Email

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Something I have been pondering recently....

How do you start an email and answer an email? Do you use 'Dear' or 'Hi' or something else.

I feel a bit awkward using 'dear' on an email.

Are there any rules about this?

[Dragonfly]

for the first email ie. a quote i always used "dear" if i'd met them or spoken etc. i usually used hi .

[Vectis]

If I know the first name, it's usually "Hello X" otherwise it's "Dear Mr/s X"

First line is usually something like "Many thanks for contacting us about your..."


I'd never use "Hi" unless it was to someone I know well or after plenty of prior dialogue.

[Shaun]

I almost always use "Hello" or "Hi".

[rob1963]

Something I have been pondering recently....

How do you start an email and answer an email? Do you use 'Dear' or 'Hi' or something else.

I feel a bit awkward using 'dear' on an email.

Are there any rules about this?

The generally accepted rules for emails seem to be more informal that those for snail mail letters.

I always start an email with "Hi", as I think "Dear" is way too formal for this method of communication.

Similarly, I always end an email with "Regards" or "Kind regards" rather than "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely".

[Shaun]

I also always end with "Regards".

[Dragonfly]

used to end with yours thankfully

[CRAZY K]

Something I have been pondering recently....

How do you start an email and answer an email? Do you use 'Dear' or 'Hi' or something else.

I feel a bit awkward using 'dear' on an email.

Are there any rules about this?

My rules---

Most quotes and corres go out as Dear to start with but depends on the background.

Depends on how they put their name on the quote request--

MR JOHN SMITH--Dear Mr Smith
JOHN SMITH--Dear John,
JOHN --Hi John,

Also its age related--assuming I can work out their age!

Sometimes easy according to their Christian names or a bit of a hint like---its my 50th Birthday :D :D :D

I only use Hi with people under 40 OR if they start with Hi.

I think Hello is a good compromise if your not sure.

regards

Alan

CRAZY K

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I use more or less the same rules as above.

[Marc J]

Always

Hi xxxx,
.
..
...
Best Regards,

For more informal I usually drop the "Hi xxxx" and change the Best Regards to something like "Later,"....

I personally think "Dear" and "Yours faithfully / sincerely" are too formal for email.

[discomobiledj]

On my emails it's Hi and Kind Regards on the initial email then just Hi after that.

[Penfold42]

Hi or Hello
Regards or Thanks.

...I aslo see nothing wrong with Dear.

I'm old school......use to write letters each week with Dear. :)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Start with 'Dear', but use their forename rather than 'Mr ....', 'Mrs .....' or 'Miss .....' (which I would use on a formal letter).

Always sign off with 'Regards' (something with 'regards' in seems to have become the accepted convention for emails these days)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Start with 'Dear', but use their forename rather than 'Mr ....', 'Mrs .....' or 'Miss .....' (which I would use on a formal letter).

Always sign off with 'Regards' (something with 'regards' in seems to have become the accepted convention for emails these days)

Funnily enough Ang, this thread was started 'cos of the the emails you sent me this afternoon!

[Tom]

I personally think "Dear" and "Yours faithfully / sincerely" are too formal for email.

I agree with Marc.


I always start of with Hello and always finish with Kind Regards.

I just think it looks better. :)

[DazzyD]

I am assuming you are referring to emails to clients/potential clients. I generally use "Hi" followed by the persons name as one of the top rules in sales skills is to make it personal. You should write your text as if it was face-to-face speech and not in a disconnected manner.

Also, I am a strong believer in taking ownership/responsibility for my emails. For example "I will contact the venue to find this out" as opposed to "We will contact the venue to find this out". This gives the impression that the service you are providing is personal and you are not planning on leaving contacting the venue to someone else. I have always been hot on accountability!

I always end my emails with "Regards" and this is written in to my automated signature.

Email etiquette is very important in business so maybe you can get some good advice from here:

http://www.emailreplies.com/

[CRAZY K]

Always


For more informal I usually drop the "Hi xxxx" and change the Best Regards to something like "Later,"....

I personally think "Dear" and "Yours faithfully / sincerely" are too formal for email.

I consider an email quote request to be formal.

Especially if its from a stranger on business!

Respect!!!!

CRAZY K

[Corabar Entertainment]

Funnily enough Ang, this thread was started 'cos of the the emails you sent me this afternoon!Ah! I did wonder......

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Ah! I did wonder......

I noticed that you are one of the few people that use 'dear' and I couldn't decide whether I thought it look right or not!

