How to End an Email: 42 Examples of Email Sign-Offs14 min read

Emails are an unavoidable means of business communication. They can’t be classified as either letters or conversations but as the evolution and combination of those two communication forms. 

As is the case with any means of business communication, finding the best way to end an email properly is important for many reasons. Some of them are:

• A proper sign-off indicates the end of a message
• It motivates the reader to take action
• It leaves the reader with a positive final impression
• It identifies the sender and their intentions
• It provides the recipient with the sender’s contact information

Email Sign-Off Examples You Can Use

So, how to end an email effectively? 

We’ll first list those 42 examples of sign-offs because that’s what you came for in the first place, and later on, we’ll discuss what rules and best practices you can use to create your own super-effective sign-off.

1. Degrees of gratitude

There’s no shortage of studies confirming that showing your gratitude in an email closing has the potential to drastically improve response rates. 

However, you should be careful not to use these sign-offs if the outcome you are hoping for is not too certain. 

While people do appreciate being thanked, doing so before they’ve actually agreed to help you can seem imposing and pushy. 

Some of the typical examples of this kind of closing include:

• Thanks for pointing me in the right direction – Great if you are looking for some kind of assistance and not a yes or no answer.
• Thanks for your consideration – A context-specific alternative to the previous example.
• I appreciate your help with this matter – Perhaps a bit insistent, but it can be perfectly appropriate depending on the content of your email.
• Thanks, and let me know if there are any issues – Shows not only that you are grateful but also that you are more than willing to put in additional work to make the deal happen. 
• Great working with you – It’s only suitable for concluding a segment of your collaboration, but it sets up a great basis for possible future correspondence. 
• Thanks in advance for your cooperation – Probably best avoided unless you are reasonably sure that the answer will be positive.
• With gratitude – A professional sign-off showing your gratitude for a potential or current business deal.

2. Semi-professional email sign-offs

If you are looking for a general sign-off that is not dependent on the context of your message or the type of relationship you have with the person you are writing to, these are some of the most neutral but still pleasant and perfectly adequate closings. 

Due to their universality, these are probably the best choices if you want to automate your sign-off or create different email templates applicable to just about any situation.

• Cheers – A universal sign-off, but it’s more appropriate in situations when you know the recipient well or have already established some kind of bond.
• Later – A casual email sign-off, best used on someone you already know. Otherwise, you risk being misinterpreted by some.
• Thanks! – Less professional than “Thank you,” good for wrapping up an email in which you are requesting something from the recipient.
• Warmly – A sign-off you can use if your email doesn’t have an overly professional tone.
• Yours truly – A pretty neutral and professional email ending, although somewhat archaic.
• See you around – A friendly sign-off that can be used with someone you know and have met before in person.
• Sent from my iPhone – This sign-off can indicate that eventual typos in your email occurred because you were typing on your phone. It also makes your email sound casual.
• Have a wonderful weekend – An email sign-off you can use on Fridays sounds thoughtful.
• Happy [weekday] – A friendly email ending that sounds genuine.
• Good luck with the [event project] – Use this sign-off when the person you are sending your email to is someone who is participating in an event or starting/finishing a project.
• Drop me a line if you have any further questions – After, hopefully, a successful exploratory meeting with your prospect, make it clear that you are here for them if they have any further questions.
• Your friendly [your job title] – A cheerful sign-off you can end your business email with.
• Sending you good vibes – A positive email ending to show your prospect you are on their side.
• Go [prospect’s favorite sports team] – If you know that your prospect is a fan of a certain sports team, show them you are rooting for that team too.

