How to Start an Email [20+ Best Greetings & Opening Lines]

1. Choose the Best Salutation to Start Your Email · 1. [Name], (the most direct) · 2. [Hi [Name], (informal) · 3. Hello [Name], (semi-informal) · 4. EmailMarketingbyKazimierzRajnerowicz·UpdatedJun9,2022 Emailetiquettehasmanyconventionsthatyouneedtoobserveifyouwanttoappearcredible.Someofthemareregionalorlinkedtoaparticulartypeofcorrespondence. Areyounotsurehowtostartanemail,whatemailgreetingtouse,orwhattheopeninglineshouldsay?Thisguidewillhelpyoumakethebestchoice. Ontopofthat,we’llsharegreatemailopeninglinesandkillertechniquestoengagetherecipientandmakethemactuallywanttoreply. Inthisarticle,youwilllearn: WhichemailsalutationstouseHowtostartanemailBestemailopeningsentences Generatemoreleadsforyournextemailmarketingcampaign UseChatbots📝 LearnmoreaboutTidioChatbot Wanttoexploreotheremail-relatedareas?Havealookatthesearticles: 25CustomerServiceEmailTemplates[+BestPractices]5EasyStepstoBuildanEmailListfromScratch[forFree]HowtoCreateaProfessionalEmailSignature[Tips&Examples]10BestEmailMarketingTemplates[FreeDownload]HowtoWriteEmailSubjectLinestoBoostOpenRates[Examples]FreeEmailNewsletterTemplates&ExamplesProfessionalEmailHeaderDesign:7BestPracticeExamplesHowtoWriteaProfessionalEmail[EmailFormat&Examples]BestTimetoSendEmails:WhatStudies&PracticeTellUs 1.ChoosetheBestSalutationtoStartYourEmail Themostimportantfunctionofeveryemail—likewithtraditionalletters—istoestablishandmaintainaconnection.Itdoesn’tmatterifitisanemailcampaign,businesscommunication,oracoverletter.Itshouldalwaysbebasedonmutualrespect. Alwaysstartyouremailswithasalutation(greetingphrase).Itisamatterofconventionthatisanintegralpartofproperemailformat. Whatisasalutationinanemail?Inthecontextofcorrespondence,asalutationisagreeting.ThemostcommonsalutationintheEnglishlanguageis“Dear”anditcanbeusedinmostsituations.Salutationsareusuallyfollowedbytherecipient’sfirstnameortitle+thelastname,e.g.“DearEmmett”,“DearDr.Brown”,“DearProfessorChomsky”. Somefollow-upemailsdon’tneedtostartwithagreeting,especiallywhentheyarequickrepliesthathappenonthesameday.Butifyouarewritingtosomeoneforthefirsttimeorsendingcoldemails,makesuretouseasalutation. Herearethemostpopularemailgreetingphrases(a.k.a.emailsalutations): 1.[Name],(themostdirect) Sometimesyoudon’tneedtosayhelloorgoodbyeatall.Yourrecipient’snameisenough.Trytothinkofitasagentlenodfollowedbyspeakingsomeone’sfirstname.Itworksinallkindsofsituationsanditfitsemailcorrespondencetoo.Still,itisnotthemostpopularoptionanditmaybeinterpretedinseveralways.Ifyoudon’twanttoappeartoodirect,it’sbettertosticktoothergreetings. 2.[Hi[Name],(informal) “Hi”+thefirstnameisthemostuniversalsalutation.Todayitisappropriateinalmosteverycontext.Itworksgreatinbusinessemailsandgivesanimmediatesenseoffriendliness.Atthesametime,itisperceivedasaneutraloptionbymostinternetusers.Itisinformalbutitdoesn’tmeanthatitisrude—today’scultureofonlinecommunicationismuchmorerelaxed. 3.Hello[Name],(semi-informal) “Hello”isamoreformalgreetingthan“Hi”andlessformalthan“Dear.”Itmayseemtobethebestofbothworlds.Agoodcompromise,right?Butitisn’t.Itisneitherformalnorinformalandtendstostandout.Technically,thereisnothingwrongwithit—butitisbettertogoonewayoranother. 4.Dear[Name],(formalandnatural) “Dear”isthetraditionalsalutationusedincorrespondence.Itismorecommoninlettersthanemails,especiallywhenwecombineitwithafirstnamealone.Ininformalemails,itmaycomeoffaspretentious.Iftheslightlyarchaictoneiswhatyou’reafterthengoforit. 5.Dear[Title/Honorific]+[LastName],(formalandpolite) Thiscombinationisthemostcommongreetingusedinformalemailsandletters.Let’sassumethatyouareastudentwhoneedstowriteanemailtoaprofessor.Oryouarelookingforajobandyouwanttoprepareanicecoverletter.“Dear”+title+thelastnameisprettymuchyouronlyoption.Itisthestandardsalutationwhenyouneedtoaddressyour“superiors.” 