Ways Not to Begin an Email

The salutations and introductory words below have a rigid tone and, in some cases, imply a careless attitude. If you want to come across as honest and thoughtful, avoid these phrases.

Salutations to avoid

1. To Whom it May Concern

Although “To whom it may concern” appears to be a professional salutation, it is both impersonal and overused. It implies that you didn’t bother to confirm who your receiver is or whether your message is relevant to them.

This also applies to email greetings like “Dear Sir or Madam.” In this scenario, the gender-binary greeting is out of date and may not be inclusive.

2. Hi [Misspelled Name]

When writing the recipient’s name in an email salutation, be sure you’ve spelled it correctly. Typos happen, but misspelling a person’s name indicates that you did not write your message with attention.

3. Dear [ENTER NAME HERE]

Both typing the recipient’s name incorrectly in an email greeting and completely neglecting to put their name in a prewritten template are salutation faux pas that should be avoided.

Attempting to captivate your reader with an impersonal email template is probably not going to work. Always double-check that you have replaced any placeholders in the salutation with the recipient’s correctly spelled name if you must use a templated message for efficiency.

4. Can you do me a favor?

Saying “Can you do me a favor?” in the initial email correspondence when you don’t know the receiver can come across as abrupt and self-serving.

Alternatively, think about starting your email with something like “I’m reaching out about…” to clearly state the issue you hope they can help you with.

5. I know you’re busy, but . . .

At most, this email introduction makes the assumption that the reader’s time is valuable. In the worst case scenario, it implies that you are aware of that, but you still merit their attention.

Irrespective of your connection with the reader, steer clear of this opening statement and instead provide a succinct explanation of your message’s purpose.

6.Let me introduce myself

When emailing a recipient for the first time, this email opener is usually utilized. “Let me introduce myself” at the start of an email is akin to narrating your own introduction. Would you tell someone this out loud? Although it sounds assertive, in the end, it is a time waster. Rather, get right to the point.

Throughout the day, incoming and outgoing emails flood inboxes. An email marketing company called Campaign Monitor reports that the typical user sends and gets more than 100 emails every day, both from consumers and businesses. But not all of those messages are read, or are they read through to the end?

Your salutation and opening sentence must be well-crafted to grab the reader’s attention.

Here are some more tips for creating a formal and impactful email salutation.