Ideas for Newsletter Introductions

Newsletters are an effective way to share information about a business or school with individuals within the organization and others in the community. While the entire body of a newsletter is important, the introduction holds even more importance, as it is this beginning section of the document that must capture the audience's attention and set the tone for the publication as a whole. Ensure that your newsletter features a winning introduction by carefully considering your starting options and selecting an introduction style appropriate for your business or school.

When composing your inaugural newsletter, or the first newsletter after a long break, it is advantageous to use the introductory section as a place to highlight the company or school for which the newsletter is composed. Describe the goals of the company or institution of education, explaining how the organization works to improve society. Include a reasonable, yet not overly extensive history of the company, as too much information on this topic could become tiresome. Make this section inviting, interesting and informative, as readers who are turned off by the introduction will not likely delve further into the publication.

To ensure that your newsletter is cohesive, you should maintain a consistent theme throughout the document. Do this effectively by introducing your theme in the introduction. For example, if your company provides dry cleaning chemicals, you could compose one newsletter about environmental friendliness and a later publication about effective advertising. Outline your theme in the introduction, explaining how the selected theme is relevant to your company and providing a preview of what readers may expect to find in the body of the newsletter. This allows readers to determine immediately if your newsletter is one that they want to read.

Humor is an effective way to capture an audience's attention. Begin your newsletter with humorous commentary that is relevant to your business or school. Create a cartoon or compose an editorial piece that takes a comedic look at a topic related to your organization. Place this engaging piece on the front page of your newsletter and use it as a means to capture audience attention and encourage readers to explore your publication.

If you catch your audience's attention with the introduction to your newsletter, you will have more luck keeping them engaged and encouraging them to read the rest of the document. Start your newsletter off with factual information in the form of statistics to achieve this shock value. Include reputable statistics, preferable from a government or educational institution, that are germane to the topic featured in your newsletter. By informing readers of unknown facts, you can alert them to a problem or show them that action needs to be taken in a certain area. This newfound knowledge may ignite the desire to learn and encourage the readers to devour the information contained in your newsletter.