Ask Devin

I know this might feel like a headache, but honestly? This is actually a really good problem to have in book. It may not feel that way when you’re fielding request after request without a director in your corner, but the fact that people want to communicate internally? Such a good signal — make sure you document and track this for reporting! Anyways, I know a lot of internal communicators who are grasping for straws trying to get anyone to contribute content, so the appetite is there and that’s something to build on, not fight against.

Now, here’s what I think is really happening. People outside of comms don’t have a full understanding of what I like to call the “comms menu” (basically your channel matrix!). They get emails, so when they have something to share, their brain goes straight to “I should send an email… maybe a newsletter!” They’re not thinking about the full picture because nobody’s shown them what else is on the table. And that’s your opportunity — you know what’s going out, when it’s going out, who it’s going to, and what the overall volume feels like for employees. So it’s a matter of lack of context on their end… which is very normal!

So here’s what I’d recommend: the next time someone comes to you wanting to start a newsletter, don’t say no. Say “let’s talk about it” and come with questions like:

• What’s the goal here? Awareness, celebration, action?
• Does this affect the whole organization or is it specific to one team or department?
• Is there enough content to sustain a regular cadence or is this more of a one-time thing?
• Is the information time-sensitive? (How long do we have to follow up and remind?)
• What would success look like to you?

Those questions alone should do a lot of the heavy lifting and you might even find that people will answer them and realize (on their own might I add!) that a newsletter isn’t the best move. Other times, you’ll both land on something better.

If you want to take it a step further (and protect your time!), you could turn those questions into an intake form. A simple Google Form or even a Notion/Asana template that people fill out before the request officially hits your desk. It does two things: it gives you the context you need upfront so you’re not starting every conversation from scratch, and gets the requester thinking critically about what they actually need before they’re married to the idea of a newsletter. It’s something that I’ve incorporated to keep a manageable flow of requests as a team of one.

And as much as I love email, this is a golden opportunity to get creative with your channels. At Workshop, one of our founders wanted another way to communicate with the full company that had more depth than another newsletter. So we launched a podcast! It opened up a completely different kind of connection… and that’s just one option! Think about digital signage, table tents in common areas, short-form video, a recurring segment or spotlight area on your intranet. The “comms menu” gets a lot more interesting when you start showing people what’s possible beyond the inbox. Using the inbox as the primary feed and others as supplementary to add to the overall comms experience for an employee. You might even find that the person who wanted a newsletter is thrilled to try something different once they know it’s an option!

And for what it’s worth, being a team of one doesn’t mean you have to figure all of this out alone. You’ve already got the right instincts — now it’s just about building a simple framework around them so these conversations feel less like negotiations and more like collaborations!