How To Start an Internal Company Newsletter (+10 Examples)

The importance of an internal company newsletter

An internal company newsletter is one tool in an organization’s IC toolbox. It can carry tons of impact and influence for employee engagement, culture, and internal communication. It’s an effective way to keep employees informed about company policies, activities, services, social events, and other important news.

We all (hopefully) know that healthy communication between management staff and different departments is crucial for the success of any organization, and an internal newsletter supports this goal.

But here’s the thing: it has to be designed and curated for contemporary employees. You know, those who want to feel valued, that they belong and have a voice, and that their engagement matters whether they’re a frontline individual or part of a desk-based team.

A well-designed newsletter can motivate employees and improve their performance by making them feel more connected to the company. It breaks down information silos and ensures everyone is on the same page regarding the company's objectives and values. And for new hires in particular, the newsletter acts as a valuable resource to learn about the organization's history, products, successes, and culture, meaning they can integrate more quickly and hit the ground running.

Understanding the employee newsletter

We’re getting ahead of ourselves! Before we talk about setting up your newsletter for success let’s get to grips with the basics.

To start the most basic question of them all: what’s an employee newsletter?!

An employee newsletter is a powerful communication tool that serves as a bridge between the company and its workforce. It's a regular publication typically distributed via email or an internal platform (or your employee experience platform if it has the functionality) that keeps employees informed about company news events and initiatives. The employee newsletter plays a crucial role in maintaining a connected and engaged workforce, especially in today's increasingly remote and distributed work environments.

Key aspects of an effective employee newsletter include:

• Relevant content: Tailoring information to employee interests and needs
• Consistent schedule: Regular distribution to build anticipation and habit
• Engaging format: Using a mix of text images and interactive elements
• Two-way communication: Encouraging employee feedback and contributions

By focusing on these elements your employee newsletter can become a central part of your internal communication strategy, fostering a sense of community and keeping everyone aligned with the company's goals and values.

Why start an employee newsletter?

There are several compelling reasons to implement an employee newsletter:

• Enhancing employee communications: A newsletter provides a centralized platform for sharing important information fostering a sense of community across the organization.
• Improving employee engagement: Regular company updates and news keep employees informed and invested in the company's progress and goals. With 40% of people feeling isolated at work, an employee newsletter can remind employees about the company's values, expectations, and functioning as a team, building a culture of belonging and inclusion.
• Strengthening company values: Consistent communication helps reinforce core values and company culture. Employers should consistently remind their teams of the importance of their work to the company.
• Supporting new hires and onboarding: Employee newsletters can serve as a valuable resource for new employees, helping them quickly understand company culture, processes, and recent developments.
• Providing resources for employees: By sharing educational articles, healthy recipes, diversity and inclusion content, mental health tips, and local events, the newsletter offers value to employees and encourages their personal and professional growth.

While email is often used for internal communication, it can lead to information overload and important messages being overlooked. By consolidating various pieces of information into a regularly distributed employee newsletter, companies can reduce email clutter and ensure that employees stay informed about scheduled outages, marketing updates, company announcements, and more.

An employee newsletter also complements other communication channels, such as the company intranet or internal communication system. It provides updates on what's new in the company and informs everyone about the processes to be followed for certain tasks. Additionally, it can promote the company's resources and communication tools for better and more effective communication.

Planning your employee newsletter

Creating an employee newsletter requires careful planning and consideration. Here are the key steps to follow.

1. Define the purpose: Align your newsletter with company goals and existing communication channels. Determine how it will complement other internal communication tools. Ask yourself such questions as: Why are you communicating? Who is your target audience? What do you aim to achieve with this newsletter?
2. Identify your audience: Decide whether your newsletter will target new employees, all team members, or specific departments. This will help tailor content appropriately.
3. Select content types: Choose a mix of content that includes company events, milestones, success stories, and professional development opportunities.
4. Establish a regular schedule: Consistency is key. Decide on a frequency (weekly bi-weekly or monthly, for example) that works for your organization.
5. Assemble a team: Involve representatives from different departments to ensure diverse content and perspectives. Consider including designers for layout suggestions, writers for employee spotlights or feature articles, editors for proofreading, and brainstorming partners for content ideas.
6. Choose the right tools: Select an appropriate email service provider (ESP) like Mailchimp or ContactMonkey for design and distribution, and create a template that will serve as a blueprint for each issue.
7. Set up measurement metrics: Determine how you'll track the success of your newsletter. This might include open rates, click-through rates, and reader feedback.

7 employee newsletter content ideas

A successful employee newsletter should include a variety of content to keep employees engaged and informed. Here are some ideas.

