January 2022
View our original newsletter here: Email Greetings
Greetings: How to start your email with the right tone!
What tone are you setting for your readers from the first words of your emails? Your greeting sets the tone of your messages because it's the first thing your reader hears in your voice. Getting your greeting right can help you establish a good first impression. Is the greeting you typically use connecting with your audience?
We share tips, resources and information about email greetings in our recap of January!
Email is a slow, written conversation. The greeting is how the conversation starts. It’s the first thing the reader hears in your voice (The subject line is technically first, but we don’t read it in the voice of the writer). And it has a big impact on how the reader interprets the rest of the message.
Quick Tip: With greetings, make sure to use a greeting word (hi not hey) or phrase (good afternoon) *and* the person's name or name of the group
Is the greeting you typically use working? Does your standard greeting establish a good impression and help build trust and credibility with your audience?
Don't Just Take Our Word For It
See what other industry experts are saying about email greetings...
How to Start an Email: 6 Never-Fail Introductions and 6 to Avoid
"You might wonder whether it’s really necessary to put much thought into how you begin your emails and other correspondence. If you’ve ever ignored a letter because it began with 'To Whom It May Concern,' groaned because your name was misspelled, or wondered if the sender was human or canine because their greeting was so overly enthusiastic, then you know that getting your email salutation right is a big deal..."
How to start a professional email– Best greetings for every situation & salutations to avoid
"It can be surprisingly easy to over-think your email’s professional greeting, especially when you’re not very familiar with the person. Before you’ve even addressed the reason for your outreach you’ve already wasted time getting distracted with whether to say 'Hey Tom', 'Hello Mr. Smith', or 'Dear Sir'. By the time you’ve made a decision, you’ve lost confidence in writing the message itself and overall it’s really slowed you down. Finding that perfect sentence can really take it out of you!."
Check out this great visual guide to help you determine which greeting to use in your emails!
And try to avoid this....
Go Further
Want to know where we got this tip? A variety of resources. But the book SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better by David Shipley gives some great information about all things emails, from constructing effective emails to navigating email etiquette.
"Send—the classic guide to email for office and home—has become indispensable for readers navigating the impersonal, and at times overwhelming, world of electronic communication. Filled with real-life email success (and horror) stories and a wealth of useful and entertaining examples, Send dissects all the major minefields and pitfalls of email. It provides clear rules for constructing effective emails, for handheld etiquette, for handling the “emotional email,” and for navigating all of today’s hot-button issues. It offers essential strategies to help you both better manage the ever-increasing number of emails you receive and improve the ones you send..."
Quote of the Month
“Your email greetings should warm readers up—not put them off.”
― Dianna Booher