3. Professional email sign-offs

• Best – A simple and universal email sign-off.
• Best regards – The same as the previous one, but sounds a bit more professional.
• Kind regards – A professional sign-off, but with a bit lighter tone.
• Regards – A straightforward email ending that you can’t go wrong with.
• Sincerely – A bit archaic but still professional sign-off. 
• Thank you – The same as “Thanks” but more appropriate for professional emails.
• Looking forward to hearing from you – A typical ending of your first email, where you expect a reply from your prospect.
• As ever – People love stability, and this greeting assures them your relationship remains unchanged – often best reserved for situations where your correspondent might feel they’ve slighted you in some way, this convinces them that they haven’t, or at least that they are completely forgiven.
• Will follow up with some more info soon – Use this email sign-off in situations where you need to check something and get back to your prospect later.
• Thank you in advance – A sign-off for emails in which you are asking your prospect to get back to you with an answer or info.
• Respectfully – This ending is appropriate when you are sending an email to someone who’s in a high position or is an authority in their field of business.
• Cordially – You don’t have to be best friends with someone to use this sign-off, but neither will you use this at the end of an email in which you are berating your colleague or subordinate for a misstep they’ve made.

4. Anticipation of good things to come

We’ve already mentioned how email sign-offs can double as an excellent call to action.

One of the ways to achieve this is to end your email with a question, but you can also use some of the following examples to improve your chances of getting a response.

• Hoping for a spot in your calendar – You are not rushing them but are subtly hinting at the fact that you won’t need so much of their time as to be a nuisance.
• Eager to continue our collaboration – People generally don’t enjoy working, so if you are gleefully anticipating their response, there must be something really special in your relationship; at least, that’s the impression you are trying to achieve.
• Looking forward to your reply – It might sometimes seem a bit presumptuous but has been used often enough for people not to probe into its subtleties too much.
• Hope to speak to you soon – Often best reserved for situations where your correspondence is likely to be continued through a different medium – phone, Skype, etc.
• Looking forward to connecting soon – Similar to the previous example, but mostly used when you are not sure of the medium you’re likely to use in the future. 
• Excited to be working with you on [project] – An email ending that shows your prospect you are serious about doing business with them.

5. Sign-offs when responding to a rejection email

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, and it’s inevitable that you’ll get your fair share of “Thank you for your time, but…” emails. Although it’s definitely not the response you expected and hoped for, it’s still important to put on a brave face and stay professional. 

Your sign-off should display genuine politeness, leave a positive impression, and keep the door open for future opportunities. Here is how to achieve this effect.

• Thanks once again for considering me – Let them know you’re not sulking or holding a grudge. You’re still very respectful of them and their decision, even though the outcome wasn’t in your favor. 
• Appreciate your time – This is a hint you’re aware they haven’t dismissed your offer/application/suggestion without evaluating it. 
• Grateful for your feedback – A simple, neutral, and very common way of ending an email in reply to a rejection. It reiterates the sentiment of gratitude for being given a chance. 
• If circumstances change, please let me know – By concluding your email like this, you express your wish to stay in touch with them and possibly pick up where you left off.  

General Rules Regarding Email Closing 

Now that you’ve seen some pretty effective ways to end your email, we can move on to some do’s and don’ts of creating a successful email closing. 

1. Always include a closing

Aside from the fact that an adequate closing can act as a perfect call to action, solidify your relationship with the correspondent, and add a bit of personalization to what would otherwise probably be a rather dry conversation, adding an appropriate sign-off is simply a matter of etiquette. 

Naturally, if the email you are sending is just a part of a long thread, and if you expect a quick response, you can omit the formal closing, but in other situations, be sure to include some kind of greeting. 

Besides, by including a sign-off at the end of your email, the recipient can be sure that they received the entire message and that part of it wasn’t cut off. 

This is especially important in long email conversations, where email clients sometimes place a part of the message after those three dots.

2. Provide your personal details

While a professional signature is highly recommended, if you don’t have one or if it’s rather stingy with information, you’ll need to provide detailed contact info yourself. 

This includes:

• your full name 
• the company you work for, as well as your position within the company 
• your phone number, 
• relevant social network accounts;
• and yes, even your email address, even though you know that your correspondent already has it. 

Recent trends indicate adding an e-business card with all the above details provides an uncluttered, professional look to the email.