• Company news and updates: Highlight new initiatives, company-wide changes, and strategic developments. This could include:
  • Changes to your organization including leadership changes
  • Current company initiatives and developments in products or services
  • New partnerships or business deals
  • Breaking industry trends and how your company has or will play a part in them
• Employee spotlight: Feature team members, share shoutouts, and celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries. Employee spotlights could include:
  • Staff work milestones such as promotions and anniversaries
  • Personal announcements such as marriages births and child achievements
  • Welcome messages for new staff and goodbyes to those leaving
• Upcoming events: Promote webinars, company events, and professional development opportunities. This might cover:
  • Upcoming social events and reviews of recent social events
  • Professional development or classes available to employees
  • Recent and upcoming volunteer projects and their impact on the community
• New product launches or company goals updates: Keep everyone informed about the latest products or services and progress towards company objectives.
• Employee feedback and case studies: Share insights from employee surveys and success stories from various departments.
• Newsletter content categories: Include sections for trivia workflow tips and other relevant information to keep the content diverse and engaging. This could include:
  • Industry book and article reviews
  • Links to insightful industry-related podcasts, roundups, and blogs
  • Useful apps and products for business and work-life balance
  • On This Day historical facts from newspapers or company history
  • Jokes, puzzles, or other light-hearted content
• Reader-driven content: Encourage employee participation with:
  • Contests such as trivia or brain teaser competitions
  • Surveys asking readers what's important to them in their newsletter and workplace
  • Employee pet or family pictures, possibly turned into a guessing game
  • Vacation photos from employees with captions and travel recommendations

Designing your employee newsletter

Designing an engaging and visually appealing employee newsletter is crucial to capturing your employees' attention and ensuring that they read and retain the information you're sharing. Consider these newsletter design tips.

1. Create visually appealing and user-friendly layouts: Use a clean, organized design that's easy to navigate. Break up the content into sections with clear headings and subheadings, making it easy for employees to scan and find the information they're interested in.

2. Incorporate your company's branding: Use your company's colors logo and fonts to create a cohesive and recognizable design. This consistency helps reinforce your brand and makes your newsletter feel like an integral part of your company's communication strategy.

3. Utilize newsletter templates: Leverage existing tools to streamline the design process and maintain consistency. Many email marketing platforms offer customizable templates that you can adapt to your needs.

4. Incorporate multimedia elements: Use GIFs, images, and podcast links to make the content more engaging and interactive. Visuals can help convey complex information more effectively and break up text-heavy sections.

5. Optimize for mobile devices: Ensure your newsletter is easily readable on smartphones and tablets. With the increasing use of mobile devices, it's crucial to design a responsive newsletter that adapts to different screen sizes.

6. Ensure accessibility: Make sure your design is accessible to all employees, including those with visual impairments. Use alt text for images, provide captions for videos, and ensure that the color contrast is sufficient for readability.

7. Craft compelling subject lines: Use best practices for subject lines to encourage higher open rates. Keep them short, create a sense of urgency or curiosity, and avoid spam trigger words.

Tools for creating and distributing your newsletter

Selecting the right tools can make creating and distributing your newsletter more efficient. Here are some options to consider.

1. Workvivo: This comprehensive Employee Experience Platform (EXP) offers robust features for internal communications, including newsletter creation and distribution. Workvivo stands out for several reasons:

• All-in-one platform: It unifies communication engagement intranet and measurement features into one modern employee app.
• High adoption rates: Its intuitive social media-inspired design leads to adoption rates of 80% to 90% significantly higher than traditional intranets and communication tools.
• Mobile-first approach: Workvivo offers a mobile app that ensures employees can access newsletters and other communications on the go, which is particularly beneficial for companies with frontline or remote workers.
• Engagement features: The platform includes engagement features like social feeds, shoutouts, surveys, and analytics, which can make your newsletter more interactive and engaging.
• Integration capabilities: Workvivo integrates with many popular workplace tools, streamlining your communication processes.

In short, Workvivo is designed to enhance the employee experience by ensuring everyone is informed, engaged, and connected, regardless of where they work.

2. Email marketing platforms: Tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Campaign Monitor can be adapted for internal use. Email marketing platforms often offer sophisticated features for design segmentation and analytics.

3. Internal communication tools: Leverage existing platforms like Slack, your company intranet, or internal email systems for distribution. These tools can help integrate your newsletter into your employees' existing workflows.

4. Social media integration: Consider integrating with platforms like LinkedIn for broader reach, especially for company-wide announcements or achievements. This can help amplify your message and increase engagement.

5. Specialized internal communications platforms: Tools like Staffbase or Bananatag are purpose-built for internal communications and offer features tailored to employee engagement.

Measuring success

To ensure your email newsletter is meeting its objectives, it's crucial to track and analyze its performance. Here's how you can measure the success of your employee newsletter.

