Letter of Introduction Writing Guide + Samples

Key takeaways

A letter of introduction is an email intended to cultivate new relationships, collaborations, or networking opportunities.

• You can write an introduction letter to connect two people you know, introduce a new team member to your department, or introduce yourself to someone you'd like to know.

• In your email, you’ll want to include a greeting, your reason for writing, a brief introduction, relevance to your contact, necessary contact information, and a sign-off.

• You can enhance your writing skills to make your letter more concise and your tone more neutral. 

Discover what a letter of introduction is, when it’s needed, and the steps to craft your own. To learn how to present your ideas effectively, consider enrolling in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Effective Communication: Writing, Design, and Presentation Specialization. The program covers business writing, editing, proofreading, and more. 

What is a letter of introduction?

A letter of introduction is an email that formally connects one person to another, often intended to forge new relationships, collaborations, or networking opportunities. You may write an introduction letter to connect two people you know, introduce a new team member to your department, or introduce yourself to someone you'd like to know.

When to write an introduction letter

There are several occasions when it may be appropriate to write a letter of introduction, such as when you want to:

• Connect two people you know

• Network with a new person

• Introduce yourself at a new job

• Welcome new team members

• Onboard a new client, contractor, or freelancer

Most commonly, you’ll write a letter of introduction connecting two of your contacts who may benefit from knowing each other. For example, say your friend Patty is considering shifting from content marketing to a career in user experience (UX) design—the same shift that your former coworker Manuel made two years ago. You may offer to write a letter of introduction connecting Patty and Manuel so that Patty can learn more about her desired career change from someone who recently went through the same process.

Tip: 

Before you send your letter of introduction, namely when you are connecting two people, it’s important to message each person separately to make sure that they’re okay with you initiating this new relationship.

How do you write a letter of introduction?

Whether you’re writing to connect two people or introducing yourself to someone new, the structure for your letter of introduction will be pretty consistent. However, you’ll always want to tailor the language in each section to the particular people and purpose.

In your email, you’ll want to include:

• Greeting

• Why you’re writing

• Quick introduction

• Relevance to your contact

• Necessary contact information

• Sign off

Let’s take a closer look at each section.

Greeting

Any time you’re initiating a new email chain, you’ll want to open with a greeting. Since this note will be introducing two of your friends, it’s perfectly fine to keep your greeting casual and friendly.

Hi Manuel—hope all is well.

Why you’re writing

Make it clear from the outset that this is an introduction by naming the other parties included in your email.

Meet Patty Romero, cc’d here.

Quick introduction

In one or two sentences, tell your recipient a bit about the person you’re introducing. You may decide to include details like how you know them or what they do. Keep it brief, as you can anticipate that the people you’re connecting with will spend more time getting to know each other later on.

Patty is one of my closest friends and a content marketer at Company X. You may be familiar with their blog, Blog-X, which she helped develop the strategy for.

Establish relevance

Next, lay the groundwork for this new relationship by stating what your contacts have in common or how they may be able to help each other.

She’s interested in exploring UX design and has been taking some online classes from Google. Since you’ve gone through a similar career transition, I thought you may be willing to share your experience moving into the field.

Share contact information

If there’s any contact information you want to share beyond an email address, such as a phone number, be sure to include that before you end your email.

You can reach Patty via email or give her a call at (555) 555-5555.

Sign off

As with any email, end with a sign-off, such as “thank you,” “best,” or “sincerely.”

I’ll let you two take it from here.

Thanks,

Franklin

Letter of introduction example

Putting the above sample all together, a letter of introduction may read something like:

Hi Manuel—hope all is well.

Meet Patty Romero, cc’d here.

Patty is one of my closest friends and a content marketer at Company X. You may be familiar with their blog, Blog-X, which she helped develop the strategy for. She’s interested in exploring UX design and has been taking some online classes from Google. Since you’ve gone through a similar career transition, I thought you may be willing to share your experience moving into the field.

You can reach Patty via email or give her a call at (555) 555-5555.

I’ll let you two take it from here.

Thanks,

Franklin

Introducing a new team member

To welcome a new colleague onto a team, you may write something like this:

Hi all,

Meet Simone, our team’s newest software engineer manager.

Simone joins us from B Industries, where they led development on the company’s recently launched app. Outside of work, they enjoy exploring national parks and playing guitar in their cover band. Here, they will be overseeing the team working on our operating system updates and liaising with various product managers and marketing team members.

Simone is set up on email and Slack, so please join me in welcoming them to the team!

Best,

Alex

Introducing yourself

If you are writing a letter of introduction to introduce yourself, you can follow a similar structure, though the result may read slightly differently. Here’s an example of how you may introduce yourself to a potential new contact:

Hi Mr. Shah,

My name is Penelope Adamos, and I’m a marketing associate at Firm Y. I admire the analytical work you contributed to the M Project, and I’m wondering if you may be open to talking about your expertise.

Recently, I’ve gravitated toward incorporating data into campaign planning and am earning a Professional Certificate in Marketing Analytics from Meta. I’m hoping to supplement my learning with insight from professionals like you.

If you’re willing to connect, I’d love to set up a 20-minute video call. Please let me know via email here.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Thank you,

Penelope

Tips for how to write a letter of introduction

• Allow your relationships to guide your tone: You know the most effective way to communicate with your contacts. Set the tone for the connection you’re building by writing with a natural tone.

• Keep it brief: Your role in this email chain is just to introduce two people. Stay focused on your task and keep your language concise.

• Personalize every introduction email: Each person entering this new connection comes with their own background and goals, and your email should reflect their uniqueness.

Read more: What Is Effective Communication? Skills for Work, School, and Life

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