Keyword: intro
So you might be having problems with writing an effective introduction email, or letter. I will tell you in what I normally do. This might give you something to base off of, and hopefully attract the person you are interested in corresponding with.
The first thing I would suggest is to write about the ad that you found their address in. Provide information on what attracted you to their ad. Provide some focus on the ad, and show that you actually read their ad. Comparisons will give a good starting off point in getting a reply.
Next, go into details about yourself. Maybe start with physical details about yourself. This could include height, hair color, eye color. If you are physically disabled, this paragraph should state that. It might be something nice to know, but to a quality penpal, it is not something that will discriminate you. If someone does discriminate you, and not reply because you have a disability, then they are probably not the type of person you would want to keep in touch with.
Next, go into your personality. Do you have any good mental traits? Are you caring and compassionate, or honest and loyal? Do you look out for the better interest of the person? Do you have a lot of friends?
Next, what are your hobbies? Are you athletic, or do you prefer table top games? What kind of music do you like? Who are some of your recognized artists/groups? What about books, do you read? Do you have a library with books on the shelves, or do you store all of your books in an eReader? Who are some of your preferred authors? What about TV and movies? Are you on the Internet a lot, and if so – what do you do?
Next, go into the details about where you live. Do you live in an apartment, or a house? Do you live by yourself, with a significant other, room-mate, or do you still live with family? What features of the city do you like the most? You don’t have to disclose the city you live in, but some good details would be fine.
What about your family? Are your parents and grandparents still alive? How many siblings, and half-siblings do you have? Do you get along with your family?
What about your occupational life? Do you still go to school, or do you work in a job? Do you enjoy your work? Would you want something better?
What kind of people are you looking for to correspond with? Is there anything that you are looking for in particular? Is there something that would discriminate the person from you corresponding with?
I hope this gives you a good starting point to work with in creating that introduction letter. I know some people might take offense to this, but I have the majority of my introduction letter in a text file that I would copy and paste. The first paragraph is actually written, but the rest of the letter is the copy and paste. If you go this route, make sure that you actually write a unique letter to the person you are writing to. The reason I copy and paste my introduction letter is to make sure I covered all of my details.