Page 156 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

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After 'Dear X', put a comma or nothing at all, not an exclamation mark (ll. Either leave an empty line after 'Dear X' and start again on the left, or start again on the next line, a few spaces from the left. Do the same for each new paragraph. [fhe first method is now the most common in Britain.)
Letters which begin Dear Sires) or Dear Madam usually finish Yours faithfully in British English. Formal letters which begin with the person's name (e.g. Dear Miss Hawkins, Dear Peter Lewis) usually finish Yours sincerely. Common American endings are Sincerely yours or Sincerely. Informal letters may finish, for example, Yours, See you or Love. (Love is not usually used by one man to another.) In formal letters, many people put a closing formula before Yours . .., especially when writing to people they know: common expressions are With best wishes and With kind regards.
Sign with your first name (informal) or your full name (formal), but without writing any title (MrlMsIDr etc). Ways of writing one's full name: Alan Forbes, A Forbes, A J Forbes.
In a formal typewritten letter, add your full typewritten name after your handwritten signature. Friendly business letters are often signed with the first name only above the full typewritten name:
Yours sincerely
Alan
Alan Forbes
In informal letters, afterthoughts that are added after the signature are usually introduced by P S (Latin post scriptum = written afterwards).
On the envelope, put the first name before the surname. People usually write a title (Mr, Mrs etc) before the name. You can write the first name in full (Mrs Angela Brookes), or you can write one or more initials (Mrs A E Brookes). It was once common to put the abbreviated title Esq (= Esquire) after a man's name; this is now very unusual.
British people now usually write abbreviated titles, initials, addresses, dates, and opening and closing formulae without commas or full stops.
American usage is different from British in some ways:
• Commas are sometimes used at the ends of lines in addresses; full stops
may be used at the ends of addresses; full stops'are used after abbreviated titles. After the opening salutation, Americans may put a colon, especially in business letters (Dear Mr. Hawkes:), or a comma.
• Gentlemen is used instead of Dear Sirs.
• Dates are written differently (month before day) - see 152.
• Yours faithfully is not used; common endings are Sincerely, Sincerely yours
or Yours truly, followed by a comma.
• Americans are often addressed (and sign their names) with the first name in
full, followed by the initial of a middle name (Alan J. Parker). This is less usual in Britain.
correspondence (1): letters 146
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