Nobody Reads the Newsletter - and That’s Not Their Fault

For years, companies have relied on newsletters to keep employees informed. But the truth is, most of these emails go unread. And it’s not because employees don’t care, it’s because the format is broken.

In a time when attention is limited and internal communication is competing with everything from inbox overload to back-to-back meetings, static newsletters no longer make the cut.

To understand what it looks like to rebuild internal comms from the ground up, we spoke with Barbara Marzari, a communications strategist at Sociabble, who helps organizations modernize how they connect with their people.

Barbara works with teams navigating large-scale change, from digital transformation to culture resets, and believes that the future of internal communications has to be more human, more participatory, and more honest.

The Newsletter Isn’t Failing - It’s Outdated

There’s a reason company newsletters often land flat.

“It’s not that employees don’t care—it’s that most newsletters are written for compliance, not connection. We overload them with top-down updates and expect them to feel involved. The truth is, no one has the time or the context to care about a list of bullet points if they don’t see how it impacts them directly.”, says Barbara.

That one-way flow of information may have worked when companies were smaller or more centralized. But in 2025, when teams are hybrid, global, and fast-moving, newsletters feel more like noise than news.

Metrics Are Telling the Real Story

The data backs this up. According to PoliteMail, only 21% of employees read internal emails in full, and in large organizations, that number dips even lower. For communicators and HR leaders, that should be a red flag.

Barbara notes that companies often misinterpret low engagement as disinterest. “It’s not that people don’t want to know what’s going on—it’s that they’re not being given content or channels that match how they communicate in real life,” she says.

Instead of newsletters, she encourages companies to lean into formats that feel more natural: short videos, real-time updates, and interactive platforms where employees can respond, share, or ask questions.

From Broadcast to Conversation: The New Standard

Fixing internal comms isn’t about adding more tools—it’s about changing the mindset. The goal is no longer “Did we send the newsletter?” It’s: “Are people aligned, informed, and talking about it?”

“We’re asking employees to engage with content that looks nothing like how they consume anything else—no wonder it falls flat. The way forward is to meet people where they are: shorter updates, real-time sharing, and content that’s easy to react to and pass along. If your comms don’t feel social, they probably won’t feel relevant.”

She points out that employee advocacy is a valuable signal. When employees voluntarily share internal wins or brand stories externally, it’s a sign that the internal narrative is landing.

“If they’re proud enough to post it, they’ve internalized it.”

That’s also why Barbara recommends creating communication channels where feedback flows upward, not just downward.

“Your employees are telling you what matters. You just need to make space to hear it.”

Rebuilding Trust, One Message at a Time

Fixing internal communication doesn’t happen overnight. But Barbara says the companies that get it right do one thing consistently: they listen.

At a time when engagement is hard to win and easy to lose, companies need to rethink what connection looks like. That starts with understanding how people communicate at work and adjusting accordingly.

Clear, timely, and two-way communication builds alignment over time. When employees can see that what they say has an impact, trust follows.