1. Monitor open rates and other metrics: Use analytics to understand engagement levels and identify popular content. Key metrics to track include:

• Open rates: The percentage of employees who opened your newsletter
• Click-through rates (CTR): The percentage of employees who clicked on links within your newsletter
• Readership data: How many employees are accessing and reading your updates, including time spent on different types of content

2. Define and track KPIs: Establish key performance indicators related to internal communications and employee engagement. These might include:

• Employee satisfaction scores
• Knowledge retention rates
• Participation in company events or initiatives promoted in the newsletter

3. Gather feedback: Regularly solicit input from employees to improve future newsletters. This could be done through:

• Short surveys at the end of each newsletter
• Annual or bi-annual comprehensive surveys about the newsletter
• Focus groups or interviews with a sample of employees

4. Analyze trends: Look for patterns in engagement and adjust your strategy accordingly. Pay attention to:

• Which types of content receive the most engagement
• Optimal send times for higher open rates
• Devices and platforms most commonly used to access the newsletter

If you’re using a platform like Workvivo, you have access to robust analytics that can help you measure the success of your internal communications. Some key metrics and strategies to consider include:

Engagement metrics: Workvivo allows you to track likes, comments, and shares on your content, providing a more comprehensive view of how employees are interacting with your communications.

Sentiment analysis: Use Workvivo's survey and feedback tools to measure employee satisfaction and engagement related to your communications.

Impact on business metrics: Correlate your communication efforts with improvements in key business metrics. For example, companies with engaged employees (which effective internal communications can foster) have shown:

• Up to 40% improvement in employee retention
• 21% increase in productivity
• 22% increase in employee referrals

Employee newsletter ideas: 10 examples for inspiration

Looking for ideas of what to include in your next newsletter? We’re fans of these 10 newsletter examples, which showcase effective newsletter content and design across various industries, offering inspiration for your own internal comms strategy!

1. Vivowire: In keeping with our humble ways, we’re putting the best newsletter ever (objectively. It’s fact.) first – Vivowire! It’s the fastest-growing newsletter in HR and internal comms and delivers a brilliant dose of dad jokes terrible puns pop culture references and, you know, actually helpful updates on insights, tips, and trends.
2. Google's The Keyword: Aligns employees with the company's mission through internal updates, product launches, and employee achievements. This newsletter effectively keeps employees informed about the company's direction and successes.
3. Airbnb's Employee Digest: Reinforces company culture by sharing employee stories, team achievements, and company events. It's particularly effective for connecting a globally distributed workforce.
4. Salesforce's Chatter Updates: Uses an interactive platform for real-time feedback and engagement. It focuses on company achievements, upcoming events, and personal milestones, making the communication process more interactive.
5. Slack's Slack Life: Blends company news with employee engagement content, reflecting the company's culture. It includes updates on new features, internal challenges, and community involvement.
6. Spotify's The Greenroom: Keeps employees updated on company news, new music releases, and industry trends. It also includes personal stories from employees, fostering a sense of community.
7. LinkedIn's LinkedUp: Focuses on professional development and employee recognition for its global workforce. It reinforces the company's mission to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
8. Buffer's Transparency Newsletter: Builds trust through open communication about company finances, team decisions, and company goals. This openness helps build trust and engagement among employees.
9. Zendesk's The Update: Ensures alignment across the company with leadership updates, team achievements, and important company announcements. It's designed to keep everyone on the same page and aligned with company goals.
10. HubSpot's Internal Digest: Combines company updates with educational content to foster a culture of continuous learning. It includes sections on industry trends, employee success stories, and upcoming training opportunities.

Elevate your employee newsletter strategy with Workvivo

An effective employee newsletter is a cornerstone of a thriving company culture. It's a powerful tool for fostering engagement, reinforcing company values, and keeping employees informed. When done right, it can significantly impact employee morale, productivity, and overall satisfaction.

To maximize the impact of your employee newsletter:

• Focus on meaningful content: Prioritize stories that resonate with your employees; highlight their achievements and showcase company values.
• Design for engagement: Create a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate layout that encourages interaction.
• Maintain consistency: Distribute your newsletter regularly to build anticipation and establish a habit among employees.
• Measure and improve: Track engagement metrics and gather employee feedback to continuously refine your content and delivery.

Consider leveraging Workvivo to supercharge your employee newsletter strategy. As a modern Employee Experience Platform, Workvivo offers:

• Enhanced engagement: Interactive features like polls, quizzes, and comments encourage employee participation and foster a sense of community.
• Targeted delivery: Ensure your newsletter reaches the right people at the right time, even those who are remote or on the frontline.
• Improved communication: Create a central hub for company information, announcements, and updates, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
• Data-driven insights: Track key metrics to measure the effectiveness of your newsletter and make data-driven improvements.

By incorporating Workvivo into your employee newsletter strategy, you can elevate your internal communications to new heights. Not only will you improve employee engagement and satisfaction, but you'll also strengthen company culture and drive better business outcomes. Book a demo today to see how we can help you.