Is ‘Best’ always the best email sign off? When you’re writing an email, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that is most important. So while there are only a handful of ways to say ‘Hi’, there are so many different ways to sign off an email that choosing the correct email ending can be confusing. From the formal ‘Yours sincerely’ to the casual ‘Cheers’, using the right business email sign off can make a real difference to your recipient’s reaction and the response you’ll receive.
You’re too busy to waste time worrying about how to sign off every email correctly. That’s why we’ve produced this guide to help you choose the most appropriate sign off for any email. You’ll learn how to look professional without appearing pretentious, friendly without being over familiar, and creative enough to stand out from the crowd. With our best practice business email sign off examples you’ll always make the right impression.
In this email sign off guide, I’ll show you:
What are email sign offs?
An email sign off is simply the short (usually two or three word) phrase that you use to end your email message before adding your name and email signature. It’s as simple as that. So simple that most people don’t give a second thought to how they end their emails. Even people with full professional email signatures say ‘But how do I sign off an email?’. Stand out from the crowd by leaving the right impression – and getting the right response – by always using the right email sign-off.
How should you sign off an email?
Unlike formal letter writing’s traditional sign offs of ‘Yours faithfully’ or ‘Yours sincerely’, there are no rules for signing off an email. You have to use your judgement and choose the most appropriate email sign off for the situation. There are, however, some email sign off best practices to help you make the right choice. Let’s take a look…
Email sign off best practices
These are the things you should consider when choosing an email sign off:
- It’s all about context. Are you sending amendments to a client contract or arranging the company BBQ? Keep your email sign off consistent with your message content and style. So, if you’re sending a formal message use a formal email ending.
- Think about your relationship with the recipient. Are you signing off an email to a potential new client or a close colleague? Is the recipient purely a business contact or have you built up a friendship? It’s the difference between using a ‘Best regards’ and a ‘Cheers’ email sign off.
- Always be respectful. It pays to be polite so always use a respectful email sign off. It doesn’t have to be a stuffy ‘Yours respectfully’, a polite ‘Best wishes’ will do. And remember that different generations and cultures have different views of what counts as respectful!
- Check punctuation and spelling. Only start the first word of your email sign off with a capital letter (‘Kind regards’ rather than ‘Kind Regards’ and don’t let any spelling mistakes creep in (Kond regrads?). When you re-read your email message don’t stop before the sign-off.
- Make it personal. You can still stay professional while adding some personality to your sign off but it’s better to wait until you’ve established a friendlier, more personal relationship with the recipient.
- Take care when being creative. Remember that a creative email sign off that appeals to you might not resonate with the recipient. This is especially true when emailing across countries and cultures where your sign off’s meaning might get, literally, lost in translation.
- Keep your email ending on-brand. Use a sign off that suits your brand image. For example, you’ll use a far more formal email sign off if you work for an established law firm than if you work for a tech start-up or leisure brand. One way to ensure all staff use on-brand email endings is by implementing centrally controlled email signatures which will ensure brand consistency and compliance company-wide.
- Go easy on the emojis. Should you use emojis in email sign offs? An emoji can say a lot, make it more visual and add a touch of humor. But be careful – make sure your chosen emoji means exactly what you intend!
- Play it safe if you’re not sure. If you’re really worried about your email sign off looking unprofessional, being misinterpreted or causing offence, it’s best to play it safe with a non-specific email ending such as ‘Regards’.
Tip: To play it ultra safe, if you’re replying to an email, simply use the same email sign off as the original sender, as long as it is appropriate.
As Sean Butcher, Founder of Reflect Consultancy notes:
“Firstly, really consider your audience. Is it a large corporate or a small startup? Do you have a previous relationship with the person you are emailing or are you prospecting a cold lead? Are other people you don’t know so well cc’d (or could they potentially be bcc’d in the email thread) and therefore you’re exposing yourself to more people that could judge the way you are communicating?
