David Griner over at Adfreak recently blogged about the dreaded e-newsletter: "Packed with puffery, these lengthy invasions of your inbox usually survive there only because it's so hard to unsubscribe from them." So true! I only read a fraction of the e-newsletters I get, and almost none of them on a regular basis.

Griner goes on to spotlight one e-newsletter he actually looks forward to: the weekly dispatch from video-game retailer GameSpot, written by Gary Offut. What sets it apart? Says Griner, "it's informative, brief and, quite often, hilarious."

Brief and informative seem like a good, no-brainer advice for any e-newsletter: respect your customers' limited time, and provide them with something of value, beyond sales pitches and offers. As for the "hilarious" part -- if you're a video-game retailer, sure. If you're in a more "serious" business, like healthcare or financial services, irreverent jabs and pop culture references probably won't fly.

But your e-newsletter still can have its own distinct, human voice. Think about the e-newsletters you actually take the time to read. Chances are, they're the ones that feel like they're written by a real person – not cut and pasted from the company web site or crafted by committee. They're immediate. Conversational. Personal. Maybe a little quirky. 

Remind you of any other kind of e-communication out there? Like, say, the one you're reading right now? Yes, indeed. E-newsletters today are increasingly taking their cues from blogs. You could even argue, as some marketers do, that blogs obviate the need for e-newsletters.

Nick Usborne sums it up well in Four ways the best e-newsletters are like blogs, "We select the blogs we like in large part because of the person who writes them. We like their voice, we enjoy their perspective, we connect with the way they write, we generally agree with their opinions…The same is true of some of the best newsletters."

So, maybe the question to ask yourself when it's time to generate that next e-newsletter isn't "How can we more effectively engage and appeal to our target audience through this communication," but, more simply: "What Would a Blogger Do?"