10 Ways to Maximize Employee Engagement With Newsletters

Employee engagement newsletters are a powerful tool to help bridge the communication gap between upper management and teams in an organization—offering a consistent way to share important updates, celebrate achievements, and promote a sense of community.

It’s challenging to capture your employees’ attention when so many different channels are vying for it. To complicate matters, your employees might be spread across multiple offices or working remotely. Yet, it’s crucial that they engage with your company newsletter to stay aligned.

However, not all newsletters are created equal—simply sending out a newsletter is not enough to guarantee engagement. To truly capture your employees’ attention and make a meaningful impact, you need a strategic approach to content and delivery.

In this post, we’ll share ten proven ways to maximize your newsletters. Learn how to increase employee newsletter engagement by personalizing content and utilizing data analytics, these strategies will help you create a newsletter that captures attention and strengthens connections across your organization.

Why Employee Engagement Matters

Engaged employees are more likely to be motivated and invested in their work, which leads to better performance and business outcomes. Based on decades of engagement research, Gallup stated that engaged employees produce better results compared to other staff—across multiple industries and company sizes. However, only 23% of employees worldwide feel engaged in their work.

Engaged employees are more likely to collaborate effectively with colleagues, support organizational changes, and provide valuable feedback that can drive continuous improvement. In short—employee engagement is the foundation of a high-performing, resilient, and innovative organization.

Here are some benefits of engaged employees:

• Increased employee productivity
• Better time management
• Improved employee well-being and work-life balance
• Enhanced innovation and creativity
• Stronger alignment with company values
• Higher employee retention rates
• Stronger alignment with company values and mission
  

Looking for ways to engage your employees? Check out this post on how to engage employees in the workplace.

How Can Employee Newsletters Help With Engagement

Keeping employees informed, motivated, and connected comes with its own set of challenges—especially in both hybrid and remote work environments. However, one of the most effective tools for achieving this is an employee engagement newsletter.

Here are some of their top benefits:

Facilitates transparent communication: Regularly sharing updates, company news, and strategic goals keeps employees informed and builds trust.

Promotes employee recognition: Recognition is a powerful motivator, and newsletters are an ideal medium for highlighting employee achievements. Featuring employee spotlights, awards, or shout-outs can boost morale and motivate employees to perform better.

Check out our article for more employee recognition ideas here.

Enhances staff feedback and participation: Engagement is a two-way street—including surveys, polls, and feedback sections encourage employees to voice their opinions and feel heard.

Facilitates cross-departmental collaboration: By sharing updates, projects, and achievements from different teams, you build a sense of unity and awareness across the organization. Newsletters also break down work silos and promote a more connected workforce.

Supports learning and development: Include learning and development opportunities in newsletters by featuring upcoming training sessions, workshops, and development resources. This ensures employees are aware of opportunities to advance their skills.

Engages remote and hybrid employees: Employee newsletters provide a consistent method for sharing important updates and company achievements, regardless of physical location—reducing feelings of isolation among remote and hybrid staff.

10 Ways to Maximize Employee Engagement With Newsletters

When done right, an employee engagement newsletter can cultivate a strong sense of community and morale in the workplace. But, how can you maximize its impact?

Here are ten effective strategies you can use to create engaging employee newsletter templates and enhance engagement across your organization.

1. Personalize content for your audience

Personalization is the key to creating an engaging employee engagement newsletter. When employees feel that the information they receive is valuable and tailored to their specific roles or interests, they are more likely to engage with the content.

First things first, you need to understand your different audiences and the type of content they want from you. With ContactMonkey, you can refine your internal email segmentation by gathering and analyzing insights from your staff. Monitor your workforce’s engagement with analytics like open rates, click-through rates, click maps, and more.

From there, you can segment your employee audiences and tailor content to specific departments, teams, or even individual employees when appropriate. Build out segmented email lists with our list management tool based on key factors like job roles, location, demographics, interests, or preferences for communication channels.

For a deeper dive into how to send personalized emails, see our post here.

