Salutations are a manner through which you address a person or a group of people in a correspondence, either email or letter. It’s quite essential to pick the most appropriate salutations and greetings for business emails and letters. 

The way you address a person says a lot about you, like whether you are showing respect or what message you are trying to convey. For example, you can’t use “HEY” at the start of your email or letter unless you know a person very well. It’s a casual solution that you should avoid in business correspondence.

Today, I’m going to highlight the best salutations in email or letters you can use, without concern about the way your message is perceived. Let’s get started.

DEAR

It is a standard or timeless salutation you can use in both email or letter. A general rule of thumb is, when you don’t know what would work in an email or letter then you can go with:

• Dear Sir or Madam
• Dear (first name) Dear Sarah,
• Dear title like (Mr., Ms, Mrs., Mx) and first name Dear Mr. Jordan, Dear Ms. Batool, Dear Mrs.Smith, Dear Mx.Riley
• Dear first name and last name . salutation example is Dear John Smith

Tip: Mx. is used when you don’t know the exact idea about the gender of the person or a person doesn’t like to be addressed on a gender basis. 

When can you use DEAR?

You can use DEAR greetings for any formal business letter, application letter, cover letter, thank you note. If you are an employer, then you can use it for a rejection letter or an acceptance letter of a job applicant.

HELLO

It is another common salutation used in both email and letter writing. You can use hello for both formal and casual correspondence. When you know a person quite well, you can say

• Hello Angelina
• Hello Martin

 Hello can be used to address a specific department such as:

• Hello Product Team, 
• Hello Recruitment Team,

Regularly, when it comes to an email blast or newsletter, then you can address your subscribers or team members or even friends with Hello.

Do you know Why Greetings are So Important?

HI use for Business Writing

When you want a formal touch in your letter or email, try not to go with Hi because it sets a perfectly casual tone from the beginning. When you have established a relationship with a person, then you can go with it.

Try to use it in a business letter when you know a person for a very long time—for example, addressing your team, supervisor, or department manager.

When you apply for a job, you should go with either dear or hello because they both sound most appropriate salutation examples.

Greetings

It is the most sophisticated form of formal greetings and salutation. You should go with it when you :

•  don’t know a person
•  want to establish a formal tone
• Want to print a formal letter
• Want to create a business newsletter or email
•  

What salutation to use for addressing a group of people?

If you are going to write an email to only three people you can say:

• Hello Sarah, Hassan, and Ali
• Dear Martin, Robin, and Anie

Know the Difference between Hello and Hi

In case you are going to address more than three people:

• Hi All or Hi Team 
• Dear Team or Dear All
• Dear Colleagues 

Gender-Specific Email or Letter Salutations or Greetings

In case you don’t know anything about the gender of a person, then you should avoid using the title Mr., Mrs, or Ms. Another idea is to go with Dear Sir or Madam. Try using the full name to address the person when you are unsure about the gender, like

Dear Angel Quinn,

• For Male use: Dear Martin or Dear Mr.Martin
• For Female use: Dear Hannah, Dear Ms. Hannah (unmarried), Dear Mrs.Jordan (married)

If you are confused about gender, don’t mess up in your email or letter by going with gender tiles, instead, go with generic titles.

What Salutations and Greetings I Should Avoid?

There are two salutations and greetings that you shouldn’t use in your business email or writing.

To Whom It May Concern - It is used when you have no idea about the name of a person. Know when to use To Whom It May Concern. The reason you should avoid it is that it gives other people the impression that this is a blind correspondence. 

Hey - It sets a friendly and casual tone, tries not to use it for business email or letter.

Whether to Use First Name or Last Name?

If you don’t know the person very well, then it is better to use the first name. While you can also use both first and last names together. Like:

• Hello, Ms/Mrs. Hannah Williams
• Dear Mr. Jordan Brown

How to Punctuate your Salutations and Greetings?

Remember, every single comma and full stop matters in business letter writing. When you are writing a cover letter or application, your recruiter /hiring manager is going to check every single thing. 

So, be extra careful or conscious.

In reality, you can use both Colon (:) and Comma (,) at the end of your salutation like:

• Dear Sarah: 
• Dear Sarah,

However, the colon will set a formal tone while comma presents a bit of informal tone. Both choices are right.

Conclusion

The way you start your letter and address a person matters the most, so you should always pick the best salutations and greetings for both email and letters. Still, got some questions? Feel free to ask.