To Newsletter or Not to Newsletter…
TL;DR
A newsletter isn’t a communication strategy. It’s one tactic. Before defaulting to a newsletter, make sure you’re solving the right problem.
Everyone wants a newsletter
One of the top requests we get as internal communication (IC) professionals is some version of, "Can you just quickly put together a newsletter?" If that were a drinking game, there’s a high probability our collective blood alcohol levels would constantly be over the daily limit.
A mentor of mine once said, “The comms team isn’t a newsletter factory.”
And yet...
Everyone wants one.
Literally.
Ev-er-y-one.
Why?
Because it’s familiar. It’s accessible. Most people subscribe to at least one email newsletter, whether personally or professionally. So somewhere along the way, newsletters became synonymous with communication.
Sigh.
Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes a newsletter is the right solution. It’s curated. It’s streamlined. It can (theoretically) cut down on email noise, which is usually why people love the idea in the first place.
Et voilà. An email newsletter.
Cue the angelic choir.
As comms professionals, it’s easy to jump into execution mode. “You want a newsletter? I can give you a newsletter.” Double quick, get that newsletter built. You delivered. You showed you’re a good partner. Your internal client got exactly what they asked for.
Huzzah!
Victory, right?
Well... not quite.
The Problem with starting there
Yes, sometimes a newsletter is absolutely the right move.
But too often, we jump straight to the solution before understanding the problem.
Good communication isn’t about creating content for content’s sake. It’s about helping the business achieve an outcome. Sometimes that outcome requires a newsletter. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Before you automatically say "yes" to the next newsletter request, pause and ask yourself three questions.
1) What Problem am I trying to solve?
This pulls the camera back and forces you to think bigger.
Before jumping to a solution, you have to understand the problem. Otherwise, it’s like a doctor prescribing aspirin because it seems to cover plenty of ailments.
Is there confusion?
Is there too much email?
Is the real issue that employees don’t know where to find information?
The answer changes the communication approach.
2) Who is My audience?
A deep understanding of your audience is step one in meeting them where they are.
And where they might not be is in an email inbox reading a newsletter.
Think about how they work. What competes for their attention? What motivates them? Where do they naturally consume information? The more you understand their day-to-day experience, the more likely your communication is to land.
3) How am I measuring success?
Sure, you can hit send on that newsletter. But how do you know if it actually did anything?
This is where it’s helpful to separate outputs from outcomes.
Outputs are things like open rates, read rates, and click rates. They tell you whether someone interacted with your communication.
Outcomes tell you whether your communication actually influenced behavior.
Did associates sign up for the webinar?
Did they complete the training?
Did they follow the new process?
If the answer is no, it may be time to re-evaluate the approach rather than simply sending another newsletter.
The REal Question
Newsletters aren’t good or bad. They’re simply one tool in the communication toolbox.
The best comms teams don’t start by asking, “What should we create?”
They start by asking, "What problem are we trying to solve?"
So the next time someone asks you to create a newsletter...
Stop. Think. Consider.
Is a newsletter actually the right move? Or are you just people pleasing?