[Corabar Entertainment]

Although they were to you, those emails were more 'formal' in nature than many. Have to admit, that if I don't know someone personally, I have a bit of a problem with 'Hi' or even 'Hello' in a business email.

[A1DL]

Although they were to you, those emails were more 'formal' in nature than many. Have to admit, that if I don't know someone personally, I have a bit of a problem with 'Hi' or even 'Hello' in a business email.

Good evening, stranger :p

[Corabar Entertainment]

:lol: :wave:

[JAMdisco]

First correspondance is 'Hello' (usually christian name)
Follow-ups are 'Hi'

always end with:-

Kindest regards
Justin Addison
JAMdisco
www.jamdisco.co.uk

which I also have set up as an auto signature.

[Penfold42]

Start with 'Dear', but use their forename rather than 'Mr ....', 'Mrs .....' or 'Miss .....' (which I would use on a formal letter).

Always sign off with 'Regards' (something with 'regards' in seems to have become the accepted convention for emails these days)

Bear that in mind....thanks!

Hello....could you read this please.....
http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=11711

:p :D :beer1:

[Corabar Entertainment]

Hello....could you read this please.....
http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=11711

:p :D :beer1:Cheeky begger! :lol:

[A1DL]

Slightly off topic but very relevant to email communications, since the January 2007 amendments to the Companies Act (1985), where the business is a Limited Liability Company (Ltd/Plc) or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), there is a legal requirement for email communications to contain the company registration number, place of registration and registered office address.

Typically this is included in the footer signature of the email, or added automatically by the mailserver (Exchange/Domino/etc) to all client emails sent to addresses outside the home domain.

Tony

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Slightly off topic but very relevant to email communications, since the January 2007 amendments to the Companies Act (1985), where the business is a Limited Liability Company (Ltd/Plc) or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), there is a legal requirement for email communications to contain the company registration number, place of registration and registered office address.

Typically this is included in the footer signature of the email, or added automatically by the mailserver (Exchange/Domino/etc) to all client emails sent to addresses outside the home domain.

Tony

Someone mentioned that last year when it happened my good man and that's when I changed my email signature.

I think that would only affect a few of us on here anyway.

[scoopd]

Someone told me the other day that it's now the fashion to write:

Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


AS instead of


Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


What do you guys do?

[ppentertainments]

Someone told me the other day that it's now the fashion to write:

Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


AS instead of


Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


What do you guys do?

Am I reading this right, they are the same, I must be missing something :bang: :bang:

[Corabar Steve]

Someone told me the other day that it's now the fashion to write:

Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


AS instead of


Dear XXXX,

I am writing to .......


What do you guys do?
Did you mean with or without an indent?

The forum doesn't recognise big spaces & moves the words along to fill the holes.

[Marc J]

Am I reading this right, they are the same, I must be missing something :bang: :bang:

In the original post the second "I am writing to..." was indented. The forum gets rid of spaces though so they both came out the same. The only reason I know this is the topic subscription email formats it correctly.

I also heard that it is now wrong to indent the first line, by the way. Although I still do it in letters.

EDIT: Steve beat me to it :D

[scoopd]

The first one(the one I used to use) is directly underneath the comma

[Corabar Steve]

Am I reading this right, they are the same, I must be missing something :bang: :bang:

Quote it again & look at what it looks like in the quote before posting.

[theoloyla]

I am not ashamed to be old fashioned and I think there is a regrettable lack of respect and formality in the world today; so it is very often "Dear" and "Yours sincerely" for me.

[ppentertainments]

Quote it again & look at what it looks like in the quote before posting.

Doh !!!!! Sorry!

[Corabar Entertainment]

In the original post the second "I am writing to..." was indented.

I also heard that it is now wrong to indent the first line, by the way. Although I still do it in letters.



Conventions in formatting of letters actually changed about 20-25 years ago. Whereas it was once 'correct' to set out a letter:-


Mr & Mrs J Smith,

[indent]123, The Road,

[indent....]Town,

[indent....... ]County,

[indent............]Postcode



Dear xxxx,

[indent]paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph .


[indent]paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph.

Yours sincerely / faithfully,

....etc.... the convention now is

1. No commas in address, after 'Dear xxxx' or after 'Yours xxxxxx'
2. No indents in addresses or at the start of each paragraph.

[Jiggles]

All my letters are like so:

There address on the top right, then the date below, then on the left its Dear XXXX, miss a line then depending on my mood indent or not. End yours sincerely, Callum Burns