Focus on the fact that 80% of good consulting assignments come from friends and business acquaintances—and from their friends and acquaintances—and you'll see why newsletters are important. They keep you in touch with your audience. 
Think about it: realtors, accounting firms, law firms-even some dentists and physicians-all send newsletters. Your neighborhood homeowners' association probably has one. Why? Because newsletters keep people informed.

Collect newsletters that come across your desk for a few months, and notice their content: trends, informative articles, facts and statistics, humor, cartoons, case studies, and testimonials.

You can be creative in the design of your newsletter, but remember your audience and their needs. Example: If my Realtor's  newsletter tells prices in my neighborhood, I'm interested. If he gives real estate prices across the U.S., I may not care. This is a short way of saying your newsletter has to give something your audience wants. It can't be all about you.

"We've moved," is an important announcement. But "We've moved and the new office has free parking and a workstation for visitors" is more interesting.

I've seen newsletters that are far too creative—that is, they employ numerous type fonts, unusual design and formatting, and they attempt to be clever or humorous. Watch out for that. Keep you newsletter simple, informative, and businesslike.

I have always avoided the 3-column finished look of a canned newsletter, opting instead for a simple one to four-page letter. If you can personalize your letter on your word processor, so much the better. Even if you type "Dear Susan," and then follow with the rest of your generic letter, that is a plus.

How often should you send a newsletter? There is no perfect timing, but choose a pattern you can repeat. If you begin monthly, then slip to quarterly, and then resort to hit-and-miss, you will have lost your marketing force. In fact, you could come across to you customers and prospects as disorganized, or incompetent.

Therefore, don't commit to more than you can do. If you're very busy and don't have much free time, begin with a quarterly letter—one every three months. If it goes easily, and you have plenty of content, switch to bi-monthly. If that goes well, try monthly. But remember, if your letter is too self-serving, and if it isn't interesting to your readers, it will be thrown in the trash. A poor letter will actually create a negative impression.