Writing and Designing Employee Newsletters

Whether your business is housed in one location or multiple sites, consistent and meaningful communication is crucial to your organization’s success, and a well-developed employee newsletter can provide the ideal vehicle to convey your company’s news.

 

While layout and design are essential to your newsletter’s overall success, content reigns supreme. Newsletters with the greatest impact will inform and motivate your employees by featuring news and notes about clients and, most importantly, staff members. Stories may include:

Newsworthy accomplishments. This may include professional and/or personal successes featuring one or several employees. Landing a major client is obviously newsworthy, but so is winning the corporate softball tournament or supporting a positive community cause. Turn to your employees for story ideas about co-workers and consult customer comments for interesting leads.

New employee recognition. Welcome new employees and introduce them to colleagues by including a brief, but engaging, message about their background and responsibilities. 

Employee ideas. Capture your employees’ creative ideas to increase profits or improve products via interviews and surveys. Their suggestions may inspire others and the “printed” recognition will show them and their colleagues that your company appreciates its staff members and welcomes their contributions.

Customer and product information. Employees who are well-informed about the needs of your current and prospective customers will be better prepared to develop those professional relationships, ultimately benefitting your earning potential. Additionally, sharing effective tips and tricks to sell your products and services will increase employees’ confidence and increase sales.

Your company goals. Help your team reach sales and organizational goals by explaining what they mean, why they are so important and how your employees can achieve them.

Company job opportunities. Including your internal and external job openings is an inexpensive way to generate employee interest and promote the positions via referrals. According to WCF’s 2008 State of the Workforce survey, more than three of every five employers site employee referrals as a top recruitment source.

Answers to frequently asked questions and complaints. Compile employees’ complaints and frequently asked questions and include their solutions/answers in stories and/or an FAQ section of your newsletter.

Content may be key, but quality newsletter layout and design will keep employees engaged and coming back for more. A well-written, visually interesting newsletter will include: 

Descriptive headlines. An important article may not be read if the headline lacks character. Write headlines that contain verbs and are complete sentences.

Consistent type sizes and fonts. Comic Sans may be your favorite type font, but is it appropriate for a company newsletter? Probably not. A uniform, consistent look is essential to establishing an identity for your newsletter. Typically, newsletters should include one type style and type size for the main text of their articles and only one or two styles of fonts for headlines and subheads.

Articles of varying sizes. Lay out your articles at varying widths. For longer articles, consider stretching them across three columns at the top of the page. Shorter, less important articles can be featured lower on the page and spaced across one or two columns. If your story is too long for the space available, don't reduce the type size. Instead, cut words from your story to keep the body text consistent throughout all articles.

Numerous photos. Photos are the best and easiest way to make your newsletter visually interesting. They add credibility to a newsletter and will draw readers in, keep them engaged and help them retain content. Photos of employees’ professional and personal achievements generate a sense of pride and community.