How to End an Email: Best Sign Offs and Examples

The way you sign off from an email is a small but important detail, so it's worth giving it some careful thought, especially in professional interactions such as job applications and emails to managers and co-workers. All workplace communication is formal to some extent, so even if you consider a colleague to be a friend, use some care when emailing them - you never know who might see their inbox or when you might click the wrong name in your address book. However, that doesn't mean you can't have friendly and formal ways to end an email, and choose the most appropriate for a given interaction. Addressing different people in a way that suits your professional relationship is a good way to maintain rapport. In this article we will look at why it's important to know how to end an email, some examples of best practice, and some of the most common ways to end an email when in a work setting. By the end, you should have gained some useful tips and tricks, to give you a clearer idea of how to end business emails in a way that gives the right impression to the reader, no matter who they may be. If you're after a quick answer, some of the best ways to end an email include:

• Best wishes
• Kind Regards
• Yours Sincerely
• Take Care
• Cheers
• Thanks in advance
• Firstname Lastname

Why Are Email Closings Important?

First impressions count for a lot in business, but last impressions matter too. The way you sign off from an email can be the last thing the other party reads in your 'voice', so you should make sure you express yourself well. Ending an email is different from saying bye on the phone or ending a face-to-face conversation. It's a real opportunity to stick in the other person's mind, and you should think of your email signature almost as a form of marketing real estate. A good email ending can say thank you and goodbye, remind the reader of your name, and incorporate contact details and branding. If you are senior in your organisation, it can also highlight that fact by mentioning your job title, giving your entire email more clout. Ultimately, the way you end your email - like the tone of voice and language you use throughout - is all about how you want to be perceived. Embrace this opportunity to make a good lasting impression on the reader, at least until your next interaction with them.

Common Ways to End an Email

There are some common ways to end an email that you'll see time and time again in the business world. Some are used so widely that they have become cliches in their own right - and it's up to you whether you want to avoid them or not. Some examples of ways to end a professional email include:

• Kind Regards
• Yours Sincerely
• Best Wishes
• Take Care
• Firstname Lastname

The first three of these are fairly formal and professional, although not universally loved by senders or recipients - 'Kind Regards' in particular has developed a reputation as being somewhat cold, despite its intentions. In the past 'Take Care' may have received a mixed response. In a post-COVID world, it can sound more caring and genuine. However, you might choose to steer clear of this one if you don't feel like your relationship with the recipient warrants it. Simply signing off with your name might feel like a good way to avoid the minefield of what else to say, but it's also one of the coldest options and misses a great opportunity to strengthen the bond with a client, supplier, manager or colleague. That being said, there's no reason why you can't set up an automatic email signature that includes your name and other details, but then manually add the most appropriate sign-off to the top of it on each email you send out.

Ways to Thank Your Reader

In addition to all of the above, it's often best to end by thanking the recipient, whether you are thanking them for their time spent reading your email, for something they have already done for you, or for something you hope they will do in the future:

• All The Best
• With Thanks
• Thanks In Advance
• Thanks Again
• Cheers

While 'All The Best' isn't strictly a thank you, it's a good option when you want to convey a similar sentiment to someone who hasn't actually done anything specific worthy of a thank you sign-off. The remaining options give you several different ways to thank your recipient, including some more and less formal variations. 'Cheers' obviously will not be suitable in all circumstances, but when you have that kind of relationship with a client or colleague, a more formal sign-off can sound wrong. Again, your choice of ending is personal to yourself, and should be tailored to your recipient. In general though, saying thank you is often a good choice if you don't have a clear idea of what else you want to say.

What to Include When Closing an Email

Once you have chosen the magic words, how do you include them in the closing portion of your email? You have a few ways to go about it, depending on whether you prefer to set things up in advance, or just type out the ending of your email as you're about to send it. If you'd rather have multiple options already set up and fully formatted, check how to create an email signature in the email client your company uses. Providing you have the necessary admin privileges, you should be able to create multiple email signatures for different situations - for example, a 'Thanks' sign-off, a 'Cheers' for informal messages and a 'Kind Regards' as a more formal catch-all. You can set a 'safe' generic sign-off as your default email signature, and just switch to one of the alternatives when it's appropriate to do so. Most email clients can handle switching your signature, and will delete the generic version when inserting the alternative. Email signatures can be plain text or, in most email clients, fully formatted with HTML and embedded images - so if you want to create a stylish sign-off that goes beyond just words, you should find you have plenty of options.

