I think newsletters are fantastic. I've started one myself, and I'm still giving away A Happily Ever After of Her Own, a paranormal romance novella, to anyone who subscribes to it.

But I've been getting some that are more like spam than true newsletters. Here's how they manage to irritate me, and I don't suppose I'm alone in being annoyed:

1. I've never given explicit permission to be added to the list. Getting my email address from somewhere is not permission for you to spam me. Yes. SPAM. The word may sound harsh, but if you send unsolicited promotional email, it's spam. (And no, somebody sending you a private email once or twice does not constitute permission.)
2. I get a weekly email full of “buy this” or “buy that” that does not offer any value. Once a month is okay…maybe. Every week? No.
3. I cannot unsubscribe. I know some who mass email using the BCC field — even, God forbid, the CC field. Do not do this. Buy a newsletter service or install a script on your server that manages mass mailing lists. If I haven't given you explicit permission to add me to your list and if you send me email that I cannot unsubscribe from easily, I will report you to your ISP for abuse.

I know it's tempting to get your name out there, but really, a little common sense and courtesy will go a long way. You really don't want people associating your name with spam.