Internal memos help leaders build morale, share company updates and increase community connections. Combining these updates into a monthly or quarterly newsletter can be a creative and effective way for C-suite leaders to communicate with employees and managers.
While creativity is essential to the development of an effective internal newsletter, as comms pros know, some approaches and types of employee-facing content are less engaging than others, and knowing what not to do is essential. Below, 13 members of Forbes Communications Council each share one practice to avoid to ensure an internal newsletter achieves the goals of communication and engagement.
Members pictured from left to right.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Failing To Acknowledge Issues
Communicators shouldn’t lack self-awareness. When trying to represent the company, don’t forget to also represent employees. If there is a well-known issue or concern among the staff, do not shy away from at least acknowledging its existence. - Nikki Shum-Harden, Apple Arcade
2. Using Jargon And Fluff
Make sure it’s written simply and succinctly—no jargon or fluff. Keep the tone consistent with your brand tone and voice, as well as down to earth. Make sure a variety of teams and topics are covered. While newsletters are good tools for collaboration and motivation, keep it real. Cover the tough subjects too. Make sure there’s enough substance so that employees look forward to reading the next one! - Meira Primes, GrowthSpace
3. Failing To Provide Context
Marketing communication professionals are typically at the heart of most corporate initiatives. In their earnest effort to convey relevant insight to employees with a newsletter, communicators don’t always provide enough context or detail for the reader. Communicators should not overestimate how much company knowledge employees are aware of and have access to. - Deetricha Younger, Deetricha Younger, LLC
Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
4. Filling Gaps With Irrelevant Information
This sounds counterintuitive to delivering a consistent newsletter, but you shouldn’t have to pull interesting things out of departments or stakeholders just to have content. If there isn’t something noteworthy, don’t fill the gaps with fluff. Fluff gets ignored, downvoted and loses attention. If it’s 500 words one month and 1,000 the next, that’s okay, as long as it’s always relevant information. - Zachary Hardison, Questline Digital
5. Sticking To Boring Facts
Make sure it’s not boring! Yes, company newsletters need to include messages from leadership and information about topics such as benefits. But if that’s all they include, employees won’t actually read them. Use pictures and celebrate employees across the company. We include a “Pet of the Month” from the local humane society. By engaging employees, we make sure important messages break through. - Robert Neely, Lima One Capital
6. Padding Your Content
Communicators should avoid padding. There’s a temptation to fill an internal newsletter with lots of content to make it seem “substantial.” However, we are all flooded with content, and most of your team struggles to keep up with reading their business emails and messages every day. Define the point of the newsletter, make sure it offers value to the reader, then avoid padding and keep it on point. - Andrew Martin, Asia Online Publishing Group
7. Front-Loading Key Content
A newsletter can be a blunt instrument in an organization with lots of personas. The content may be overly general and lose engagement because it’s trying to appeal to everyone. If you want to keep more people reading to the end, though, don’t front-load key content. Space out important messages and keep something exciting for the finale. News of a competition or an employee award may keep them reading. - Scott Hitchins, Interact Software
8. Sugarcoating The Truth
Avoid corporate propaganda and sugarcoating the truth. Innovation dies in muddy waters and requires candid transparency to take hold and thrive. It’s up to you to help build a culture of inclusive innovation, and employee communications are essential to achieving that goal. - Alex Goryachev, Tulane University Freeman School of Business
9. Ignoring Your Audience
Depending on your business, an internal newsletter can tend to be a little dry. If you actually want employees to read it and engage with the content (which you do), then you have to take your audience into consideration, as with any marketing campaign. What would employees like to hear about? Is there behind-the-scenes news you can share? Consider using the newsletter to drive engagement. - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC
10. Sharing Content Intended For Customers
Audiences matter. Avoid sharing content intended for your customers with your employees. Make sure internal communications are unique to the employee audience and create relevant value for them. While highlighting departments, try to recognize less visible jobs or groups of employees. This will help them feel recognized and valued for their contributions. - Mike Tippets, Hughes
11. Failing To Achieve Cross-Department Buy-In
Communicators should use cross-department buy-in. If you’re creating an internal newsletter, make sure you’ve given all relevant departments a chance to either weigh in on the content you’re distributing or submit content for consideration—this way, your newsletter reflects all aspects of the business. - Melissa Kandel, little word studio
12. Not Including It In Your Overall Communications Strategy
Avoid pouring time and resources into your company newsletter without tying it to your overall communications strategy. Be clear about what purpose your newsletter serves. Ensure your newsletter fits in with your other communications channels and make sure you can use it to reinforce your content strategy instead of as a standalone piece. - Frank Wolf, Staffbase
13. Thinking Of It As A ‘One And Done’ Effort
Don’t think of a newsletter as a “one and done” effort. Just like the rest of our marketing programs, a good newsletter these days needs to be omnichannel, with written, audio and video components that are syndicated across a company’s intranet, chat and other digital channels. Assume that people will absorb something, somewhere, but not that a single written newsletter is what will work. - Eric Brown, JumpCloud
