How to end an email professionally? It’s not always a bad idea to omit the sign-off and conclude your email with only your name if you’re communicating by email with someone you speak to frequently. However, if you want to ensure that an email leaves a positive first impression, taking an extra moment to think about how you’re concluding your letter may help it land where you want it to.
You’ve written a fantastic email. Well…almost. Now all you need is a conclusion to keep readers interested, encourage them to read more, and encourage them to interact with your company.
We understand that it’s difficult to cease emails. They have a difficult task ahead of them: moving from the body content to a clear call to action.
How to end an email professionally
Your email’s effectiveness suffers if your conclusion is subpar. Additionally, ineffective emails are discarded and ignored.
1. The structure of an email’s closing
More than just a signature, your email’s closing conveys a lot. In reality, the email conclusion consists of three parts: your final remarks, the sign-off, and your signature.
Closing thoughts
The final line or two in your email that tie the email’s main body of text together logically are its closing remarks.
These last remarks frequently restate the purpose of your email or highlight your passion, thankfulness, or excitement over the subject matter you covered throughout the email. Several instances of email-ending remarks are as follows:
- “Again, I appreciate your contacting out. I look forward to speaking with you more.
- “I want to thank you again for letting me know about this. I’ll see to it that we deal with this problem right now.
- “It was a pleasure talking to you today. I’ll be in touch shortly to arrange for our subsequent conversation.
Example of closing thoughts
In the concluding remarks, you should explain your aim or strategy specifically in relation to the subject matter of the email.
This part stands out from the rest of your email’s body text since it is its own paragraph, making sure the receiver doesn’t miss this crucial information.
In your last remarks, you also establish the tone for your subsequent email correspondence with the recipient. Your final words should be welcoming, eager about the conversation, and warm if you’re asking them to arrange a call with you.
Your concluding remarks should make it apparent that you take their concerns seriously and that you will take the action you stated you would take earlier in the email if the email was a reaction to the information they supplied.
The approval
You finish with a few final words. These are typical email sign-offs:
- Best regards
- Sincerely
- Thanks
- Best
Example of an email sign off
These succinct sentences signify that the email has ended. The tone of your sign-off must be perfect, just like your final remarks. If you don’t, you run the risk of miscommunicating with your email recipient and maybe even offending them.
The signature
Your signature serves as the final element of your email conclusion. You just need to include your name or maybe just your initials in personal communications.
Example of an email signature
But a well-written signature carries weight in a business email, especially a cold email.
Your business email signature contains all the details the receiver could require about you, much like the header and footer of an email newsletter template provide all the sender’s essential information, such as their website and phone number.
This includes:
- Your full name
- Your job title
- Your email address (yes, even though it’s an email, you still need to include this)
- Your phone number
- A link to your website
- Your social media profiles
You make it simple for the receiver to contact you and locate any information they require by adding all of this information in your signature.
2. How to select the appropriate sign-off
Several sign-offs are appropriate for almost any email. These consist of:
- Best
- Cheers
- Sincerely
- Best regards
- Warmly
- All the best
These email closings are reliable, although they may not be the most appropriate for the email you are composing.
It’s not necessary to consistently sign off with the same phrase. Customizing your sign-off to the sort of email you’re sending is a good idea whenever you can since it gives the email a more coherent feel and highlights its purpose.
What’s the aim?
Are you contacting a buddy or submitting a cover letter for a job application? Do you want them to schedule a meeting? Are you merely expressing interest in something or are you continuing a previous conversation?
Which sign-off you should use depends on the purpose of your email.
Depending on your particular objective, consider the following possible ways to sign off an email:
Making a request
Even before the receiver answers when you email a request, it’s critical to convey thanks.
You are demonstrating your respect for them and your appreciation for their response, benefit, time, or other resource by doing this.
For this circumstance, the following email sign-offs are appropriate:
- Thank you in advance
- I appreciate your help
These sign-offs are suitable even while you are completing a request.
3. Posing a query
You can make a sign-off reference to the question you asked in the body of your email if that is its main purpose. Several suitable closings for emails asking for clarification include:
- Please let me know
- I’m looking forward to your response
As you can see, there is some overlap in the proper sign-offs for emails that are requests and questions.
This is also true for the other sign-off types. Considering that a sign-off is effectively a “goodbye for now, but let’s keep this conversation moving,” several words may be used in a number of contexts.
