Is the convention to use a colon or comma after the salutation in a letter?

Question

I typically type the following for the salutation of a letter:

"Dear Sir: " (with a colon)

but I have seen most people type,

"Dear Sir, " (with a comma)

I live in the U.S. now, but I seem to remember that the colon for usage in the salutation is more commonly used in UK. Is that correct?

Answer 1

Semi colon for formal letters...to a governor, employer, professor, etc.

Comma for informal letters...to friends, family, aquaintances, etc.

Colon is used in memos, technical writing, reports and data listings.

Think of it this way, if you would say Sir or Ma'am to the addressee, use a semi-colon.  If you would just say hi, howdy, or hello...then use a comma.

Answer 2

As I understand, the colon is for more formal correspondence, as in business communications.

The comma is for more informal letter writing, as to a friend.

Answer 3

a comma

Answer 4

From my understanding a colon denotes a more formal business letter whereas a comma implies familiarity (I use commas for personal letters and e-mails).

Answer 5

Colon is for business letters; comma for personal letters.

Some businesses use a comma, especially for direct-mail letters, because they think it sounds more friendly.