Your first letter is very important, a girl you're writing to will decide if to answer it or not, and I think there are several things you must reflect in your first letter. I will enlist them.

First, there must be general information - your name, age, the place you're living in, your work, your education, some words about your appearance (height and weight, and better in centimeters and kilograms) which hardly can be found on the photo. As I've already mentioned, I'm convinced you should send a photo with your first letter! It was very often, when I didn't respond the letter just because it was without a photo or I gave up correspondence in several letters when I still didn't know what the person looked like. At the same time it won't do to send only a photo with words: "If you like it, write to me". Maybe I don't like your photo, but you have a brilliant soul - show it to me in your introductory letter!

Please, don't write hundreds of lines listing the qualities of yours - "I'm serious, reliable, hard-working, kind, calm bla-bla-bla". It's great you can describe yourself in this way, I will understand if it's true during our further correspondence. What I'm more interested in is whether you're suitable for me in terms of your appearance, interests, thoughts about marriage, ideas of an ideal mate etc.

The next thing I'd like to emphasize is that your letter should be special! It must be very obvious, but I received many letters with another name in the title or anywhere in the text, letters which can be sent to hundreds of other women. Do you think I will be really interested in communicating with this person? Read the ad of a woman carefully, comment on something she wrote, tell her compliments - women are women and they like to feel special, needed and praised. Make a little research and find out where the town the woman is living in is located. She will be pleasantly surprised and be sure you're really interested in her! Of course, there can be some parts of information the same in all first letters, but be careful! Read your letter from the very beginning before sending it! I feel insulted when receive letters with another women's names and don't answer them.

I know what you're thinking now - many Russian girls are sending a form letter in response of the first or second letter she receives. Please, understand - English is not her native language, sometimes it's very difficult for her to write this first letter, or she pays for the translation - you shouldn't be offended by it! When I responded, I tried to make every letter special, answering questions I was asked. But there are few girls who can do the same, just because of their problems with English.