in the age of images – we have only a few seconds to catch someone’s attention. The content created for a newsletter should then be short and simple, also in terms of language. Do not use specialized terminology, unless you are 100% sure that it will be understood by every recipient. 

Follow the below rules:

✔ Divide the text into paragraphs. 
✔ Bold the text to highlight the most important information. 
✔ Use the lists. 
✔ Choose an easy-to-read font. 
✔ Use short sentences. 
✔ Put the most important information at the beginning of the message. 
✔ Address a single audience (“you”, not “you guys”). 
✔ Add a table of contents at the beginning, just after the main news item. 
✔ Ensure readability on mobile devices. 

5️⃣ Analyze and improve what doesn’t work 

Data collection and analysis are the foundation of effective communication. Thanks to modern tools, mainly digital employee experience management platforms, this is becoming easier and more effective. Internal communication specialists can easily obtain employee engagement statistics – their interest in published content and reactions to it, thanks to, for example, the option of tracking opens or conversions. However, statistics alone are not enough. It is important to draw conclusions from them, compare them and react to the employees’ needs on an ongoing basis. 

To sum up

Internal newsletters can be an effective and necessary communication tool if it is adjusted to the individual needs of an organization. However, certain principles are universal. Writing to the recipients about things that interest them with empathy and attention in a simple and understandable way will support the engagement and serve both sides: the organization and the employees. 

How can Workai support you in creating internal newsletters?

With Workai, your newsletters are easy to create and send. Automatically send them to everyone in your organization, selected teams, groups or individuals. It’s easy to reach the people you want to and give them the information they won’t want to miss.