If you have a pre-established relationship with your contact then it’s more likely you can incorporate a bit more flexibility in the way you exchange emails. Though for those people you don’t know, it’s best to start with an element of formality, and at the very least, general politeness in your tone.
Even then, whilst most people can accept a bit of ‘banter’, there’s a fine line between ‘jokey’ and ‘offensive’. Unless you are the very best of friends, you never know someone’s circumstances, personal situation or history. It doesn’t take any effort to be courteous, professional and polite, and people will remember you for it.
As a general rule: if there’s any doubt about your email sign-off’s appropriateness, or if you are in any way concerned that it could be deemed risky, then it’s always best to trust your gut and play it safe.”
Which email sign-off delivers the highest response rates?
Boomerang conducted a study and proved that a little thanks goes a long way. They looked at closings on 350,000 emails and found that gratitude sign-offs received the highest response rate.
‘Thanks in advance’ came up on top with a 65.7% response rate, followed closely by ‘Thanks’ at 63% and finally a 57.9% response rate for ‘Thank you’.
Professional email sign offs
Whether you’re writing to your boss, a customer, a supplier or a co-worker, in the workplace you need to know how to sign off an email professionally. Remember that professional doesn’t have to mean formal. Using a traditional email sign off such as ‘Best regards’ might sound like playing it safe but in many ways it makes perfect sense. No one ever got reprimanded for being too professional! You can’t go far wrong with the following professional email sign off examples:
- ‘Sincerely’ / ‘Yours sincerely’. A classic email sign off from the letter writing tradition, it is still appropriate for more formal business and legal emails but might make you look rather reserved.
- ‘Regards’ / ‘Best regards’ / ‘Kind regards’. ‘Regards’ is the safest of safe choices, which isn’t always a bad thing. It’s professional and won’t spring any surprises but it can look rather ‘default’ and thoughtless, so best to add ‘Best’.
- ‘Respectfully’ / ‘Yours respectfully’. An ultra-formal sign off best suited to writing to senior executives or government officials, it is certainly courteous and, quite literally, shows respect.
- ‘Best wishes’. This is the best of both worlds. It’s formal but it’s also friendly, professional but with a more personal feel – a universal email sign off.
- ‘Best’. Short and to the point, ‘Best’ has become a very popular go-to email sign off choice. But does it look dull? You can always extend it to a ‘Best wishes’, ‘Best regards’ or ‘All the best’ email sign off .
- ‘Thank you’. Another neutral email sign off that works in almost every situation, making you look professional and polite.
Whatever email ending you choose, a professional email signature perfectly complements a professional email sign off to leave the right impression on the recipient.
Work friendly email sign off
With the business world becoming less and less formal…there’s plenty of opportunity to use a more casual email sign off. If you’re building a friendlier relationship with a client or co-worker, try warming up your email with a more relaxed ending such as ‘Warmest regards’, ‘Warmly’ or a cheerful ‘Cheers!’.
Personal sign-offs on your professional emails are straightforward, but managing email signatures across an entire company can be daunting.
Facing this challenge? Simplify it with Rocketseed’s email signature management solutions, ensuring every email reflects your brand’s standards effortlessly.
Funny email sign offs
Email sign offs don’t have to be a serious business. Sometimes it’s right to raise a smile with a humorous email sign off. But take care. Not everyone shares the same sense of humor. So it’s best to save up your amusing email endings for close colleagues and customers who you’ve built up a friendship with. Funny email sign off examples might include ‘See you later, alligator!’, ‘Thank goodness it’s Friday!’, ‘Catch you on the flip side’ or ‘And that’s a wrap!’.
Creative email sign offs
From cartoon character catchphrases to memorable movie quotes, a creative email sign off can really resonate with the recipient – but make sure they’re the right age and have the right interests to understand the reference. Pop culture email sign offs could include ‘To infinity and beyond!’, ‘Hasta la vista, baby!’, ‘Live long and prosper’, ‘May the force be with you’, or even the classic ‘Yabba Dabba Doo!’
