On the hunt for fresh, exciting ideas for creating an internal newsletter? You’re in luck! In this post, you’ll learn how to create the best newsletters that strike a delicate balance between employee-focused, organization-focused, and customer-focused content.
Gone are the days of mundane corporate announcements dominating your newsletter. Instead, you must embrace the power of variety by catering to your readers’ diverse interests and needs. This is how you create a compelling mix that keeps them hooked from the first word to the last.
But before we cover content ideas for creating a compelling internal newsletter, let’s understand what an internal newsletter is and what it looks like.
What is an Internal Newsletter?
An internal newsletter is an email containing relevant information that is sent regularly to the company’s employees. This allows employees to be kept up to date with company-related news and organizational changes, to share reminders about various events and important dates, and to increase the motivation of the work team and convey the goals and values of the organization. In today’s labor market, workplace benefits have become increasingly important. There is a growing emphasis on so-called softer values in addition to transmitting official information. Internal company newsletters can serve a dual purpose – not only to forward official information but also to entertain, inspire, and enhance employee well-being.
Content and Structure
To ensure user-friendliness, newsletters often follow a structured format that is logical and easy to read. If the newsletter has multiple topics, it may contain different sections. In the case of an internal newsletter, it can include sections or categories, such as “Company News”, “Employee Spotlight“, “Global Market Developments”, “Wellness Tips”, or “This Month’s Recommendations”. To create a suitable newsletter, you can design an email template in the template editor of your email marketing platform by adding sections relevant to the company.
If you want to share with your recipients slightly more detailed texts that are too bulky for emails, you can direct your recipients to the pages containing the text via various CTA buttons (e.g.: “Read more here”).
Here’s an example of the structure of an internal newsletter:
Frequency
Sending a newsletter once a month is the most preferred option for a reason. Companies usually make summaries of developments on a monthly basis, and employees are also happy to look forward to an exciting read that arrives precisely at the beginning of each month. In addition, it is easier for the newsletter creators to collect information and prepare the letter when following a specific schedule. However, the frequency of sending depends on the type of company and the quantity of news. Some companies prefer to send an internal newsletter every two weeks or even weekly, while others may publish a more comprehensive newsletter once a quarter.
To find out the appropriate sending frequency for your company, you can analyze the results of your internal newsletter on an ongoing basis. If it appears that employees are unwilling to open your company’s newsletter, it may indicate that they are overwhelmed or do not have time to read the newsletter that arrives too often. At the same time, infrequent newsletters can cause a crack in the necessary connection between the company and the work team and create information gaps.
Of course, the content density of the newsletter also plays a role. Send it out when a good amount of interesting material has been collected by the time of publication and maintain that continuity. The main thing is to find a sending frequency that suits the employees of your company. Now, let’s find out how to gather this fascinating material for your internal newsletter.
21 Internal Newsletter Ideas to Get You Started
Here are some ideas for creating an internal newsletter that you can use to gather input and write content for your letter. You don’t have to use all of the options below, as the final selection largely depends on the size of your company and the field of activity.
1. Introduce New Hires and Celebrate Milestones
Welcoming new team members is an excellent way to make them feel valued and integrated into the organization. Share short profiles of new hires with your team – include their job title and work contacts, talk about their skills and previous work experience, and why not point out some interesting facts about them.
Additionally, celebrate work anniversaries, birthdays, and other significant milestones to recognize and appreciate your employees’ dedication and commitment.
2. Highlight Success Stories
Inspire and motivate your employees by showcasing employee success stories within your organization. Share stories of individuals or teams who have achieved exceptional results or made a significant impact in achieving the company’s goals.
You could report on how the marketing team experienced success with their email and LinkedIn outreach thanks to a tool like Expandi or an Expandi alternative. Acknowledge outstanding contributions and acts of kindness through shout-outs, certificates, or employee spotlights. Keep your eyes open for various projects and contact, for example, the HR department about what is happening in the company. Recognize employee contributions through public praise or write a story that focuses on the employee’s journey to success. Ask for comments from the parties involved, for example, how the employees reached the result or how the management recognizes the work done.
By highlighting the achievements of your team, you not only recognize outstanding performance but also encourage others to strive for excellence. It also helps create a sense of community and fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing among team members.
3. Company News and Updates
Want a tried and tested way to keep employees informed about the latest news and updates concerning your organization? Use newsletters.
Nearly three out of four B2B marketers use them to distribute content.
Newsletters are great avenues for sharing information about new projects, partnerships, company initiatives, or changes in policies or procedures. You’ll be helping employees stay connected to the strategic goals and vision of the company.
4. Industry Trends and Insights
Demonstrate your industry expertise by providing valuable insights and analysis of current trends and developments. This could include sharing relevant articles, research papers, or market reports.
