So what type of newsletter do you want to send anyway? Or maybe more than one type in a sequence.

Here's a quick breakdown of the basic types of newsletters you could send and how you might use them to maintain and build a relationship with your subscribers.

Most common: "email newsletters" (or what I also refer to as informational or news-style email newsletters). I call them news-style emails for it seems that all types of newsletters, whether a postcard email or informational email, are called "email newsletters").

So, yes, quality content is key with this type newsletter — content, content....
what to say, how to say it, and when do you have time to develop quality content.  But there isn't much else better for maintaining a good business relationship with your clients. You may or may not be at a point where you have compiled good content, but most organizations understand the value informational newsletters.

So find something your audience should know more about concerning your industry or field of study. How do the type of products or services you produce make their lives better or easier. Find an expert in your field to write for you, get permission to reprint an article — or you or someone in your organization is an expert ready to produce quality content.

You may want to provide weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly articles related to your business that promotes your brand awareness and would in turn help your customer retention, ad revenue, and other goals. Keep the content interesting and focus more on the topic, not as much so your brand or the information may come across as bias.

Catalog: the online electronic newsletter for the retailer. You could decide on one main section or various sections for each email catalog depending on what works for you. But either way, keep a consistent number of sections to reduce prep time. Highlight an item or two within each section and send them to your website. Keep in mind that layouts for catalog emails are more complex, with stylizing that may need more testing to insure consistency within various email clients. So this too is a good reason for a consistent number of sections... and thereby a consistent layout and a set number of sections is a tremendous help during preparation.

Announcements: usually short one-off emails.
On one hand, it would be good to have a standard format for these emails, as many of them would be last minute announcements, or time-critical information where the situation did not warrant a lot of preparation.

Or an announcement email really could be more like a postcard or a coupon, for the last days of your sale or to begin a promotion.

Press Releases: While similar to announcements, are typically geared more towards public relations than sales. So other than media releases, you would use this type of email to inform of upgrades or launches, community involvement, and organizational governance.

Process Emails: Emails to follow up an online purchase, an inquiry, an entry for a competition, or to participate in an activity your organization is undertaking.

These emails are in a reply to a regular subscriber or newly interested person, so you could use these emails as a time to inform as appropriate and maintain or start your relationship. You more than likely have their attention already since they were first to take the time to contact you and show interest. [ideas here about promoting brand awareness without sounding self-serving...]

Next: planning a email sequence using different types of newsletters.