How to start an email: The best and worst email greetings

Just keep in mind "Hi there" may not be appropriate for formal emails. Hi everyone,. This email greeting works well when you're writing to a ... Weusecookiestopersonalizeyourexperienceonourwebsites.Byusingourwebsite,youagreetotheuseofcookiesasdescribedinourPrivacyPolicy. OK Share HowtoStartaProfessionalEmail:7GreetingstoUseand10toAvoid Jul19th2020 187983 Howdoyoustartanemail?Isitbettertoaddressapersonbytheirfirstorlastname?Doyoustillneed"DearSirorMadam"?Shouldyoubotheraboutgreetingsatall?Don’toverlookthepowerofemailsalutations.Youremailgreetingsetsthetoneofyourcommunication,influenceshowarecipientperceivesyou,andevendefinesifapersonreadsyourmessageorinstantlymovesittoTrash. Loveyouremailagain Sparkletsyousavetimeonemailandgivesyousuperpowerslikesnoozesandfollowupreminders Download Emailgreetingsareallaboutthecontextofyourmessage.Whatisappropriateforyourfriends,cancostyouajobinterviewatabigcompany.Whatispoliteandrespectfulforyouruniversityprofessor,canmakeyousoundstiffandoldfashionedforyourfellowcoworkers. Answerthesequestionstoselectaproperemailgreeting: AmIwritingtoonepersonortoagroup?Ifthereare1-3recipients,youcangreeteverybodybytheirname.Formorepeople,youcanusegenericgreetingslike"Hieveryone"or"Hiteam." Whatismyrelationshipwitharecipient?Howwelldoyouknowthisperson?Whatisthelevelofformalitybetweenyou? Below,you'llfindthebestemailgreetings,bothpersonalandgenericones.Apersonalizedsalutationisyourbestchoice.Whenyou'reemailingsomeoneyoudon'tknow,alwaysdoyourbesttofindouttheirname.Theircompany’swebsiteorLinkedInpagecanhelpyouwiththistask.Ifyourresearchwasn'tsuccessful,agenericemailgreetingcanbackyouup. 7EmailGreetingstoUse Hi[Name], Thissimpleandfriendlygreeting,isthebestandsafestchoice,exceptforthemostformaloccasions. Tip:EmailtemplatesinouremailclientSparkcanautomaticallyfilloutarecipient'snameinyouremail. Hello[Name], Youcanuse"Hello"insteadof"Hi"tomakeyouremailgreetingalittlemoreformal.Thissalutationstandssomewhereinbetweenthecheerful"Hi"andofficial"Dear." Dear[Name], Thisgreetingisamoreformalwaytostartaprofessionalemail."Dear"isappropriateforaninitialemail,butitmaysoundstuffyandrepetitiveifyouaddittoeverymessageinalongemailchain.Insubsequentemails,youcanuse"Hello"instead. DearMr./Ms./Dr./Professor[Lastname], Ifyou'rewritingaformalemailtoarespectableperson,use"Dear"followedbyanhonorificoratitleandaperson'slastname.E.g.,"DearMr.Smith,"or"DearProfessorGreen."Forthemostformalcorrespondence,youcanuseacoloninsteadofacommaafterthesalutation.Forexample: DearMs.Black: [Firstparagraph] Whenyou'renotsureaboutaperson'sgender,omitanhonorificandusetheirfullnameinyoursalutation.E.g.,"DearFinleyBrown." It'salsosafertoavoidhonorificsthatimplymaritalstatuslike"Mrs."Whileaddressingawoman,use"Ms."instead.Ifyou'regoingtoemailyourprofessor,ourguidecanhelpyou. Greetings, Ifyoudon'tknowaperson'sname,it'sappropriatetoaddressthemwith"Greetings."Butwestronglyrecommendyoutofindouttherecipient'snameandpersonalizeyoursalutation. Hithere, Youcanuseitasanalternativeto"Greetings"whenyou'renotsureaboutarecipient'sname.Justkeepinmind"Hithere"maynotbeappropriateforformalemails. Hieveryone, Thisemailgreetingworkswellwhenyou'rewritingtoagroupofpeople.However,whenthereare3orfewerrecipients,youcanaddresseveryonebytheirname.E.g.,"HiSandy,Tom,Mark." 