We've all had the internal dialogue.

"Do I start my email with Hi? Hey? Just their name? Maybe a friendly, Howdy? 🤠"

​Do what's natural for you.*

*Howdy might be over the top if they don't know you.

Some people say "Hey" is too informal. At Lavender, we say hey, so why wouldn't we write it?

Using just their first name to start a cold email is a great way to maximize preview text.

When Can I stop, though?

Ever get into a back-and-forth, and it feels unnatural that you’re greeting them in every email?

We get it… it’s kinda annoying.

​Especially given how normal it is to fire off a quick text, DM, or Slack message.

​Mirroring is the key.

Check the other person's level of formality.

If they’re writing formally, you should continue using the greeting. Better yet, match theirs.

A good rule of thumb is to follow their lead, but there is a grey area. If they’re writing casually to you, and you’re emailing back and forth quickly. In that case, it might be appropriate to drop the formality.

​Trust your gut.