2. Gather employee feedback from your newsletters

Interactive elements create a two-way communication channel that helps you gather valuable insights into employee needs, preferences, and concerns.

For example, a quick poll can help gauge interest in an upcoming event, while a feedback form or employee surveys can collect opinions on a new policy. This not only fosters a sense of inclusion by making employees feel heard but also enhances the relevance of your content, ensuring that future employee newsletters are tailored to the interests of your workforce.

With an internal communications tool like ContactMonkey, you can include pulse surveys, Likert scales, dichotomous scales, emoji reacts, anonymous suggestion boxes, event registration buttons, polls, and feedback forms.

Based on this data, you can continuously refine and optimize your internal communications strategy, making your content more engaging and fun for your staff.For more interactive newsletter ideas, check out our internal company newsletter guide.

3. Highlight employee stories and achievements

When employees see their peers celebrated for their hard work, it builds a culture of recognition and appreciation. This acknowledgment helps motivate employees to strive for excellence, knowing their contributions will be valued and visible. Recognizing achievements in a newsletter also gives employees a sense of pride and ownership in their work—leading to increased engagement and job satisfaction.

For instance, imagine you want to include a new featured section in your employee newsletter. With our email template builder, you can use the drag-and-drop function to seamlessly include stories from across your organization—whether it’s a spotlight on an individual employee’s innovation, a team’s project success, or a behind-the-scenes look at different departments. These stories personalize the content and make the newsletter more relatable and engaging for all your staff.

4. Create themed employee engagement newsletter templates

Creating themed employee newsletters is a highly effective strategy for capturing attention and establishing a consistent communication rhythm while keeping your internal comms fun for your staff.

Using themes can make your staff newsletters more interesting and relevant to current events or seasons. For example, you could create newsletters around themes like “Innovation Week,” “Health and Wellness Month,” or “Holiday Celebrations.” Themed newsletters can help break the monotony and keep your content fresh and engaging. They also allow you to align your messages with the broader goals and values of the organization.

With ContactMonkey’s flexible newsletter template editor, you can design themed newsletters that align with seasonal events, company milestones, or industry trends. You can customize colors, fonts, and layouts to match the theme and keep your newsletters visually engaging.

Check out our employee newsletter content ideas by month to help you creatively engage your staff.

5. Encourage employee newsletter engagement ideas from staff

Inviting employees to submit content, such as articles, photos, or ideas for future newsletters, can significantly boost engagement. When employees contribute to the newsletter, they feel a sense of ownership and pride in the content—which can enhance the quality of your newsletter. Employees from different roles, teams, and backgrounds offer unique insights and perspectives that can enrich your newsletter content. By inviting them to share their experiences, project highlights, or personal stories, you introduce a variety of voices and ideas that make your newsletters more engaging and relevant.

For instance, let’s say you want to include a section from your marketing team about a specific campaign they executed in the past month. You can ask your staff to provide visuals and a small blurb explaining the project. With the drag-and-drop function in our email template builder, you can create a newsletter template with a section specifically for your employees so they can customize their content. Make employee customization that much easier with our email collaboration feature.

Learn about the importance of employee-generated content in newsletters by reading why employee newsletters are important.

6. Use email analytics to improve employee engagement

Internal email analytics are a game-changer when it comes to understanding the effectiveness of your employee engagement newsletters. For any organization looking to enhance its internal communications, using a robust analytics tool is key to ensuring your newsletters are driving engagement, strengthening connections, and meeting communication goals.