This will equip them with the necessary knowledge to adapt to the constantly changing market. It will also encourage them to approach their work with innovation. Having open discussions about industry trends creates a proactive workforce that can strategically position the company for future opportunities, enhancing its competitive advantage.
5. Training and Development Opportunities
Promote a learning culture within your organization by offering valuable tips and resources to help employees enhance their professional skills and knowledge. This could include helpful information regarding mentoring programs, workshops, webinars, conferences, or online courses.
Emphasize the benefits of continuous learning and encourage employees to take advantage of these resources to enhance their skills and knowledge. Aligning training programs and resources with their needs also leads to improved employee productivity, as mentioned by Attrock.
6. Employee Health and Wellness
Investing in employee well-being is essential to maintaining a healthy and productive workforce. Promote this by offering a variety of health tips, such as healthy recipes and physical activity recommendations.
The expression “A healthy body equals a healthy mind” can also be viewed in reverse, so do not forget to emphasize psychological health in addition to nutrition and exercise advice. For example, you can recommend different techniques for managing stress and tips for practicing presence.
If the company organizes health days or various wellness-related events, be sure to advertise it in the newsletter and motivate employees to take part in it through some relevant facts related to the theme of the event. When a company values employee well-being, it, in turn, creates a positive work culture that increases overall employee satisfaction.
7. Team Building Activities and Events
In addition to health days, you can promote teamwork and strengthen friendships between colleagues through various other team events and gatherings. This can include exciting activities and themed days in office spaces, joint outings, charity appeals, or even virtual events.
Use your internal newsletter to promote such events. Encouraging a sense of unity and belonging enhances employee engagement and strengthens relationships among team members.
8. Client Success Stories
Maybe a celebrity shared public praise for a product line sold in your company’s online store? Or a young startup got three pivotal investment deals in a quarter thanks to your team’s consulting services? Perhaps a client has seen email open rates soar by 30% after using a list of your best subject lines. This has boosted their customer engagement as well as conversion rates.
Demonstrate the impact of your work by sharing this and other success stories and testimonials from satisfied clients or customers. Highlight the solutions or services provided, the challenges overcome, and the positive outcomes achieved. This not only boosts employee morale but also reinforces their belief in the value they contribute to your organization’s success.
9. Industry Events and Conferences
Inform employees about upcoming industry events, such as webinars, workshops, conferences, or trade shows, that they may find relevant or beneficial.
Provide details on registration and guest speakers. Mention the benefits of participating, like networking opportunities. Attending such events allows employees to expand their professional network, gain helpful ideas and insights, and represent the company.
10. Company Culture and Values
Strengthen work culture by allocating space in the newsletter to illustrate and celebrate company values. This not only reminds employees of the organization’s core beliefs but also fosters cohesion, a sense of value, and a common purpose.
Share stories from the company’s early days. Give examples of trend-changing projects and employees that embody the organization’s core values. These stories will inspire the team to align their actions with the company’s vision.
11. Business and Entertainment-Oriented Surveys
Promote an organizational culture based on open communication by soliciting feedback from employees and conducting regular internal surveys. Share the results of the studies, and in addition to the positive, be sure to emphasize the areas that need improvement. If possible, inform about the corrections made (or planned) based on the feedback received. It is clear that asking for, considering, and acting on employee input demonstrates a commitment on the part of the company and fosters trust and future engagement.
In addition to surveys concerning work organization, you can, of course, conduct surveys with a more entertaining purpose, the results of which will be interesting for the work team to see. The topics are endless, from what means of transport someone uses to get to the office and which is the best nearby lunch spot to finding out the company’s favorite from a recent singing competition.
12. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
Promote a diverse and inclusive work environment by featuring ideas, initiatives, events, or resources related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Share success stories, spotlight employee-led initiatives, or provide educational content. This fosters understanding and promotes a sense of belonging for all employees.
13. Fun Quizzes and Other Entertaining Content
Spice up the company newsletter with a small, entertaining part. For example, by creating a quiz for it or adding a few trivia questions, crosswords, sudoku, or other riddles. This kind of content allows employees to take a short break from the workday and promotes exciting and friendly competition in case the quiz is in the form of a contest.
In addition to such content, you can add a funny story, picture, or GIF to your company newsletter, and why not an exciting video? Should you decide to embed videos, consider leveraging AI text-to-video generators to create engaging video snippets for your newsletter. Your readers will thank you, considering videos are highly engaging and can boost user understanding. If, by chance, your used email client (for example, Outlook) doesn’t display videos in HTML emails, you can share a link to the video in the email along with an engaging screenshot.
14. Employee Benefits and Perks
Educate employees about the various benefits and perks offered by the company. This could include healthcare plans, retirement savings options, flexible work arrangements, or employee discounts.
By highlighting these benefits, you can enhance employee satisfaction and retention.
