Intro & Top 5 Stories

Think of the newsletter overall as a note ✍️ to your friends — who are your readers.

The intro and top 5 stories sections are where you, as a content creator, can bring color, voice, surprise, pathos and even humor to your relationship with the reader.

• An intro with at least 3 bullet points and optional emojis
  

• Lead your Top 5 list with a No. 1 story — a must-read nugget of info that will help your reader be smarter and more informed
  

• Build out the rest of your Top 5 list. The items can be hard news, delightful, human interest or utilitarian, they can be what everyone in the city is talking about or a little-known gem from off-the-beaten path (ideally, you aim for a mix)

Here are a few examples. (One example includes the weather section.)

Here is an example of a Top 5 stories section; the first item shows an "expanded" lead story with breakout bullet points:

Please note that the source linkouts are on a separate line without parentheses. This builds a little extra white space between the five story blurbs.