Salutations in Letters and Email

Dear Reader: Dear Reader, Dear Ms. Reader: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Reader: Dear Sir or
Madam: Hi, Reader, Reader,
This post is all about the etiquette of salutations (greetings) for business letters and email. It's
dedicated to the many who have visited this blog in search of tips on how to begin a letter.
Rules for Business Letters
1. The standard way to open a business letter is withDear, the person's name (with or
without a title), and a colon, like this:
Dear Louise: Dear Ms. Chu: Dear Mr. and Dr. Paige: Dear Professor Amato:
Dear Patrick:
(For more discussion of Dear, see my post "Do I Have to Call You Dear?")
2. The standard way to open a social business letter is with Dear, the person's name
(with or without a title), and a comma, like this:
Dear Nigel, Dear Dr. Tarabi, Dear Reverend Jans,
A social business letter is social or personal rather than business-focused; for
example, letters of condolence, personal congratulations (for weddings, births,
promotions, and other celebrations), and thank yous.
3. If you don't know the reader well or if the letter or the relationship is formal, use a
title and a last name (Dear Ms. Browne). Otherwise, use the first name (Dear Gila).
4. Unless you are certain that a woman prefers Miss orMrs., use the title Ms.
5. If you are writing to two people, use both names in your salutation, like this:
Dear Mr. Trujillo and Ms. Donne: Dear Alex and Drenda:
6. Never spell out the titles Mr., Ms., Mrs., and Dr. Do spell out these titles and
similar ones:
Professor, Dean, Sister, Rabbi, Imam, Senator, Governor, Captain, Admiral, Judge
7. If you don't know a person's gender, use the full name rather than a title:
Dear Dana Simms: Dear T.K. Spinazola:
8. If you don't know a person's name or gender, avoid "To whom it may concern."
Instead, use the job title or a generic greeting:
Dear Recruiter: Dear Claims Adjustor: Dear Sir or Madam:
9. If you are writing to a company rather than any specific individual, use the
company name:
Dear Syntax Training: (This is considered slightly informal.)
10. For a simplified business letter, do not use a salutation. Instead use a subject in all
capital letters, followed by the body of the letter, like this:

WAYS TO BEGIN A BUSINESS LETTER

I am writing to share information about standard letter openings to. . . .

Simplified business letters are perfectly acceptable but not common.
Rules for Email
For formal email (that is, email used as a business letter), follow rules 1-7 above. Otherwise, use
less formality with greetings like these:
Dear Han, Hi, Eva, Hi Kwasi, Sue, Brooke: Good morning, Wanda, Hello, David,
Or just use the person's name in the opening sentence, like this: Yiota, you were right about the
prices.
If you are looking for a desk reference that covers much more about business letters, email,
reports, etc., I recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, also known as Gregg. I used Gregg
to double-check all the rules and recommendations above.
Dear Reader, good luck with all your salutations!
Punctuation
Standard punctuation applies through out the letter with the
following specifications:
Punctuation after the salutation and closing - use a colon (:) after
the salutation (never a comma) and a comma (,) after the closing.
Called mixed punctuation.
In some circumstances, you may also use a less common format,
known as open punctuation. For this style, punctuation is excluded
after the salutation and the closing.
Parts of a letter
The following are the parts of a business letter listed in the
proper sequential order.

Letterhead - Stationary printed at the top of the page including the
company name, logo, full address, and other elements such as
trademark symbols, phone & fax numbers, and an e-mail.
Dateline - The date is the month (spelled out), day, and year. If you
are using Microsoft Word, click - Insert, then Time and Date.
Press Enterfour times after the date.
Letter Address - The complete address of the recipient of the
letter. The letter address usually includes the personal title (Mr.,
Mrs. etc.), first and last name followed by the company name, street
address, city, province, and postal code. Press Enter twice after
letter address.
Salutation - The word Dear followed by the personal title and last
name of the recipient (Dear Mr. Smith). Press Enter twice after the
salutation.
Body - The text that makes up the message of the letter. Single-
space the paragraphs and double-space between the paragraphs.
PressEnter twice after the last paragraph.
Complimentary closing - A phrase used to end a letter. Capitalize
only the first letter. If there is a colon after the salutation, there
must be a comma after the complimentary close. Press Enter four
times (or more) after the complimentary close to allow for a written
signature.
Name and title of writer - Type the first and last name of the
sender. The sender's personal title (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc) should be
included. Use a comma to separate the job title if it's on the same
line as the name. Do not use a comma if the job title is on a
separate line. Press Enter twice after the name or title.

Example:

John Smith,
Coordinator
OR John Smith
Coordinator
Summarized
Date Line. - The month, day, and year the letter is typed.
Inside Address. - The name and address of the person to whom the
letter is being sent.
Salutation. - An opening greeting such as Dear Ms. Jones.
Body. - The text of the letter.
Complimentary Closing. - A closing to the letter such
as Sincerely or Yours truly.
Signature. - The writer's signature.
Writer's Identification. - The writer's typed name and address.

Block Style Format
Setting up a block style letter is quite simple, since every line starts
flush with the left margin.

Click for full size
To format a business letter in block style:
1. Type all lines beginning at the left margin.
2. Center the letter vertically, then type the date.
3. After the date, press Enter 4 times and type the inside address.
Leave 1 space between the state and the ZIP code.
4. After the inside address, press Enter 2 times and type the
salutation.
5. Press Enter 2 times and begin the body of the letter.
6. Single-space the body, but press Enter 2 times between
paragraphs.
7. After the last paragraph, press Enter 2 times and type the
complimentary closing.
8. Press Enter 4 times and type the writer's name and address.
Modified Block Style
You just have to look at it and you will instantly recognize the
format.

Modified block business letters use a slightly different format from
the full block business letters. In the modified block style the return
address, date, and the signature line are slightly to the right of the
center of the paper. It is recommended you to tab over to the center
of the letter and not use Ctrl-E which would distort the block.