Tips to Make Internal Newsletters Engaging Again

The corporate newsletter was once the quintessential communication tool in the workplace. It was the channel where management would relay important announcements affecting the entire organization. Employees, too, enjoyed reading it because the newsletter contained a lot of articles about them. But the corporate newsletter, particularly the printed form, has slowly lost its relevance with the advancement of technology.

The email may very well be the communication tool that stole the thunder from corporate newsletters. To say that the email is the most widely used communication channel in the workplace is no exaggeration. In fact, an online survey conducted in 2014 showed that US workers spend more than six hours a day just checking their email inboxes. More than three hours are spent reading work-related emails, while the other three hours are for checking personal messages, according to a survey commissioned by Adobe Systems, Inc.

With many office workers using the email, corporate communicators have used it to deliver time-sensitive information to the workforce. This has made the corporate newsletter basically a second-tier communication tool in the office.

Yet everything is not lost for the corporate newsletter. Here are some ways to make your company’s newsletter hip and engaging again.

1. Keep it short and simple

Remember that we live in a world where messages are kept short and simple. Twitter only offers 140 characters, and videos uploaded on many social media platforms like Vine are limited to 10 seconds or so.

Given that many employees are too preoccupied with their work, it is only practical to come up with short articles. Shorter articles are also easier for employees to scan, which appeal more to the typical busy office worker.

2. Use an internal newsletter software

There are many internal newsletter programs that you can tap to make your internal newsletter attractive and engaging again.

The best software for newsletters can make the communication medium easy to read and respond to. The best software for newsletters can design articles that can be ‘scanned’ and which contain ‘read more’ links.

Internal newsletter software can let corporate communicators embed email links so that readers can directly reply to the authors.

Moreover, the best software for newsletters can push internal newsletters straight to the computer screen of employees so that they can immediately see the latest issue. Best software for newsletters can also push newsletters by department, region, or unit. It is also common for internal newsletter software to facilitate employee submission of newsletter articles.

3. Use more images

Today’s readers are more attracted to the use of images, photos, and infographics. The use of more visuals also makes any corporate newsletter more fun and engaging for the typical office worker.

If you’re sending an online newsletter, try to use more GIF images. This type of image is really popular these days, especially among the younger audience. GIFs are particularly useful when you have lots of images to show. Instead of using a gallery of photos, you can show everything in one GIF image. Moreover, majority of email clients will be able to display an animated GIF properly.

4. Go back to basics

Finally, go back to basics by putting the spotlight on the employees. Articles should focus more on the workers and not the management. Remember that the internal newsletter is about the workforce, and not a propaganda piece for the management. By coming out with more articles about your co-workers, you can make the corporate newsletter appealing to your core audience again.

Remember these tips when planning the next issue of your corporate newsletter, so that your readers will be more interested in what you have for them.