Starting a Monthly Newsletter at Work: What Creative Ideas Can You Share?

Hi All,

I have to start a monthly newsletter in my company. Please help me by giving some ideas.

Regards,
Gunjan

Hi,

We will also be starting our company newsletter. My suggestion is to do it via email. That is our plan. You can use desktop publication or PowerPoint.

For those who do not have email, you may print some copies and display them on your company's notice board.

Just in case you wish to save costs.

Thank you

Hi Gunjan,

A newsletter is not as easy an exercise as it seems. I have over 10 newsletter productions under me for Asian Paints, Berger, Kotak, Otis, etc., and each has a distinct profile. Some of these have been winning corp com awards at a national level for the past three years. There are a number of factors that operate. First, the size and nature of your organization, then the other channels of communication available and the kind of information disseminated through them, the culture of the organization itself (this is necessary for the exercise to be fruitful), viability of production costs (this guides you to exploring various feasible options), etc.

I suggest you post some more details after which I will be able to give you specific guidelines on how to proceed.

Rahul

Hi Rahul,

Thank you very much for your valuable inputs. I want to design an internal newsletter for my employees that will not be related to business. We are looking for a lighter side of any newsletter. Ours is a startup company, and we want this newsletter to enhance the bond between employees by sharing their views and personal experiences.

Regards,
Gunjan

Hi Gunjan,

We have just come out with our maiden issue of our company magazine, and I have just the information you need to help you put together a newsletter. We divided the articles we received into various categories - technical, non-technical, workplace events, home and family life, jokes, educational, misc. We then decided which are going to be regular features and which categories to club together so that each issue had diverse topics which were of interest to all levels of people, and then went for the layout.

We went through a lot of company newsletters and in-magazines to get a general formatting picture and went according to what we found suitable for our company and situation. Hope this was what you were looking for!

June

Hi Gunjan,

We also have an internal newsletter called "Every Wednesday" which includes the following content: "Letter from CEO," Cartoons, Photos of major events happening in the company, New Joinees, and About Business. The newsletter is sent via email and is limited to a maximum of 4 pages, including both images and articles.

Regards

Hi Gunjan,

Continuing with yesterday's discussion;

I suggest you conduct a sample audit first to gather ideas from a diverse group of colleagues regarding what they would anticipate in the newsletter content.

Then, you must create a proper launch campaign to generate ample interest in the release. From my experience, I must warn you that I have observed newsletters from several top companies fizzle out as a wasteful and ineffective exercise, produced merely for the sake of it. As a communication professional, your responsibility will not only be producing the newsletter but also keeping the audience's interest alive. While many believe contests in the newsletter are best, that is not always the case. We can address maintaining sustained interest later on once production has started. For now, I propose announcing a prize for the best suggestions on the newsletter's content, with the first issue revealing the winners, possibly with an interview. Additionally, running a contest to name the newsletter could be engaging. These activities will help create excitement and a sense of belonging. This is crucial because, if managed correctly and as your company expands, the newsletter will become a vital tool for connection.

Determining the appropriate frequency of the newsletter is also crucial.

Another critical step you must take is appointing editorial coordinators, as information flow often becomes an issue after a couple of issues. Hence, establishing a structured team to gather and relay information to the editor is essential. These individuals could come from various departments such as HR, Marketing, etc., to ensure a diverse range of information. I cannot elaborate further without knowing the nature of your company's business and the size and distribution of your employees (which you did not mention in your response). The content's nature also varies based on the employee profile, whether it is a predominantly young team, an aging workforce, tech-savvy individuals, etc.

I hope these suggestions give you some insight. I recommend you provide more specific details regarding the information requirements. Your query still remains quite general.

If you wish, you can reach out to me at rahul@beehiveconsulting.com.

Rahul

Hello to all on this discussion,

We are also trying to bring out a newsletter in our organization. It is to be sent via email and also hosted on the HRD site of the organization. The main aim is to keep all the branches in the western region up-to-date with the happenings in the branches in the region. Once this phase is successful, we might expand it to the entire country.

If you all could please forward the various newsletters to me at [Login to view], it would be really helpful for me. This is my first assignment of this sort, and I would really appreciate some help!

Regards,
Pallavi

If you're working for an organization where the majority of communications are through the computer intranet, then a monthly email, as Bohari suggested, is the best option.

Start the newsletter with achievements of the month by your employees, such as some might have obtained additional qualifications, awards, or prizes, etc. Mention it and make it a point to congratulate them. You could also add a milestone section where the agenda of the month could be covered. Additionally, you can take a look at the steps completed in the month. Include some funny incidents that took place in that month and the birthdays of employees in that month, etc. Think of all possible things to be included.

But keep in mind that it should be long enough to convey details and, at the same time, short enough to keep one interested.

Best of luck.

Sree

Hi Gunjan,

I have posted my newsletter on the forum. You can go through it for your reference.

Hi,

The idea of having a monthly newsletter is very effective. Just thought I should share with you what we do in my organization.

Since we are a relatively widespread company with our people in more than 100 countries worldwide, we initially found it difficult to communicate with everyone. Therefore, we came up with something called GNP, which stands for Great News Plan. This communication is in the form of an email sent to all employees on their official IDs. It is created by the corporate communication group and mainly focuses on the company's growth and standing in the market, including write-ups from newspapers, etc.

In addition, we have a quarterly newsletter published internally on both the intranet and in hard copy, available in the library. The information included in this newsletter consists of:

1. Activities and programs conducted internally with photographs.
2. New achievements and customer information.
3. Write-ups from employees, both personal and official.
4. Information about new births.
5. Birthdays for the quarter.
6. Information about new couples who have wed.
7. Write-ups from employees' kids and families.

Hope this information is helpful.

Regards,

Khushnum

Hi,

Suggestions:
- Use email instead of hard copies.
- Utilize the notice board as much as possible for those who do not have access to a PC.
- Keep your communication as simple as possible. Incorporate graphics, photos, sketches, etc., to convey your message effectively.

Best of luck.

Dear all,

First of all, thanks a million to Gunjan who started this topic and to all the members who have posted their valuable suggestions on the issue under consideration.

I was in dire need of some kind of direction to start a newsletter in our company. The feedback given by Rahul, Pallavi, Sree, Khushnum, Devender, among others, has been particularly handy.

I would like the members' feedback on the following points:

1) In my opinion, the newsletter should act as a mouthpiece on behalf of the management and the employees and should cover news of general interest to employees (birthdays/achievements, etc.) and should not entail comprehensive information about the business which employees can access elsewhere.

2) Is it worthwhile to launch a newsletter when the company's performance is on the downslide and the general atmosphere prevailing in the organization is one of uncertainty?

3) What are the resources required in terms of manpower/expertise to work on the newsletter before its launch and after it is launched in an organization employing around 1100-1200 employees?

4) What is the ideal frequency of a newsletter? - Monthly/quarterly...?

5) Is it sensible to terminate the practice of circulating a newsletter once it has begun? Won't it send wrong signals?

I would be extremely grateful to have your feedback on the above queries and also sample newsletters you guys must have come across. (I have downloaded yours, Devender, and I think it's wonderful... :) )

Thank you all,

- Archana

Hi Vidya,

I am coming up with the newsletter in my organization. I have just gone through your post at Cite HR. Can you please forward a sample newsletter to [Login to view]. It would be a great help.

Thanks and Regards,
Gunjan

Hi, I too am involved in making a newsletter. I need a format that is formal and is for 4 pages. Please help me.

Try going to the Microsoft Word website and do a search for newsletter templates. It will provide a variety of templates that you can use as a starting point for your newsletter.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.