15. Employee-Generated Content and Testimonials
Why not encourage employees to contribute to the newsletter themselves? You can add a (permanent) line of invitation to the newsletter, in which you motivate everyone to forward their writings, ideas, anecdotes, or creative content to the newsletter editor.
Give the employees a chance to express their opinions and showcase their creative works. Encourage them to share their experiences of working in the company, highlighting the positive aspects and opportunities for growth. They could also share some amusing incidents from their everyday work life.
This being said, problems occur in every company, and presenting only positive or sugarcoated stories can come across as dishonest and unconvincing. Therefore, when adding opinion pieces to the internal newsletter, it is essential to highlight any areas of concern. This is true that shared joy is an amplified one, whilst shared worries can help to alleviate the burden. In conclusion, all of this brings people together.
16. Celebrate Holidays and Special Occasions
Recognize and celebrate holidays, cultural festivals, or special occasions that are significant to your employees. Share interesting facts, traditions, or stories related to these events, promoting a sense of inclusivity and cultural appreciation.
Illustrating common movement through changing seasons creates a sense of oneness and adds warmth to your newsletter, thus encouraging a positive work environment.
Also, you can use inspiration from changing seasons and various events to edit the general parts of your newsletter. For instance, “Let’s welcome spring together with this newsletter! As nature is also in bloom, let’s review our team’s fresh initiatives this quarter.” Or, “In honor of Earth Day, take our sustainability quiz! Get your teammates together, and let’s see which department knows the most about our planet!”
17. Leadership Messages and Insights
Include messages from senior leaders, such as the CEO or department heads. Share their vision, strategic updates, or words of encouragement to the employees. This helps employees connect with leadership and understand the company’s direction.
18. Exciting Recommendations
Encourage a culture of ongoing learning by recommending books, podcasts, or other resources that can inspire and educate them. Provide brief summaries or reviews and highlight the key takeaways to pique their interest.
Also, why not ask and include recommendations from the staff, for example, about a good movie they saw, a concert they attended, or a restaurant with delicious food they recently visited? In this way, you enable the newsletter to become not only a company publication but a platform for a shared voice.
19. Invitations to Participate in Company Campaigns
Active participation of employees in various marketing initiatives of the company can significantly increase the reach of these campaigns. Through the newsletter, you can motivate your colleagues to spread the word about various campaigns and endeavors, share and comment on the company’s social media posts, create content related to the campaign (e.g. their own posts with the campaign hashtag), etc.
Consider offering rewards to employees who actively contribute to the success of the brand’s marketing or who directly refer new customers to the company through their actions. Additionally, you might consider holding internal contests where employees can contribute their own ideas for future marketing initiatives. By involving employees in the marketing narrative, you foster a sense of pride in being part of a team, turning employees into enthusiastic brand ambassadors.
20. Share Interesting Recommendations
Encourage exploring the world and culture by dedicating a section of your internal newsletter to a variety of recommendations – from books, music, and art exhibitions to podcasts and other interesting resources that can educate or inspire. You can write short summaries of them that emphasize the main key points to arouse interest in the recommended content. In this way, you can also stimulate exciting discussions in the collective.
You could also ask and add recommendations from the employees themselves. For example, about a good movie they saw, a concert they went to, or a restaurant where they recently had the most delicious experience. In this way, you enable the newsletter to become not just a company publication but a common platform for the entire team.
21. Frequently Asked Questions and Tips
Have more uncertain or difficult times arrived? Is some big project creating a stir in the company? Due to busy schedules, it’s common for questions and points of concern to arise in companies from time to time. Address these common employee questions or concerns in the newsletter by adding a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) column to the newsletter. Provide clear and concise answers that help the team effectively navigate various processes, policies, or systems.
Ready to Use These Ideas for Creating an Internal Newsletter?
Creating a motivating internal newsletter requires careful thought and consideration. That’s because internal newsletters play a crucial role in keeping employees informed, engaged, and motivated. They serve as a valuable communication tool within organizations to provide updates on company news, events, and initiatives. Additionally, a well-crafted newsletter can contribute to the company’s brand messaging and overall marketing efforts.
Remember, engaged and motivated employees will actively and enthusiastically participate in external campaigns and promote the company’s products or services. By using these remarkable internal newsletter ideas, you can create engaging and impactful newsletters that inspire, inform, and connect your workforce.
Co-written by
Reena Aggarwal is Director of Operations and Sales at Attrock, a result-driven digital marketing company. With 10+ years of sales and operations experience in e-commerce and digital marketing, she is quite an industry expert. She is a people person and considers human resources as the most valuable asset of a company. In her free time, you would find her spending quality time with her brilliant, almost teenage daughter and watching her grow in this digital, fast-paced era. Check out her Twitter or message her at reenaa@attrock.com!