What Is A Good Email Closing?

One of the questions posted today on my Google Language Group is about closing an email.

Can anyone suggest a good closing for e-mails. I’ve been using “Thanks”, which is kind of lame since I don’t always have any reason to be thanking.

It seems that most people use “regards” and I find it quite pleasant when I receive it, but I doesn’t fit my personality for some reason. It may just be the fact that everyone else is doing it.

Can anyone suggest some less common?

I guess the trend is away from any salutation or closing. But there are many occasions where something is needed.

Thanks (here I’m thanking in advance for all the help I will be receiving.)

Paul

To which I responded:

When I was in school, I was taught to write letters. The same
principle of closing my letters is now being applied to my emails. I
use the followings:

For business
Yours faithfully

For personal
Yours truly

General
Yours sincerely

I use ‘Thanks and best regards’ all the time at the end of my letters
or emails, unless it is one of those to the government department in
which I have to make a formal complaint about a noise pollution in my
neighbourhood.

Best regards

Yours sincerely
Hanifa K. Cook

I actually do not think “Best regards”, “Thanks and best regards” or “Regards” to be email closing statements. But I recently discovered myself using it in a recent email.

Can anyone suggest some less common email closing statements?

8 Comments

Ann Hawkins on May 30, 2011 at 9:55 am

I almost always use “Best wishes”

Hanifa on May 30, 2011 at 10:32 am

Ha, I can sure use some of your friendly and chirpy closing. For non-native English speakers, it is not always easy to understand what tone these closing presents. “Best wishes” is most popular.

Stowe Boyd on May 31, 2011 at 11:52 am

I — and many others — close with ‘Best’ as in best wishes, best regards, etc.

Hanifa on May 31, 2011 at 11:10 pm

That’s really easy to remember. It does remind me so much of the kind of straightforward lingo which many languages tend to approve of. “Best” , unfortunately, is not accepted in an English language paper.

Kristian Hansen on June 1, 2011 at 9:35 pm

– Best Wishes (easy and clean)
– Ride Safe (to my cyclist friends)
– Rock On! (if I am writing a letter to someone I admire or who is innovative)
– Regards (businessey)
– Keep it Real ( to younger types – like me at 28)

I found these in my last weeks’ worth of emails, but my most common email closings were “Thanks” or ” Regards” or “Best”

-Kristian

Hanifa on June 4, 2011 at 3:11 am

Yes Ann. I think that is best for many reasons. It as Kristian says, very clean.

Eric Roth on January 6, 2013 at 2:31 am

Good discussion and an important question, especially if we want to maintain a certain level of civility and politeness in our email exchanges.

Like Kristian, I consider the audience first. For professional emails, I remain quite focused on the audience. For instance, I might close with “Respectfully” if I was making a request or “until tomorrow” if writing to students. Of course, expressing gratitude and using “thanks” never hurts. If I write to Christian or Jewish friends, I often close with “shalom” and tend to switch to “peace” with friends of other or no religious affiliation. Sometimes I might repeat the email’s core message: stay sane, stay focused, your friend, or keep smiling!

Hanifa on January 10, 2013 at 1:43 pm

Here in Asia, we have to be mindful of how we actually use traditional religious greetings. It is safe to say that it is best to stick to the standards set for formal business letter writings.

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Ann Hawkins on May 30, 2011 at 9:55 am

I almost always use “Best wishes”
Hanifa on May 30, 2011 at 10:32 am

Ha, I can sure use some of your friendly and chirpy closing. For non-native English speakers, it is not always easy to understand what tone these closing presents. “Best wishes” is most popular.
Stowe Boyd on May 31, 2011 at 11:52 am

I — and many others — close with ‘Best’ as in best wishes, best regards, etc.
Hanifa on May 31, 2011 at 11:10 pm

That’s really easy to remember. It does remind me so much of the kind of straightforward lingo which many languages tend to approve of. “Best” , unfortunately, is not accepted in an English language paper.
Kristian Hansen on June 1, 2011 at 9:35 pm

– Best Wishes (easy and clean)
– Ride Safe (to my cyclist friends)
– Rock On! (if I am writing a letter to someone I admire or who is innovative)
– Regards (businessey)
– Keep it Real ( to younger types – like me at 28)

I found these in my last weeks’ worth of emails, but my most common email closings were “Thanks” or ” Regards” or “Best”

-Kristian
Hanifa on June 4, 2011 at 3:11 am

Yes Ann. I think that is best for many reasons. It as Kristian says, very clean.
Eric Roth on January 6, 2013 at 2:31 am

Good discussion and an important question, especially if we want to maintain a certain level of civility and politeness in our email exchanges.

Like Kristian, I consider the audience first. For professional emails, I remain quite focused on the audience. For instance, I might close with “Respectfully” if I was making a request or “until tomorrow” if writing to students. Of course, expressing gratitude and using “thanks” never hurts. If I write to Christian or Jewish friends, I often close with “shalom” and tend to switch to “peace” with friends of other or no religious affiliation. Sometimes I might repeat the email’s core message: stay sane, stay focused, your friend, or keep smiling!
Hanifa on January 10, 2013 at 1:43 pm

Here in Asia, we have to be mindful of how we actually use traditional religious greetings. It is safe to say that it is best to stick to the standards set for formal business letter writings.