Is a newsletter an effective way to market my writing?

This week I wanted to address some questions that I have received over the last few months about ways to best use the time we have to market our writing.

Each of us has a limited number of hours in the day so trying to fit everything in can be overwhelming.

While I can't answer this question for you, I am going to give you some pros and cons to help you make an informed decision on how to best market your writing.

Using a Newsletter: Pros
I have to say, for a person who may have a limited amount of time each month a newsletter can be a great way to keep in touch with their target audience without the level of time commitment of a blog. Newsletters are often completed once a month and sent out to a database of subscribers.

Since a newsletter is monthly there is room to go in to more depth explaining techniques, news or other things that are relevant to your target readership. Furthermore, programs like Constant Contact and Feedblitz offer low cost options with professional quality.

Using a Newsletter: Cons
Before I began blogging I started by trying my hand at a monthly newsletter. While it was easier for me to write only once a month, I also felt a need to write a rather long newsletter which included interviews, market research and book reviews. Furthermore, when I heard of a great idea I had to make sure it fit in the overall flow of that month's issue. Sometimes I felt my information was stale by the time it reached the readers.

Finally, I still had to find ways to market my newsletter. I had it posted to a website but since the website didn't change much, there was no real draw to my newsletter.

Any opinions out there? I'd love to hear from those of you who use a newsletter, read newsletters or don't. Is a newsletter an effective way to build a platform?