JS: A newsletter should be another extension of who you are and what your work is about. It is more than okay to show your personality through the design and voice of it. I like to have at least 3 strong items to share plus a call to action. This could be an editorial assignment that you’re fired up about, a gallery exhibition that you’re participating in, a write up about a project on a website, an in-progress personal project- pretty much anything that is hitting the quality marker and that you’re proud of at the moment. Also, it is important to mention your location as well as your contact info both items should be easy to access. Here is one that I sent earlier this year.
CC: Jared pretty much covered it all, my newsletters are very similar. I try to pick three projects and a few images so recipients can still get something if they look at it for 5 seconds and don’t click to see more or read. You can see my most recent ones here and here.
EG: Every time someone interacts with you, your images, or your brand, you want to reinforce the things you think are the best about you. You should have a clear vision of what your brand stands for and what that looks like. Your newsletter (and everything else in your arsenal) should be in line with that. Some of my most recent newsletters here and here.