4. Expressing gratitude
It’s crucial to be precise in your email when expressing gratitude to the recipient for doing something, whether it’s buying something, scheduling a call, or directly assisting you with something.
Several sign-offs can do this, such as:
- Thanks
- Thank you very much
- I really appreciate your help/effort/insight
5. Introduce yourself
When you are introducing yourself in an email, your closing statement should reflect your excitement for the new relationship and want to keep it going. A few sign-offs that can do this include:
- It’s great to connect
- I can’t wait to chat more
- Thanks for connecting
6. Request more conversation
Additionally, you may send an email requesting the receiver to phone you or reply by email. The following sign-offs can be used when concluding this type of email:
- Let me know your thoughts
- Let’s Connect
- Call me any time
Avoid these sign-offs (and why)
There are many excellent email sign-offs that may be used, but there are also several that aren’t so great, particularly for formal communications and business correspondence. First, let’s address the apparent issues:
- XOXO (and any variation on this like hugs, kisses, love, etc.)
- Take care
- Please get back to me
- Looking forward to hearing from you
- Any emoji
When writing a business email, avoid using these sign-offs and save them for your family and significant other. Even when accompanied by a kind request like “please get back to me,” anything that demands a response is intrusive and might turn off your receiver.
Other sign-offs like “take care” and “looking forward to hearing from you” are included in that list, which could surprise you.
Although these sign-offs may at first appear logical, they might really send messages to a professional relationship that you wouldn’t want to.
Like “Please get back to me,” or “looking forward to hearing from you” might come out as demanding. Both “take care” and “looking forward to hearing from you” can indicate that there is a reason why the recipient has to be careful.
The use of other sign-offs is restricted to certain forms of communication. For instance, the phrase “have a blessed day” contains religious overtones and therefore to only be used when you are certain that the receiver would find it appropriate.
When selecting the appropriate sign-off for your email, take into account its formality level in addition to its aim.
In informal emails, sign-offs like “your friend” and “talk soon” are acceptable, but they are not regarded as professional email closings.
Similarly, reserve emails with your closest friends and loved ones for ending lines that are only your name or initial.
7. Do I need to include a postscript?
Postscripts are common in emails. They are the last ending sentences that appear after the sender’s signature and typically contain an offer or a witty conclusion. Beginning with the letters, they P.S.
A postscript was any further idea the writer had after ending their message in the days of handwritten and typewritten letters.
They are no longer necessary in modern email correspondence since you can just click the part in the body where you wish to add new information and input your new ideas.
So why do so many email senders include postscripts?
Because they capture the eye. Emails are typically skimmed rather than read by recipients.
Add it in your postscript if you have anything that needs to stand out, such as a limited-time offer, an additional call to action, or even simply a clever statement to interest the reader.
8. Perfecting your email closings
The following advice can help you polish your email closings:
Clarify the purpose of your email
Even if it should go without saying, your email’s conclusion is the final section your recipient reads.
This is where people leave a lasting image of your company and the deal you presented in the email, one that will linger in their minds. Make sure your closing restates the purpose of your email.
Don’t make any assumptions
This is crucial when you are sending out cold emails. You can’t just assume that your reader is familiar with your name, your company, or your service.
Don’t assume your reader understands how to perform the action you’re asking them to do, just as you need to reaffirm the email’s purpose in the closing.
Here is an illustration of a conclusion that assumes something and one that doesn’t:
Premise: Sign up right away to start receiving fantastic articles in your email.
No supposition: To join up and start receiving wonderful material in your email, click the link below.
Observe how the second ending clearly instructs the reader as opposed to presuming they are aware of what to do.
Keep in mind the relationship you have with the receiver.
This is what we meant when we stated it’s crucial to conclude your email on the correct note. When you cold email someone, the initial email they get from you sets the tone for the rest of your correspondence.
If you speak in a tone that is too casual, people might not take your offer as seriously as you would like them to, and if you speak in a tone that is too formal, you can come off as unapproachable or unsuited to their needs.
Avoid making your conclusion too long (or too brief)!
Limit it to no more than three or four lines. Just one or two sentences should serve as your final words, followed by your signature and your sign-off. That is all that it ought to include and all that it absolutely must contain.
Make a customized email closing
Give your email closing a personal touch! Introducing oneself in a cold email is not all that you are doing.
Your brand is being introduced. Your brand has a distinct tone of voice, just like it has a color scheme and other brand assets.
