How To Make An Engaging Annual Report
If you are the CEO of a major company, there are certain essential skills that you should have acquired in business school that will help you lead your company to success. These include being able to inspire your employees, manage your budget and market your products. However, there is one skill that many CEOs have not mastered, but could be invaluable for the success of their business. That skill is storytelling.
A company’s annual report helps you connect with your customers, investors and the media by being able to tell a compelling story about how your business is developing throughout time. Not only can this help increase morale among employees, but it can also lead to greater profits for the year by influencing stock prices. Here is a guide on how to make an engaging annual report.
1. Make The Cover Eye-Catching
In your annual report design, it should be eye-catching and unique from other reports in order to encourage everyone who sees it to read it. One way you can accomplish this is through the use of colorful images, or by simply adding your logo in bold letters at the top of your page.
For attention-catching annual report covers and templates, Venngage has you covered.
2. Organize It Properly
Your report should be organized in a way that makes it easy for the reader to get through each section without becoming confused or bored by seemingly unnecessary information. Be sure to include an executive summary at the beginning of your annual report that highlights key facts about your business, including how much money you made last year and the number of products you sold as well as any other relevant information. If your business made a profit, it is also important to let your customers know how much money you planned on making and how far off that goal you were at the end of the year.
3. Write It In An Engaging Manner
Like any other essay or article, it is essential that your report is written in a way that engages the reader and makes them interested to learn more. Be sure not to use long words or complicated phrases, as this can backfire and confuse potential customers. Instead of utilizing complex sentences, try breaking up your text into smaller paragraphs so that it is simple to read.
The last thing you want for your annual report is to sound boring and informational. Think of a story that illustrates how your business has changed throughout the year in a way that will help potential investors or employees connect with what you have been doing with their money.
4. Include Images
Like a pitch deck, your annual report designs should include many pictures that illustrate the happenings in your company. You could even conduct interviews with selected employees or customers to learn more about how they feel about the progress of your business and what you can do better in the future.
5. Make Them Care About Your Report
As mentioned before, everyone who sees your report should want to read it. One way that you can accomplish this is by creating dramatic tension in each paragraph of your text. The reader should feel as though they are being given a real reason to care about the information presented on the page, so be sure to explain how you have grown or changed since last year’s report, and why your products or services are unique and useful to customers.
6. Show Investors Why They Should Invest
A well-written annual report can be an effective way to show potential investors that your company is worth investing in. It is not uncommon for the share prices of certain companies to be affected by how their reports are received, so it could cost you money if you do not handle things correctly.
7. Include A Message From The CEO
A good annual business report also includes a specific message from the CEO that explains what you have been doing with your money and how it has benefited the company as a whole. Be sure to let your team know that they will be rewarded according to their individual performance in order to help achieve even greater results in the future.
8. Keep It Professional
It is important that when finalizing your annual report you make it as professional as possible. There are many online services, such as that offer you the chance to have your report reviewed by a professional writer who can make sure it contains no grammatical errors or incorrectly spelled words.
9. Highlight Reasons And Repeatability Of Success
The most effective way to conclude your business annual report is by highlighting the reasons why you achieved success during the year and how it can be done again in the future. Explain whether your business has grown, what new opportunities may arise in the coming year, and finalize with an overall summary of why everyone should continue to pay attention to your company in the future.
In Summary
When writing your annual report, use every tool at your disposal to ensure its success. Be sure to follow these simple guidelines and your company will no doubt see an increase in profits as a result.