Remember with funny or creative email endings, chances are they’ll only seem funny or creative the first time the recipient reads them!
Email sign offs to avoid
When it comes to email endings to avoid, there are a few rules of thumb to remember.
- Don’t be too formal. Overly formal email sign offs such as ‘Yours faithfully’ and ‘Yours respectfully’, whilst OK for letter writing, can make you look pompous rather than professional on email.
- Don’t be too emotional. Affectionate email sign offs such as ‘Love’, ‘Lots of love’ or ‘Hugs’ aren’t appropriate for the workplace and are best kept for partners, close friends and family.
- Don’t use abbreviations. Email isn’t SMS. Abbreviations in email sign offs like ‘Thx’, ‘XO’, ‘L8r’.‘TTYL’ and ‘Rgrds’ (really?) might be OK to close colleagues but to anyone else they’ll make you look lazy and unprofessional. Plus, there is also the possibility that the recipient won’t know what they mean!
- Don’t be offensive. No surprises here! But it’s worth stating anyway. No swearing in your sign offs!
Also, don’t use religious or political references in your email sign off to bless the recipient or show your political allegiance. - Don’t leave out a sign off. Leaving out an email sign off completely looks rude and abrupt. Using a sign off is courteous, even if only on the initial email in a conversation chain.
- Don’t sign off an email with just your name. It’s brief and blunt and, while it might be OK in an email chain, it’s not a good way to sign off an introductory email.
- Don’t be passive aggressive. Perhaps that ‘Kind regards’ sign off isn’t really kind at all! You’ll see some passive aggressive email sign offs below with tips on how to spot them.
Passive aggressive email sign offs
Are you convinced that a colleague or customer is being cold or condescending under the cover of appearing professional and polite? Perhaps they’re using a passive-aggressive email sign off. It might be unintentional but if it continues it can harm your work environment, morale and productivity. To help you read between the lines, here are some of the most passive aggressive phrases used in workplace email sign offs – and what they might really mean – so you can spot them and ask the sender to stop.
- Regards. (I really can’t be bothered to be at all friendly)
- Awaiting your response. (I need the information NOW – hurry up!)
- Any updates on this? (What’s taking you so long?)
- Please advise. (It’s your problem now not mine – deal with it)
- Thanks in advance. (You can’t get out of helping me now)
- I look forward to hearing from you. (Get back to me quicker than you did last time)
- All the best. (You won’t be hearing from me again)
Generational differences email sign offs
What does a GenZ email sign off look like? As Saman Javed, writing in The Independent reveals, Gen Z are signing off workplace emails in remarkably different ways from traditional formalities.
So while older generations play it safe with classic email sign offs such as ‘Kind regards’, ‘Best wishes’, ‘Sincerely’ and ‘Thanks’, the GenZ sign-off examples cited include ‘That’s all’, ‘Hehe, bye’, ‘Alright alright alright’, ‘Hasta la pasta’, ‘Insert pleasantry here’, ‘Don’t cross me’ and ‘Talk soon, loser’.
Do GenZ want a life free of professional formalities? Are millennials and older generations clinging on to a more formal workplace past? While the above might be extreme examples, it’s clear that there are generational differences in email sign offs that could spell the end for formaily.
Cultural differences email sign offs
When you’ve got a global customer base or workforce, it’s essential that your email communications aren’t misunderstood. An email sign off that doesn’t cross cultures, and has a meaning that gets lost in translation, can only amplify the risk and impact.
As Darren Menabney writes in Forbes, there are ways to avoid disaster when sending emails across cultures He emphasises that “Overcoming this risk requires the right mindset, cultural awareness and being intentional in crafting emails sent across cultures”. Using an appropriate sign off shows that you’re alert to cultural sensitivities”.
