I agree that most email you sign up for will have a marketing component. If it didn’t, businesses wouldn’t put in the resources. Content-only newsletters are more common from blogs, industry associations, and other organizations where the marketing goal is to educate or entertain rather than sell. But make no mistake. There’s still a marketing goal.

I’m not personally a fan of hard selling, so I don’t generally take on those projects as a writer. While I don’t do my own email marketing at the moment (although I’m planning to get back into it next year with a company rebranding effort), this was my old policy — content had to be the primary focus, and any sales messages were reserved for the end, a sidebar, etc. The content is what people subscribe for. Special offers, early announcements of new product launches, and such were sidebar material but designed in a way to get reader attention and still increase sales. So a balance is definitely possible. And I see nothing wrong with an occasional sales message (such as to pitch a new product launch) as long as this isn’t the primary kind of email going out.

One of the biggest problems I’ve seen in email marketing is that businesses and site owners put a lot of emphasis on building their lists. But they slack off when it comes to list retention. Sure, many people won’t bother to unsubscribe. But they also aren’t giving you their attention when your emails go out, and that means you’re getting faulty info when you review your stats. It’s not good for anyone involved. It’s a far better strategy, in my opinion at least, to focus on keeping readers informed or entertained so they want your next newsletter and are more likely to buy a product when you do decide to promote something. It’s very similar to blogging. If you give readers what they want and you build trust, you ultimately will make more sales when you promote something. It’s win-win.

I think newsletter emails, more than nearly any other type, need to find the right balance between treating readers like statistics and treating them like close personal friends.