3. Don’t shy away from adding a Post Scriptum

Sure, professional emails are supposed to be as succinct and to the point as possible, but that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t benefit from adding a short summary of it at the end in the form of a Post Scriptum. 

You get the chance to reiterate your point and ensure that your correspondent is made aware of what is expected of them. 

We already made the assumption that you are sending quite a few of these emails every day, and it’s probably safe to assume that the people you are reaching out to also receive a fair portion of them each day. 

Making it easier for them by giving them a short and concise Post Scriptum might make the difference between being ignored and actually getting a favorable response. You can also attach a digital catalog at the end of the email for a better overview of the things presented in the email or for further information.

4. Consider the type of relationship you have 

While the cynics are likely to claim that there is no room for friendship and amicable relations in business, that’s by no means to say that you cannot be cordial and efficient at the same time. 

The main point is that you should save the quirky or overly familiar greetings for your friends and family.

If you are contacting a stranger whose email address you’ve just found, you should be as formal as you can without sounding uptight, but if you have a long, prolific, and pleasant relationship with your correspondent, you’re more likely to hurt that relationship by being too formal than by adding a more familiar, warm, and dare we say it, even buddy-buddy sign-off. 

If you are not sure about how official you need to be, it’s always a good rule of thumb to get the cue from the person you are writing to. 

If they are using a more informal register, you can do so as well, however, if they prefer to keep it professional, don’t respond by sending them love and kisses (pro tip: never send love and kisses to your recipients, regardless of how sincere you are about it).

5. Chuck yur spulling

Sure, you get the gist of what the title is saying, but if you didn’t know that it was an intentional mistake meant to illustrate a point, you’d probably think we didn’t put too much effort into composing this post. 

The same will go for the people reading your email. 

Since they know you know how important this correspondence is for closing the deal, and since now they see you as someone who couldn’t put enough effort or focus into this initial step, they are not very likely to expect you to be detail-oriented and dedicated during the remainder of your collaboration. 

You need to be very clear with your final message or call to action, and any typos or bad grammar can ruin your entire effort of connecting professionally with someone. To tackle this issue it is obligatory to remove all the grammar issues from your email. To solve these issues, you can get help from an online grammar checker for detecting and removing all grammar errors.

6. Don’t use oversized logos and company info

We don’t always have a choice to include a company logo in our email signature, but if we do, it’s important to try to make the logo design subtle and tasteful.

Big company logos, unnecessary information about the company, and lengthy email disclaimers can distract your recipients from the main point of the message.

7. Personalize your email ending

Email templates are a great way to save time and automate a part of your marketing or sales processes, and Autoklose is a great tool for this. 

Just make sure you implement some kind of personalization into your email campaign. 

One of the easiest ways to personalize your approach is through the sign-off, where you can include your recipient’s name and a personalized message or a call to action. 

It is well known that referring to someone by their name builds trust and helps them remember the conversation better.

8. Include a call-to-action or a question

There’s no better place to insert a call to action than in the finishing sentences of your email. 

This will be the last thing your email recipient will read, so it will be the freshest info in their mind. 

Capitalize on this by adding something that will prompt them to take action. This may be a call to try your services or a question that will reveal their needs or preferences about the subject discussed. 

This also tells the reader how they should respond to your email and what the next steps are.

9. A/B test and improve

As said before, don’t stick with only one email ending. 

Always test different kinds of sign-offs and tweak them accordingly. If something is not giving you the desired results, get creative and try a different approach. 

Autoklose comes with an A/B testing feature that will help you find the best email sign-off.

Closing Words

We hope we have given you enough guidelines to find a perfect way to end your correspondence with your leads, clients, or colleagues.

Just remember, always include a closing, and unless you are sending cold outreach or some other kind of mass email, take your relationship with your correspondent into account, and you should do just fine. 

Looking forward to your insightful comments on this post, and thanks in advance for sharing it with your friends.