This is echoed by Lucy Pembayun, Founder of LEaF Translations who considers the email sign off faux pas that could happen when working in an international team.
“Striking the right tone in an email sign-off can be tricky when communicating in your own language with people from the same cultural background – but it becomes a whole lot harder when you are communicating with people from a different culture and especially when there is a different language involved. A tone that may be considered acceptable in your home country, may be deemed cold or even offensive by people from another country. For example, in the US it is common to sign off emails with “Regards”, but this can come across a little unfriendly in the UK, where we tend to opt for “Kind regards”.
Lucy highlights some other examples:
“Some countries are more than happy to abbreviate, such as Germany with “LG” for “Liebe Grüße”, but I’ve never come across KR or BW in the UK. Then there is the language itself. Whenever it comes to translation, a general rule of thumb is never to translate literally. Using the previous example from Germany, signing off an email to a British colleague with “Lovely greetings” would come across a little odd; translating the informal French email sign-off “Mille baisers” literally would result in you sending “A thousand kisses”. So how to avoid an awkward or even offensive email sign-off when working with international teams? If it is a colleague, why not ask them what would be appropriate – it could lead to a fascinating conversation about language and culture.”
She also notes,
“If you are writing an important email, perhaps to a prospective client or as part of a job application, then it could well be worth consulting with a native speaker to make sure you strike the right tone.”
Email sign offs for all occasions
Searching for the right email sign off for a specific occasion? Here are some situation-specific email sign off examples to help you.
Email sign offs – apologies
Is ‘sorry’ really the hardest word? Nobody’s perfect, and If you’ve made a mistake, missed a project deadline or even hurt a colleague’s feelings, you’ll want to apologize. As a rule, it’s best to apologize in person or by phone but that isn’t always practical. So what’s an ideal apologetic email sign off to help you say sorry?Whoever it’s to, writing an email apology starts way before the sign off. Acknowledge your mistake, show you’re genuinely sorry for it and want to put things right. Email sign off apologies need to be authentic, such as a simple ‘Sincerely’. You don’t need to sign off ‘With apologies’ – your whole email has been your apology!
Email sign offs – appreciation
Everyone appreciates a ‘Thank you’. So if a colleague has sent you the urgent information you needed or a supplier has hurried through a delivery to help you meet a deadline, emphasize your gratitude with an appreciation email sign off. It can really help strengthen relationships.
Keep it simple with a ‘Thank you’, ‘Thanks’, ‘Many thanks’, ‘With appreciation’ or even just an ‘Appreciatively’ email sign off. You can also make your thank you email sign off specific, such as ‘Thank you for your time’, ‘Thank you for the opportunity’, ‘Thank you for your support’, ‘Thanks for all your help’ or even ‘Thanks for thinking of me’. You can also offer to return the favour with ‘If I can ever help you like you’ve helped me, just say the word’. If you want to be formal, how about the email sign off ‘With gratitude’? Or perhaps keep it casual with a complimentary email sign off such as ‘You’re the best’, ‘You rock’ or ‘You’re a star’.
Email sign offs – condolences
Whether you’re writing to a bereaved family member, friend, colleague or client, a condolences email shows them you are thinking of them at a difficult time. Again, it’s all about the type of relationship you have with the recipient. If you’re close, perhaps a sympathy card might be more personal. Keep your message short and sincere and use a condolences email sign off such as ‘Thinking of you’, ‘Please accept my deepest sympathies’, ‘My sincerest condolences to you and your family’, ‘Please let me know if there’s anything I can do’ or ‘Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything’ (as long as it is a genuine offer).
Email sign offs – holidays/Christmas
Spread some seasonal goodwill with a traditional Christmas email sign off of ‘Merry Christmas & Happy New Year’ or ‘Wishing you a merry Christmas’ or a more playful ‘Have a holly, jolly Christmas’. But remember your colleagues and customers might not celebrate the holidays in the same way, so a ‘Happy holidays’ or ‘All the best for the holiday season’ might be appropriate alternatives. Perhaps you could use your email sign off for the holidays to speak for the whole company such as ‘Happy holidays from all of us here at [business name]’ or thank customers for their loyalty with ‘We appreciate your business and look forward to working with you in the new year! ’In addition, creating a Christmas email signature can inform recipients of your holiday period office opening times or feature any Christmas and New Year promotional offers.