Here are some key metrics you can track to gauge employee engagement and how to interpret the data:

METRIC	HOW TO USE THE INFORMATION
Open-rate	Open rates refer to the percentage of your employees who open your newsletters out of the total number sent. For example, they provide insights into how enticing and effective your subject lines and content are to your readers.
Click-through rate (CTR)	CTR measures the percentage of readers who click on links within your newsletters. It gauges the effectiveness of your content based on employee engagement and directs them to additional resources or actions.
Read time	Read times refers to the average amount of time your audience spends reading your email content—assessing if employees are reading the information you shared.
Pulse survey responses	Pulse survey responses capture quick feedback from employees on specific topics through brief, regularly distributed surveys. These responses help gauge employee morale and help businesses make data-driven decisions to improve internal communications and workplace culture.
Opens by device and location	These track which devices employees use to open your newsletters, as well as their geographic location. This data helps optimize content for preferred devices and tailor communication strategies based on locations.
Response times	How quickly your audience engages with a call-to-action, like a link or survey, after opening your newsletter.
Employee net promoter score (eNPS)	eNPS measures the likelihood your employees will recommend your workplace to others—measuring overall job satisfaction.
Anonymous feedback and employee comments	Employee newsletters allow employees to share feedback without revealing their identities. These inputs help identify areas for improvement and understand employee concerns.
Link opens	The number of times recipients click on specific links included within your newsletter content—helping evaluate which topics or resources are most engaging to your teams.
Click maps	Click maps visually represent where your staff is clicking within your newsletters, highlighting which content or links attract the most engagement.

This specific data can be found within ContactMonkey’s internal Engagement Distribution Timeline, where you’ll be able to see how your employees engaged with your content over a set period. With historical data in your back pocket, you can continuously track and measure your audience’s behavior and make adjustments based on these analytics—so you can learn how to create an engaging employee newsletter.

Discover how workforce engagement software can help your company improve staff engagement.

7. Promote company events with employee newsletters

Newsletters are an excellent way to inform employees about upcoming events and encourage participation. Whether it’s a company-wide meeting, a team-building activity, or a social event, promoting these events through newsletters can increase attendance and create a stronger sense of community.

Events are a reflection of your organization’s culture and values, whether they’re aimed at team-building, celebrating achievements, or providing professional development opportunities.

By promoting events in your employee engagement newsletter, you reinforce the values your company stands for—like collaboration, innovation, inclusivity, and employee recognition.

Here are some key reasons why featuring events in your internal comms can have a significant impact:

Enhance employee engagement: Employee newsletters improve engagement by keeping employees informed and excited about upcoming opportunities to connect, celebrate, and collaborate.

Reinforce company culture and values: Consistent newsletter communication builds trust, boosts morale, and encourages employees to embody company values in their daily work.

Encourage cross-departmental socializing: Increased interactions between teams enhances company cohesion— leading to a more inclusive and engaged workforce.

Drive employee morale and motivation: By regularly recognizing achievements, sharing positive news, and celebrating milestones, employees will feel more valued and appreciated, boosting their confidence and commitment to their roles.

Promote inclusivity and accessibility: Employee engagement newsletters ensure all employees, regardless of location or role, receive transparent communication about company news, events, and opportunities.

With ContactMonkey, you can add event management integrations to make it easy to promote company events directly within your newsletters. Add RSVP buttons, event reminders, and links to calendars, all within the email. Your internal email dashboard will tell you who signed up for events, helping you gauge interest and participation rates.

8. Offer targeted training programs for staff

Employee engagement newsletters can be a great communication channel for sharing links to webinars, articles, courses, and other resources that support employees’ growth and development. Providing these resources not only helps employees improve their skills but also demonstrates that the organization is invested in their personal and professional development. Regularly featuring training content in your newsletters can lead to a more skilled and engaged workforce.

Learn how to create engaging employee newsletters with our own training and development template below:

Section Title: Upskill Your Future – Training Spotlight

New Online Course: “Advanced Project Management Techniques”

We are excited to announce a new training opportunity for all employees! This month, we’re offering an “Advanced Project Management Techniques” online course designed to enhance your project management skills, whether you’re leading a team or managing your tasks.

Course Details:

• Format: Self-paced online course
• Duration: 4 weeks (Estimated 2-3 hours per week)
• Start Date: October 15th
  

Platform: Learning Hub (Access through your employee portal)

What You’ll Learn:

• Advanced project planning and scheduling techniques
• Risk management strategies and best practices
• Effective communication and leadership skills for project managers
• Tools for tracking progress and measuring success
  

How to Enroll: To enroll in this course, click here to sign up through the Learning Hub. Spaces are limited, so be sure to register by October 10th to secure your spot!

