Newsletters: What to Do or Not to Do?

Working in a role close to marketing, I find myself asking the same question every couple of years. What would I do differently if I got a chance to design one. And guess what? I now have the opportunity to design one.

Here's what I think:

- You spend a few seconds skimming an email

- If something catches your eye, you read/click on it

- Sometimes, you're busy and you'll mark the email unread but never really go back to it

- Usually, you won't get hooked and you'll leave the email, never to read it again.

So the key thing is: have something shiny that will catch someone's eye. But for an audience of hundreds/thousands of people.

What is something that catches your eye in a newsletter? What is something that makes you want to unsubscribe? What would you suggest that I do?