Email sign offs – vacation/annual leave
Whilst it’s tempting to gloat with a ‘See you in two weeks’ vacation email sign off before you leave but, while you’re away, it’s your out-of-office message that is important. It not only shows that you’re organized but should clearly state when you’ll be back, when recipients can realistically expect a reply from you and who to contact in the meantime, especially if an issue is urgent. You might also want to stress that you won’t be checking your email while you’re away. ‘I’m away on vacation from 2024 to 2024 and will not be checking my email during this time.If your message can wait, I will reply as soon as possible on my return.In the meantime, if you need urgent assistance please contact [contact email and telephone details]’.Alternatively, if you’re writing to the person going on vacation, you can add a vacation email sign off such as ‘Have a great time’, ‘Enjoy your break’, ‘Have a wonderful trip’ or even ‘Bon voyage!’.
Email sign offs – bad news
Nobody wants to have to break bad news. in an email or otherwise. Depending on the details – from a personal misfortune to redundancy, a bad news email is going to leave the recipient upset, sad, distressed and even confused. So if you have the task, perhaps use one of these bad news email sign off examples to offer consolation – ‘I’m here for you’, ‘Call me whenever you want to talk’, ‘Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything’ – and help show next steps, such as with ‘Let’s talk tomorrow to work out a way forward’.
Email sign offs – job application
Whilst it might not be as important as your covering letter, resume or interview, knowing how to sign off a job application email can still be significant in your job search success. Show a prospective employer or recruiter how professional you are by keeping your job application sign off simple and safe. You can find other ways to stand out from the crowd. These job application email sign off examples are all safely suitable – ‘Best regards’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Thanks’ (but not ‘thx’) or ‘Looking forward to meeting you’ if you’ve been invited to an interview. Make sure you don’t sound entitled or presumptuous that you’ll be selected, so avoid sign-offs like ‘Thanks in advance’.
Relationship between email sign offs and email signatures
In their different ways, your email sign off and email signature both add value to your business email.
While the right email closing phrase is important for leaving the right impression and getting the right response from the recipient, a professional email signature is essential for identifying you the sender, clearly communicating your contact details and branding the email with your corporate logo. It also opens a host of marketing opportunities by enabling the recipient to click through to your website, social media profiles and key content.
Company guidelines regarding acceptable email sign offs are almost impossible to enforce. So the simplest way to ensure that all employee business emails are consistently on-brand company-wide is to control them centrally using a professional email signature manager tool.
You can also use your email sign off to draw attention to features in your signature and drive direct engagement. For example, ‘To set up an introductory meeting, simply click the ‘Book Now’ button in my signature’ or ‘You’ll find all you need on our website. Just click the link in my signature’.
So…
What’s the best way to sign off your emails?
If you are still unsure about which phrase to use to sign off an email, ask yourself the below four questions:
- What is the message of the email?
- What is the emotion that you want to convey?
- Is the email formal or informal?
- How well do you know the recipient?
Once you have answered these questions, you will be in a much better position to choose the right sign-off for every email that you send. You can also check out our 7 etiquette tips to help you write more professional emails to ensure you get every aspect of your emails just right.
Whatever email ending you choose, the easiest way to make your (and all your company’s) emails look professional is by adding a professional on-brand email signature to every email. Here at Rocketseed, we are experts in professional email signatures and can help ensure your signatures engage with your clients, generate new leads, and up-sell your products and services.
Contact us today to see how our business email signature software can revolutionize the way you sign off your emails.
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Shanique Brophy | Marketing Executive
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