Ask HN: Should I Start an Email List?

I’m debating starting an email list to keep people up to date on my personal projects and writing. My main motivation is to get eyes on some of the projects I'm working on. I don’t have any business or product I’m trying to sell, but I think in a few years I would like to, which is why I would like to have an audience in place.

The drawback, as I see it, is time. No matter how small of an effort this is (IE once a month) it will still take time away from other productive activities. I’m also still coming to terms with the idea of self promotion.

I know that to get noticed I need to market myself, but it feels a little odd (especially since I’m not trying to sell anything - yet). I’m also worried I wont be able to have enough “interesting” material to send out on a regular basis (IE monthly).

I’m interested in different perspectives on this. Do you have an email list that isn’t strictly related to a business? Is it helpful? How much time do you spend maintaining it? Are there any tools or services you recommend?