February 10, 2023
by Barbara Marzari / February 10, 2023
Internal newsletters are a classic way to inform and engage employees.
They keep your workforce abreast of what's happening at the company, boost morale, increase engagement, and create a sense of togetherness.
But do employees read these newsletters?
Employees typically have overflowing inboxes, and internal newsletters often go unnoticed or ignored. They consume content from various sources and may see internal newsletters as just another piece of content, keeping them from reading or taking any action.
So what’s the way forward?
In this blog post, you'll learn more about internal newsletters, plus how to create fun, engaging, and useful newsletters that your employees will actually open and read.
An internal newsletter is a form of digital communication emailed across the organization as part of a larger group message.
It's a great way to update employees on the progress of various projects and upcoming changes or events. Internal newsletters quickly disseminate information to a large group of people at once, keeping everyone on the same page. They connect your workforce and help maintain an efficient and productive work environment.
Employees are often bombarded with information from multiple channels, and important details can easily slip through unnoticed. The internal newsletter consolidates information and puts it in one convenient place for employees to easily find what they need. Below are some reasons why you need internal newsletters.
Overall, internal newsletters help effectively communicate, foster a sense of community, and improve employee engagement and morale.
Here are some positive impacts a well-structured newsletter can have on your business.
Creating an internal newsletter – or upgrading an existing one – isn’t a one-step process. In fact, it evolves constantly. Start with something simple that gets the job done, then work your way up to a more sophisticated, targeted newsletter that reaches specific audiences.
You can find many email marketing and management software to easily create effective newsletters. Look for software that lets you quickly create rich, targeted, and interactive newsletters that bring dynamic, personalized, and relevant content directly to your employees – whether they're a global operation or a small local office.
Essentially, you want a tool that allows any admin to create segmented newsletters with custom content tailored to your audience – either on an automated schedule or for specific occasions and events. Users should also be able to receive notifications on their mobile devices when they receive a new newsletter, and analytics should let you know what content has been read.
Before getting too involved in complex email workflows, establish a baseline and test the water. Make sure you can walk before you run. Yes, you want your email tool's newsletter engine to do all the amazing things it can.
But first, create simple, generic newsletters using pre-made templates to get the branding and aesthetic right. Decide what your newsletter will contain and how it will look before adding complex targeting or dynamic content.
If your newsletter is part of a larger online employee communication, you need to engage your employees better to drive adoption. You’ll also want to prepare them for the new newsletter and get them into the rhythm of receiving, opening, and reading it.
Build the right momentum by announcing that a new type of newsletter is arriving. Explain what sections it contains, how often it will arrive, the added value of reading it; perhaps most importantly, how employees can get involved and contribute to it.
You don't want to get too complicated too quickly. Explain the benefits of the new newsletter and reinstate how it will improve the working experience.
Creating an effective internal newsletter requires careful planning and consideration of audience, content, and design. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when creating an employee newsletter.
Of course, you want your newsletter to stand out from the rest of the digital clutter. One way to do this is with a newsletter template, which helps the newsletter stand out and be instantly recognizable. Mobile notifications are another option. Notifying employees when a newsletter has been delivered on their mobile devices will dramatically increase open rates.
To ensure the information is relevant and worth reading, send targeted newsletters to the appropriate workforce segment. It might not make sense to send detailed information about new local safety regulations for a plant in Germany to a corporate office in Brazil.
However, when information is more global, an instant translation capability can ensure important, relevant news is absorbed by all employees, regardless of their local language.
Source: Sociabble
When newsletters are easy to create, more get sent, and more targeted versions can also be added. One way to do this is with automated dynamic content. If your email tool can add dynamic content relevant to each employee, use it!
Additionally, it pays to have established audiences for different versions of the newsletter, which can be based on department, geographic location, interests, and more.
To optimize your process, an email tracking tool can help you to determine open rates, completion rates, and other data that can make it easier to get the most from your internal newsletter.
There are endless variations of content that can be included in a newsletter. Every business has a different culture and dynamic; your newsletter should reflect that uniqueness. Here are some great content ideas to pair with your company's voice:
Source: Sociabble
Regardless of how you create your internal newsletter, via a broader internal communications platform, using newsletter software, or the old-fashioned way, it helps to have a selection of newsletter templates to choose from so you don't have to start from scratch.
These templates should allow you to add your company's branding with colors, logos, and fonts. This makes your brand feel more personal and unique. Employees are more likely to identify with it if it sounds familiar.
Templates should also set separate spaces and columns by subject. Think of it like a newspaper – you want essential news to be “the front page,” while lighthearted columns or less-critical news can be farther down in the reading order.
No matter how you structure your newsletter, the template you choose should make it easy to fill in the preexisting structure with fun and relevant content.
Source: Sociabble
Breaking through information clutter isn’t always easy. Emails, notifications, social media, text messages – all the information overload can overwhelm your employees. But with the right digital tools and well-targeted, relevant content, you can turn your internal newsletter into a powerful engagement tool.
Reading internal newsletters becomes part of employees' routines when they find the content engaging. Creating great newsletters doesn't have to be difficult. Email platforms and software can help you achieve this without investing time or resources.
Just be smart in your targeting strategy, remember to give your employees a voice, and don't be afraid to make the experience fun. Your employees will thank you!
When you communicate, don't forget to bridge the gap between cultures. Expand your knowledge and leave a lasting impression in a globally connected world with cross-culture communication.
Barbara Marzari is Communication and Engagement Strategy Director at Sociabble, the Saas software for internal communication, employee advocacy, and social selling. With her extensive marketing and communication experience, Barbara promotes a vision of communication more focused on employee experience and engagement.
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