10EmailGreetingstoAvoid Hey! There'snoplaceforsuchagreetinginbusinessemails.Justleavethisgreetingforyourfriendsandcloseacquaintances. Yo! Wouldyoubehappytoreceiveabusinessproposalorpartnershiprequestaddressingyouwith"Yo"?Sodoesyourrecipient. Hi[Nickname], Ifyou'rewritingtoJessica,don'ttakearesponsibilitytocallherJess.Atthesametime,ifshesignsoffwithJess,youshouldalsoaddressherthatway. ToWhomItMayConcern, Thisemailgreetingsoundstoocoldandarchaic.Italsofeelslikeyouhavenoideawhoyou'rewritingtoandwhyyou'redoingitatall.There'sagoodchanceapersonwhoopenssuchemailassumesitdoesn'tconcernthem. DearSir/Madam, Justlikewith"ToWhomItMayConcern,"thissalutationisawaytooformal.Plusit'sextremelygeneric.Suchanemailgreetingprovesthatyouhaven'tdoneyourresearchtofindoutwhotherecipientactuallyis. Dear[Jobtitle], Comparedto"ToWhomItMayConcern"and"DearSir/Madam,"thisgreetingisabitmorespecific.Anyway,a"DearHiringManager"won'tbehappythatyouhaven'ttakenanextrasteptofindouttheirname. Goodmorning/afternoon! Youdon'tknowwhenapersonisgoingtoreadyouremailsosuchgreetingsarebettertoavoid,especiallyifyou'recommunicatingwithsomeonefromadifferenttimezone. [Name],or[Name]! Anemailgreetingwithjustanamelooksabruptandevenrude.Anexclamationmarkmakesitevenworse.Arecipientmayfeelasifyou'reabouttoshoutatthem. Wrongormisspelledname Alwaysdouble-checkaperson'snamebeforeemailingthem.Ifyou'renotsurehowtospellaname,it'ssafertouseagenericgreetinglike"Hithere."Thisdoesfarlessharmthansendinganemailwithatypo. Ifyou'reemailingmultiplepeopleatonce,makesureyou'renotwriting"HiMark,"inyouremailtoJohnny.Otherwise,itwouldbedifficulttopreventdisasterandrecoveryourreputation. Nogreeting Thoughchoosingthebestemailgreetingcanbetricky,thatdoesn'tmeanyoucanomitit.Asalutationisanessentialpartofaprofessionalemail,andit'simpolitetoskipit. We'velookedthroughthebestemailgreetingsfordifferentsituationsandtheonesyou'llwanttoavoid.Thechoiceofanemailsalutationdependsonyourrelationshipwitharecipientandthecontextofyourmessage. Ifyou'reindoubtastowhichemailgreetingtouse,sticktoamoreformalversion.However,don'tputachosengreetingineverymessagemechanically.Whenapersonwritesbackandgreetsyouwith"Hi,"youcangomorecasualaswelltomatchtheirstyle.Itwouldlookoddtokeepusing"DearMr..."inyouremails. Tip:Beforewritingaprofessionalemailtosomeone,checktheirorganization'swebsiteandsocialmediapagestoseewhatlanguagetheyuse.Trytomatchthetoneofyouremailtotheircommunicationstyle.Forexample,ifacompanyusesemojisandmemesonitswebsite,don'tmakeyouremailoverlyformal. Afterselectinganemailgreeting,checkourstep-by-stepguideonhowtowriteaprofessionalemail.Itwillhelpyoucraftemailspeopleactuallyreadandacton. Ifyouwanttomakeemailingmorefunandpleasant,tryouremailclientSpark.We'vebuiltittomakepeoplelovetheiremailagainandspendlesstimemanagingtheirinboxes. LoveyouremailwithSpark Savetimeandgetrealemailsuperpowers Freedownload Availableon: