Email is a very popular form of communication in today’s business world, and it’s important to chose an appropriate professional greeting for every email. Whether you’re emailing your colleague about an upcoming deadline or contacting a hiring manager, that first line in your email makes a difference.

Let’s discuss the importance of opening your email with a professional greeting and provide you with some greetings to use.

Why are email greetings important?

Your email greeting sets the tone of the email and can be the deciding factor on whether it gets read. It’s considered poor etiquette to start an email without a greeting, which acts as the first impression between you and the other person. You wouldn’t walk up to someone in real life without acknowledge them first, right? Same goes for email communication!

Know your audience 

The email greeting will be different whether you’re contacting someone you speak to regularly or someone you’re working with temporarily.

If you know the person and have communicated frequently before, you can use a more informal greeting such as: “Hey/Hi”, “(name)”, or “All/everyone”.

However, if it is someone that you don’t know to well, you’d likely want to take a more formal approach. In this case, you can use: “Dear (name)”, “Hello”, or “Greetings”.

The main idea is that you know and understand your audience, and cater the greeting appropriately. 

5 Best professional email greetings

1. Hi/Hello [name]

This is simple and easy. “Hi” is friendly, and using the person’s name makes it personal. If you want to sound more formal, simply switching to “Hello” makes it more professional. 

2. Greetings

This is a common way to start an email if you’re not sure of the person’s name. If you do know it, then you can add their name, “Greetings [name]”. This sounds professional while still acknowledging the person or group.

3. Good morning/afternoon

Similar to “Greetings”, this is a professional way to start an email that is both friendly and personal. Again, if you know the person’s name then you can include it for a more personalized approach.

4. Dear [name]

A “Dear” greeting is more professional than “Hey/hi”. Use this greeting when a more formal tone needs to precede your email. To make it even more formal, you can use “Dear Mr./Ms./ Mrs.”

5. Hi there

If you’re sending an informal email and aren’t sure of the recipient’s name, then using “Hi there” is a safe option.