The tone of voice can be quite informal, speaking to the reader as if they are an old friend, or it can be more reserved, sophisticated, and elitist, making the reader feel like a member of a select group.
In any case, underline who you are as a brand and how you want your reader to perceive that brand in your email ending by using this tone.
Personalizing your email to its receiver is another benefit of doing so. If you interacted personally with the recipient, mention it in your last remarks or sign off.
A suitable professional closure, for instance, may be “Thanks again for helping me find that information!” if the recipient assisted you in finding certain information.
It might be a little trickier to personalize cold emails in a way that feels authentic. They aren’t individualized in the same way that a one-on-one email can be, after all.
Choose wide, all-encompassing email ends that are appropriate for everyone on your outreach list as a method to get past this problem. Sometimes all it takes to engage the reader is a warm, appropriate conclusion.
Sometimes you require something that is blatantly individualized. Additionally, you can use Hunter Campaigns and custom characteristics to tailor emails at scale.
An example of a personalized email conclusion
You may further tailor your emails by using custom characteristics to display information about the receiver, such as name, job title, and firm.
Don’t add fresh details toward the conclusion.
Your email’s conclusion is not the appropriate moment or location to provide fresh information.
Introduce everything you need to in the introduction of your email. The purpose of your email conclusion is to reiterate the information you’ve already given and to prepare the recipient for the next stage of your connection with them.
Most common professional email ending
The scenario will determine how much and what kind of information you provide in your email closings. However, more information is often needed the less you know about the person you’re emailing.
The following are the components of a professional email ending most frequently:
Closing line
Especially for lengthier emails, it may be awkward to go from the primary subject to your sign-off. A concluding remark that thanks the reader or offers best wishes might help the transition go more smoothly. According to Girson, even when someone scans an email fast, they frequently read the final line, so you can utilize this area to include a call to action or to remind the recipient of what you need from them.
Signing off or closing
The term or phrase that appears directly over your name is this. Think about phrases like “Sincerely,” “Best,” “Thanks,” or “Have a great weekend!” You require a formal closure for your email unless you’re several emails into a thread (particularly over a short period of time) or you’re really close with the receiver. The choices are listed below.
Name
If this is your first email to someone, you should typically use your full name (first and surname or whatever you are known by) or just your first name, followed by your complete name in the email signature. Your first name is typically sufficient for talks with individuals you already know.
Title and business
Depending on who you’re emailing and why, you could include one or both of these as part of your closing. If you include both while contacting someone who is not a member of the company you work for, the receiver will know what you do and where you work. The company you work for is a given if you’re contacting a coworker (especially from a company email account), so you may omit it. However, if you’ve never spoken to the individual before, it can be useful to mention your position. Generally speaking, you should ignore your present place of employment while job searching. The reader could be confused by your attempt to depart and the fact that you are not composing the email in the course of business for your current employer.
Contact details
Although you could add it to a standard email signature, the person you’re addressing already knows your email address. You might want to think about including additional ways to contact you, such as work or mobile phone numbers. But only include contact methods that you truly intend to use.
More information about you and your work
If you’re introducing yourself or setting up your default email signature, you can also use your email signature to provide links to your LinkedIn profile, personal website or portfolio, and/or your social media accounts (if they’re appropriate and professional) so that the recipient of your email can learn more about what you’ve done.
Pronouns
This is entirely up to you and depends on how comfortable you are with it—especially if you identify as LGBTQ. But for allies: Remember that by using your pronouns, you contribute to the creation of a safe space and mainstream the practice generally so that trans and nonbinary individuals don’t feel outcasts for being the only ones who do it.
Consider including every item on this list starting with “name” if you’re making a default email signature (you should customize the closing line and sign-off for each letter). It’s important to note that “Sent from my iPhone” should only be used when it makes sense for the recipient to know that you sent the email while you were on the road. Otherwise, remove this before pressing “send” and make sure not to include it in any email cover letters.
Final thought: Always end emails positively
Avoid using generic finishes for your emails, despite how tempting it can be to. When an email is a word-for-word template, readers can tell, and it never looks good for your business.
By giving your professional sign-off the same attention you give to creating the ideal subject line and the most intriguing beginning, you may avoid that cookie-cutter appearance and feel.
However, a cold email template may be a terrific source of ideas and a creative spark for your unstoppable email conclusion.