6.Dear[FirstName]+[LastName],(genderunknown) ThiswayofstartinganemailcomesinhandywhenyouwanttobeformalbutencounternameslikeMorgan,Rio,orSasha.Ingeneral,honorificsthatimplygenderarefrownedupon.Sincethereisnoconsensusaboutalternatives,thiscombinationseemstobethesafestchoice. 7.Hithere,(toagroup) Youcanusethisgreetingifyouarenotsureaboutsomeone’snameoryouareaddressingagroupofrecipients.“Hi”alsoworksinthosesituations.However,adding“there”canalsobehandywhenyouaresendingmassmarketingemails.Youcanuseitasadefaultplaceholderwordthatisdisplayedwhentherecipient’snameisunknown.Replacing“HiHarry,”with“Hithere,”iseasierandbetterthanusingablank.Justthinkaboutit—”Hi,”?Itlookslikesomethingtypedinbysomeonewhousesacomputerforthefirsttimeintheirlife. 8.Greetings,(toagroup) Thisoneisalsoquiteuniversalandyoucanuseitwhenaddressingbothgroupsandindividuals.Youdon’tneedtoaddanameafter“Greetings,”whichmakesitanothergoodchoicewhenwedon’tknowit.Somemay,however,perceiveitasslightlyformalandimpersonal.Butitdoesn’thavetobeabadthing. Salutationscombinedwithnamesarefollowedbyacomma(orasemicoloninveryformalcorrespondence).Nevertheless,theopeninglineofthefirstlineofthemainbodyofyouremailshouldbetreatedasanewsentenceandthefirstlettershouldbecapitalized. Notice: “DearMark,”isalwayswrittenwithoutacommabetweenthesalutationandthename.However,inthepast“Hi,Mark,”(or“Hello,Mark,”)withacommausedtobeperceivedasmorecorrectthan“HiMark,”.Recently,thesecondoptionhasbecomemorepopularandispreferable.Onecommaafterthenamelooksmoreaestheticthantwocommasclosetogether. Ifyouwanttouseanhonorific(DearMr.Smith/Ms.Smith),youdon’tneedtousefullnames.Themostpopularoptionisanhonorificfollowedbythelastnameofaperson.However,assumingone’sgendermaybeperceivedasoffensive.Thegender-neutralhonorificis“Mx.” “Hi”and“Hello”canbeusedwithoutaname.Itisthebestoptionforinformalgreetings.Ifyoudon’tknowyourrecipient’sname,youcanuseoneofthemoreuniversalwelcomingphrasessuchas:  HithereGreetings Insomecasesyoucanwritesomethinglike: GoodmorningGoodafternoon Butnoticethattheymakeyouremailsoundmorelikeanannouncement.Thesegreetingscomeusefulwhentherearemultiplerecipients.However,itisalwaysbettertoaddressyouremailtoaspecificpersonratherthanagroupofpeople. Double-checkyourrecipient’snamebeforesendingyouremails.Amisspellednamewon’tmakeaverygoodfirstimpression.Anditisusuallyveryeasytofindanyoneonsocialmedia,LinkedIn,ortheircompany’swebsite. Ifyoudon’tknowaperson’sname,youcanalsousetheirjobtitle. Dear[JobPosition](e.g.DearMarketingManager) Someemailgreetingsappeartohavehigherresponserates.Accordingtoastudy,emailsthatstartwith“hi”,“hello”,and“hey”areslightlybetterthan“dearX”atgettingareply(byabout7%).Itisalsoworthnoticingthatincludinganysalutationincreasestheresponserate. Therearealsosomegreetingsthatitissafertoavoid,forinstance: ⛔Hey!(Itmightbereceivedastooinformal) ⛔DearSir/Madam(Thisisaveryformalgreetinganditsoundsstiff)  ⛔ToWhomItMayConcern(Thisisimpreciseandtendstobeignored) Youshouldn’tsoundtooformal,butsometimesitissafer.Don’ttrytofraternizeifyouhavejustbegunexchangingbusinesscorrespondencewithsomeoneyoudon’treallyknowthatmuch. HowtoStartaFormalEmailDoyouwanttokeeptherighttonewhenwritingformalemails?Checkout:HowtoStartaProfessionalEmail 2.PicktheBestOpeningLinesforEmailstoAttracttheReader’sAttention  Emailopeninglinesarethefirstsentencesofyouremailmessage.Don’tconfusethemwithemailsubjectlines.Both—subjectandopeninglines—areimportantandhelpyoucatchyourrecipient’sattention. Thenumberofemailssenteveryyeargrowsmuchfasterthanthenumberofuniqueemailusers.Itmeansthatwereceivemoreandmoreemailsperday. Well-writtenprivate,marketing,andbusinessemailsshouldshowthatyourespectotherpeople’stime.Usually,it’sbesttogetstraighttothepointattheverybeginningofyouremail. Therearefourbasictypesofemailopeninglinesthatworkbest: OfferingvalueAskingquestionsBoostingegoStartingaconversation Theyemploydifferentstrategiesofapproachingtherecipient,andyouneedtodeterminewhichoneofthemisbestinagivensituation. BusinessEmailOpeningSentencesBusinesswritingshouldalwaysbemorefocusedthaninformalemails.Agoodopeninglinemustbeconnectedwithyouremailsubjectoratleastmakeaseamlesstransition. 