Employee newsletters are a great tool for companies to engage employees in a wide variety of cultural information in one place. Articles can highlight leadership’s strategies, emphasize the values of the organization, or connect individual employees to their peers through personal stories. A well-executed newsletter is essential to increasing employee engagement, but these publications can’t be successful without effective planning. Here are three tips for producing monthly employee newsletters.
1. Develop an editorial plan
Creating an outline for content in advance will take the pressure off the planning process at the beginning of each month. This editorial calendar lays out monthly themes and breaks down the articles topics that are relevant to that month. The editorial plan should be used as a guided template created in advance while also leaving room for changes. The editorial plan serves as a guide for articles and a reference point for communication objectives. (For more on what content you should include, try this article from Ragan Communications.)
2. Communicate frequently
Keeping a constant flow of communication between team members is key to efficiently completing a monthly employee newsletter. At the beginning of the job, use the editorial plan created to communicate to the internal team working on the newsletter. If participants outside of the immediate team are involved, be responsive to their emails so they’re aware of what’s expected. As the publication nears launch date, streamline all communication between the team and article participants to keep everyone on the same page.
3. Determine a consistent schedule
Monthly employee newsletters operate best when each week leading up to launch is planned out with a timeline. A consistent schedule gives structure within the team and sets the expectation of when each step of the process needs to be completed. Consider using an platform that offers a shared calendar or to-do lists for everyone to see when deadlines are approaching. Creating a monthly publication requires an aggressive workflow with very little down time, which is why it is important to stay on a consistent schedule. (Read more on tips for newsletter timing, here.)
Interested in developing a more engaging employee newsletter? Tribe can help.