What to Include in an HTML Email Signature

If you opt for the fully formatted HTML route, spend some time designing an eye-catching email signature to end your messages in an engaging and informative way. Some elements to include in an HTML email signature are:

• A predefined 'Kind Regards', 'Thanks' or 'Cheers' sign-off.
• Your first name or full name.
• Your job title.
• Your company or department logo.
• Your direct telephone number (if appropriate).
• Your social media handles (again only if appropriate).

Put the most important elements in a larger font, and use smaller text for your job title and contact details. Remember to format everything consistently - use your company's branding and colours, especially if the same colours are used elsewhere in your default email stationery. Finally, give your new HTML email signature a test drive. Send some example emails to yourself and view them on different desktop and mobile devices to make sure everything displays correctly.

How to End an Email Professionally

Make it a part of your routine to end your emails in a professional manner, either by typing a customised sign-off or by inserting an appropriate signature, or a combination of the two. Ending an email professionally can be especially important when you are emailing from your personal account to a professional organisation. An obvious example of this is when applying for a job, when first and lasting impressions count for so much. If your email also serves as your cover letter, make sure you end it appropriately. 'Cheers' is unlikely to make the right impression. A formal 'Kind Regards' can be a safe bet if you're not sure, or a more formal 'Thank You' rarely hurts either. The important thing is to pay attention to what you are saying from the moment you start typing an email, until the moment you hit send. The entire email - signature and all - is a written representation of yourself in digital form. For the most positive impact, keep it professional yet approachable. It's not always an easy balance to get right, but when you do, you should see good results and could even get yourself an interview for your dream job.

Capitals or Lower Case?

One design choice is whether to use capitalised initial letters (e.g. 'With Warmest Regards') or just one capital at the start (e.g. 'With warmest regards'). This again is a personal choice, but it's worth noting that using just one capital can come across as more informal, whereas capital initials on every word is more appropriate for formal sign-offs - so don't agonise over it, but make an informed decision in each case.

Worst Phrases for Ending an Email

One of the least valuable phrases to end an email is: "Sent from my iPhone/Android/BlackBerry." These kinds of messages are often inserted automatically by default, and you can check by sending yourself an email and looking to see if the last line is your user-defined signature or some spammy marketing message inserted by your device. Some email platforms and antivirus packages will also insert an unwelcome last line in your emails, so if you have admin privileges to change this setting, you might want to consider doing so. In reality it's not usually a major inconvenience, but when somebody skips to the bottom of your reply to check your contact details, you want them to find your phone number, not a generic line saying: "This email has been scanned for viruses."

Best Phrases for Ending an Email

With all of the above taken into account, what are the best phrases for ending an email? Again it depends on context, but there are certain sign-offs that seem likely to meet with approval from the majority of readers.

Cheers

It's among the least formal ways to say thank you, yet 'Cheers' is hugely popular in the business world when you have established good rapport with a colleague, client or other contact. Use it carefully so as not to overstep any boundaries, but when you're certain that the informal and friendly approach is acceptable, it's time to deploy 'Cheers' as your preferred email sign-off.

Best wishes

'Best Wishes' is a good compromise. It's not overly formal - and not as widely hated as 'Kind Regards' - it's positive, but it's also respectful. This is a strong contender for emails to external parties, rather than to colleagues. When you're letting an email loose on the outside world, rather than sending it to someone within your organisation, it's sensible to be a little more formal than a simple 'Cheers'. You still sound approachable and genuine, but without the risk of coming across as immature.

Thanks in advance

If you're asking for a favour, consider whether to say 'Thanks In Advance'. On the one hand, it's good to show gratitude upfront, and many recipients will respond more positively to your request if you do. However, make sure you don't sound like you're assuming the recipient will help you. If you're asking for something major, you might want to vary your sign-off to something like 'Thanks for any help you can provide' which acknowledges that they might not be able to give you everything you want.

Make it Your Own

Whatever you choose, make your email endings personal to your own tone of voice, and that of your organisation. You can tweak the precise wording, use a specific typeface or change the colour of your text to add some personality. Every word of an email should be in your voice - and that includes predefined email signatures and sign-offs. Make sure that whatever you say, your message is consistent throughout and treats the recipient with the appropriate level of respect. By choosing your email ending with care and attention, you can leave a positive lasting impression in the recipient's mind, reinforce working relationships and ultimately ensure you land lucrative contracts from key customers in the future.