1.EmailOpeningLinesThatOfferValue Hintatapotentialbenefitorasolutiontotheirproblem. Emailopeninglineexamplesthatoffervalue: I’mreachingoutbecause...[thereisawayyourrecipient’sbusinesscanbenefitfromthisemailexchangeandyourcooperation]I’venoticedthat...[aproblemoccurred]andIbelievethatIcanassistyouin[solvingtheproblem].I’msureyouwillbehappytolearn...[thatsomethingofinteresthappenedandisagoldenbusinessopportunity] 2.EmailOpeningLinesThatAskQuestions Askaquestionandletthemexpresstheiropinionoraskforhelp.Peopleengagemorewhentheyfeelsomebodyneedsthemorisinterestedinwhattheyhavetosay. Emailopeninglineexamplesthataskquestions/askforhelp: Doesyourcompanywantto...[achieveaparticulargoalormakeastrategicdecision]? Haveyouheardabout...[themostrecentsuccessoftherecipient’scompetitor]?Wouldyoulikeyourbusinessto...[increaserevenuebyXX%/convertmoreleadsintosales/jointhetoptenbusinessesinagivenfield]? 3.EmailOpeningLinesThatBoostEgo Startwithacompliment.Showyouradmirationforsomethingyouremailreceiversortheirbusinessesaccomplished. Emailopeninglineexamplesthatboosttherecipient’sego: Congratulationson...[recentachievement]Ilovedyourrecent....It[helpedmerealize/discoversomethingwhichIappreciate].I’mcontactingyouregarding...[thereasonyouarewritingthisemail]I’mimpressedwiththewayyou...[solvedaproblem/achievedsomethingchallenging]Iwouldbeverygratefulforyouradviceon...[thesubjectyouremailrecipientisanexperton] 4.EmailOpeningLinesThatUseContextualConversation-Starters Refertoarecentmeeting,anevent,orapersontointroducethesubjectandkickoffaconversation. Emailopeninglineexamplesthataretopical: Wespokeon[date]about[whateveryouhadtalkedabout].I’dliketodiscuss[theangleyouwouldliketodiscussthatwouldpickupaconversationwhereyouleftofflasttime][Nameofasharedcontact]suggestedIgetintouchwithyouregarding[thetopicyouwanttoaddress]Itwasgreattoseeyourcompanyat[anindustryevent/awards]! Analternativeversion(withatwist): Isaw[youremailreceiver’scompetitor]at[anindustryevent/awards].Ithink[acalltoactionorreassurancethatyousidewithyouremailrecipient]. EmailTemplatesEmailwritingcanbeadauntingtask.Insomecases,especiallywhenyouwriteemailstoyourcustomers,it’sbesttouseemailtemplates.Youcanaccessacollectionof260+uniqueemaildesignsthatusuallyneedonlyminorcopytweaks.CreateyourfreeTidioaccounttotrythemoutandsendbeautifulemailsinminutes. EmailOpeningLinestoWatchoutFor Youshouldbearinmindthatsomeofthecommonemailformulasandphraseshavelosttheirpotencyovertheyears: ⛔Emailopeninglinesthatareoverusedordon’twork: Didyouenjoyyour[weekend/vacation/holiday]?Itlooksforcedanditcanbeanintrusionintosomebody’spersonallife—notagoodchoiceifyouarenotfriends.Didyouknowthat[curiousfact]?Itmaycomeacrossaspatronizing.Youcangrabsomeone’sattentionbythrowingatthemaninterestingstatisticthattheymostprobablydon’tknow,butyoudon’tneedtorubitintheirfaces.Iwouldliketointroducemyself.Don’tannounceit.Justdoitifyoureallyneedto.However,itisnotthebestopeningline.It’sbettertogetstraighttothepoint.Yourcorrespondencepartnerswillcheckyouremailsignatureanyway. WaystoStartanEmail:ClosingRemarks Beforeyousendanimportantemail,remembertogothroughthischecklist: Myemailaddresslooksprofessionalandhasmycompany’sdomainattheendIcheckedtheBCCandCCsettingswhentypingintherecipient(s)Thesubjectlineofmyemailisdescriptive,clearandithasnotyposIhaveusedanappropriatesalutationandwayofaddressingtherecipientMyopeninglineisintriguinganditusesoneofthetechniquesdescribedinthearticle Theserulesapplytobusinessandpersonalemails.However,marketingemailsareanentirelydifferentbeast.Frequently,theyrelyontheinterplaybetweenwordsandvisuals.Youcantryoutfreeemailmarketingsoftwaretocreatebeautifulemaildesignsinminutes. Sharethisarticle:Tidio'sContentEditorandCopywriter.Casimirwritesaboutlivechatandchatbotsandwatchesoverthetechnicalitiesofthepublicationprocess.FollowmeonSimilararticlesEmailMarketingEmailMarketingEmailMarketingNeverLeaveYourCustomerWithoutanAnswerTryTidioforfree