Hey there, 

Alyssa here 👋🏻, 

I’m thrilled to take over today’s issue of You’ve Got Comms! As a former senior comms manager with an internal comms and change management background, I understand the crucial role that internal communicators play in building better workplaces. Your work is not just important, it’s invaluable.

(And if no one has told you recently, you’re doing incredible, critical work, and you’re crushing it!) Emma kindly invited me to claim today’s issue to share my three best tips for becoming a better newsletter storyteller, so let’s dig in!

Company newsletters get a bad (and undeserved) rap. Often, the problem isn’t the channel itself, but the content inside.

Think about it this way: Employees don’t typically get to choose whether they want to subscribe to their organization’s newsletter. And without that choice, it’s up to us to ensure the content is valuable and worth their while. The stakes are higher, so we need to treat it that way. 

Enter the art of becoming a newsletter storyteller—your secret weapon to creating content your team members will care about. Loosely defined, newsletter storytellers know how to convert traditional company updates into content that hooks readers. So let’s dive into my best tips. 

1. Write with “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM) in mind.

By shifting from a company-centric to a reader-centric approach, you can empower your readers and increase their engagement. Focus on drafting content that feels directly relevant and applicable to your readers. 

• Here’s what company-centric content sounds like: Due to company-wide budget constraints, we’re reducing departmental budgets by 10%.
• And here’s what reader-centric content sounds like: To protect the team and prevent layoffs, we’re tightening budgets across teams. This will help us stay resilient in a slower market while keeping your core projects and team intact. 

The second approach directly addresses the reader’s concerns and demonstrates the company’s commitment to supporting them. Consider these questions for better WIIFM framing:

• Does this describe a before (pain point) and after (relief)?
• Did we spell out the direct personal benefits?
• Is this update anchored in a real experience?

2. Layer in emotion to make content more relatable. 

You know how they say, “show, don’t tell?” This holds in internal communications, too. Adjust your content so your readers feel something.  

• Instead of, “We created a new dashboard to save you time!”
• Try something like, “You have a looming deadline. You click ‘load dashboard’ and one minute passes. And then two. And then five. By the time the dashboard loads, you’re onto the next task, and your train of thought is gone. We know it’s frustrating. The good news? Next week, that wait is gone.”

The former tells employees company news, while the latter shows them:

1. You understand their pain points.
2. The company is committed to providing solutions to support them.
3. The new dashboard will save them time and eliminate frustration.

3. Bring your stories to life visually with intention. 

The right visuals can make an update land, but only if you’re intentional. Think about how you can use visuals to deepen emotional relatability and help employees recognize themselves, laugh, or nod in agreement. 

Take a well-placed GIF, for example. Or a genuine (not posed or forced) photo of a team enjoying time together. 

The right visuals and narratives will reinforce each other and bring your newsletter content and brand to life. Just remember that every visual should earn its place by making the story sharper, funnier, more human—and most importantly, more engaging. 

Company newsletters can be a powerful and fun internal comms channel. Turn drab updates into well-written stories and watch your newsletter become a channel your employees love. 

Thanks so much for joining me today! Now it’s time to explore other comms resources for creating the best employee newsletters. 

Top Reads  

From Newsletters to Internal Podcasts

From driving authentic leadership comms to connecting non-desk workers, learn how podcasting can humanize your brand.

Resource Guide: Templates, Tools & Trending 

Email Is Alive & Well 

Is email dead? Not at Cognizant. Hear how one of the world’s largest IT service providers turned email into their most trusted and effective internal comms channel. With 300,000+ employees, Cognizant cut through inbox noise using data-driven insights, smart segmentation, and engaging design.

Alyssa’s IC Book Pick

No one understands the relentless pursuit of “doing more” quite like internal communicators. In Slow Productivity, Cal Newport advocates for producing meaningful, high-quality work at a sustainable pace rather than attempting to maximize output through constant busyness. Apply the concepts of slow productivity to become a more strategic communicator. 

Discussions  💬    

Alyssa Towns,
Freelance Writer &
Communications Specialist