informal opening of letter or note

I was taught for years that you must open an informal letter or note using a comma between the greeting and the person's name. Is that right or wrong?

Which is correct?

Hi, Nancy, OR Hi Nancy,

Good afternoon, Linda, OR
Good afternoon Linda,

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Answer:

The best way to write an informal letter is to write it as if you are talking. There is no right or wrong with an informal letter.

When you put a comma after a word, there is a pause when you read it. So, Hi, Nancy would be Hi (pause) Nancy. How does that sound to you?

I would personally go with the comma after the name so that there is no pause between the hi and the name. But it depends on how you normally speak.

Dax

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