Here is the perfect way to start an email - and 18 greetings you should usually avoid

Figuring out how to start an email - especially when you're writing to someone you don't know very well - can be a real challenge.

Is "Hey" too casual? Is "Dear" overly formal? Is "Morning!" too cheery?

If you're thinking the email greeting isn't all that important and that it's silly to over-think it, you're wrong. How you begin an email sets the tone and may shape the recipient's perception of you. It may also determine whether they keep reading. So, yes, it's very important.

"Many people have strong feelings about what you do to their names and how you address them," Barbara Pachter, a business etiquette expert, tells Business Insider. "If you offend someone in the salutation, that person not read any further. It may also affect that person's opinion of you."

We had Pachter and Will Schwalbe, who co-authored "SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better" with David Shipley, weigh in on a handful of common email greetings.

Of course, the perfect way to start an email will depend on who you're writing to, but in general, when you're writing a business email to someone you don't know well (or at all), they say there's one safe choice, and a bunch you should usually avoid: