“I want to read about benefits!”—said nobody ever.

To be honest, even we—who are pretty passionate about benefits—wouldn’t choose to read most benefits guides. But some benefits materials rise above the boring and become truly exceptional, the perfect combination of interesting and informative.

What is it about these guides that sparks our interest and gets us reading from cover to cover?

We’ve discovered there are three main components to engaging guides:

1. The hook
   You have a short amount of time – think under 10 seconds – to pique the reader’s interest. That’s a lot of pressure for any topic, let alone benefits guides. But employee benefits are really important, so it’s time to get creative!

   What grabs our attention? We’re attracted to interesting, intriguing, and engaging things—think clever titles, brand recognition, and—let’s face it—deadlines. Having clear calls to action that jump out from the page spur employees on and help them pay better attention to their decisions.

2. The gist
   One of the temptations we see is companies wanting to fill every blank space with information. We get it. Your benefits guide is your chance to communicate the details of your benefits program, and there’s just so much to say!

   But, here at CPI, we’ve learned how to keep it simple, focus on the facts and give the highlights. Your employees are who we write for, and they want to know three things:

1. What’s in it for me?
2. What do I need to do?
3. Where can I find more information?

By answering these questions through a less-is-more approach, you’ll get the message across—and your employees’ brains will thank you.

3. The wow factor
   Now that you have a solid content strategy, it’s time to make your guides sparkle. Want employees to keep turning the pages and learning more about their benefits? Give them something interesting to look at.

   We all know people love flipping through the eye-catching photos and design elements found in magazines and on social media. Your benefits guide should be just as stunning. Take a look at our gallery of attention-grabbing guides for inspiration.

The Takeaway

At Communication Partners, we care about benefits. Making them interesting is how we help employees care about them too.

Let us know how we can help you take your benefits information from blah to aha!