[Register here]

9. Send employee newsletters consistently

Employee engagement newsletters are a vital tool for keeping your workforce informed, engaged, and aligned with your organization’s goals. However, it’s not just the content that matters—consistency in sending out these newsletters is equally important. Whether you choose to send out newsletters weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, sticking to a schedule is crucial for long-term engagement.

Creating newsletters from scratch can be tedious and time-consuming. If you’re sending out emails regularly, you can even set up recurring employee engagement newsletter templates weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly to maintain consistency without added effort. With ContactMonkey, you can set up recurring emails in Outlook so you don’t have to think twice about your newsletter schedule.

Here’s an example of a newsletter template below:

[Company Name] Weekly Brief: [Insert date]

Subject Line: 🗞️ Weekly Brief: Key Updates You Need to Know!

1. Quick Company Updates

• Milestone Achieved: We’ve just crossed [Number] sales this quarter!
  

New Client Wins: Welcome to our newest client, [Client Name]!

2. Event Reminders

• 🎉 Team Social Hour: Friday, 4 PM in the cafeteria.

🗓 Upcoming Webinar: “Mastering Time Management” on Thursday at 2 PM. [Register Here]

3. Employee Spotlight

👏 Congrats to [Employee Name]! For [Achievement or Recognition].

4. Tip of the Week

💡 Productivity Tip: Try the “Pomodoro Technique” – Focus for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break.

5. Fun Corner

• 🎊 Birthdays This Week:
  • [Name 1] – [Date]
  • [Name 2] – [Date]
    

6. Closing Note

Thanks for your hard work! Keep up the great energy!

Best,
[Your Name]

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Update your preferences or unsubscribe [here].
[Company Address] | [Company Website]

For more tips on the ideal newsletter sending time, check out our post here.

10. Highlight leadership announcements

One of the most impactful ways to use newsletters is by including messages and announcements from upper management and the CEO. Featuring these high-level communications in your employee engagement newsletters helps bridge the gap between leadership and employees, creating a more engaged and informed workforce.

Messages from upper management and the CEO help reinforce the company’s vision, mission, and strategic goals. When employees hear directly from their leaders, it clarifies the organization’s direction and priorities. This alignment is crucial for ensuring that every team and individual understands how their roles contribute to the bigger picture. Consistently featuring these announcements in newsletters helps keep employees focused on what matters most to the company.

For creative ways to name your CEO section, explore employee newsletter names.

How to Measure Employee Newsletter Engagement With ContactMonkey

Employee newsletters are a key part of any internal communication strategy, helping to keep your workforce informed, engaged, and aligned with company goals. However, simply sending out newsletters isn’t enough to ensure their effectiveness. To truly maximize the impact of your internal communications, it’s essential to analyze your employee newsletter analytics regularly.

Before diving into the world of analytics, let’s break down some key steps.

Step 1: First, you need to define your specific internal communication goals and objectives. What are you trying to achieve with your internal communications? Clearly outlining these objectives will guide the selection of relevant benchmarks and metrics.

Step 2: Next, you’ll need to track internal email benchmarks. This can include click-through rates, open rates, read times, and more. Based on these metrics, you can identify trends, understand what is currently working, and pinpoint areas that need improvement.

Step 3: Use an employee newsletter platform like ContactMonkey to help you track your internal email analytics. You can run detailed reports from the Reports tab and view your historical email campaigns to track newsletter performance over time—so you’re continuously improving.

Constantly evolving your internal employee newsletter strategy ensures that content remains relevant, engaging, and aligned with employees’ evolving needs and interests. This ongoing refinement maintains high levels of employee engagement, boosts morale, and supports overall productivity and organizational culture.

Ready to take your employee engagement newsletter to the next level? Sign up for a free ContactMonkey demo to learn how to create an engaging employee newsletter and see our advanced newsletter tracking features in action today!