What Email Sign-Off to Use in Your Email Signature
There is this ongoing debate about which email sign-off is appropriate for an email signature. Why is it such an issue?
Well, it seems that at certain periods in time, the same sing-off can become quite tiring for many individuals. There is also the fact that an email sign-off can say a lot about how a person feels at the time. For example, an individual may sign off with, “I look forward to hearing from you” in the beginning of their interactions to “Best.” “Best,” to some, is usually an indicator that something is up.
Actually, many believe that the individual sending the email is just not as thrilled to hear from them as what they were in the beginning. This is why it is important that you use the same sign-off all of the time, or an occasion-appropriate sign-off, so that the person on the other end doesn’t feel snubbed by the change in mood that seems to have occurred, even if there has been no change.
But what is appropriate?
Well, first off, there are many fans of the sign-off “Best” in email signatures. However, there are many now who view this as a type of brush-off. Not everyone does, but there are many who do, so it may be safe to say that this is one that you need to stay away from.
Then there are those that we were taught when we were in grade school. These include, “Yours Truly” and “Sincerely.” Well, “Sincerely” has lost some steam throughout the years. You very rarely see it in email footers anymore. Now “Yours Truly” you will see more often than naught.
“Regards” is another popular one. This one is fine for business situations. However, there are other business situations where you may not use this. Email etiquette doesn’t really have to be this complicated. Some of it is common sense. For example, you’re not going to sign off with the word “Warmly” when you are complaining about something.
So what do you do when you are using an email where your email signature says, “Yours Truly” or “Warm Regards?”
Well, you can create multiple signatures and simply choose which one you want to use to suit that particular email. By using a program such as WiseStamp, www.wisestamp.com, you can create multiple email signatures for various occasions. These are email signatures that look nice. They have everything organized and everything is appealing to the eyes. This means that your email signature won’t scare away your email recipients. They will be more receptive to it if it is nicely laid out and has a lot of valuable information in as few words as possible.
So if you’re not sure what to sign your email off as, you can use what you feel is appropriate for the situation. Just make sure that it is professional and that it is something that won’t make an individual feel as if you are snubbing them. This is very important to your business.
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November 12th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
The best compromise I have seen is “Best regards,”. Not as formal as “Regards,”, but not as simple as “Best,”.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I agree with Eric – “Best regards” works just fine in almost all situations.
Just wish I could have more than 2 signatures (business and personal), though, so I could have the variety mentioned above.
February 26th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
I use two.
For colleagues it’s
Thanks,
Bob
For people I don’t know as well (but want to leave a good impresssion) it’s
Regards,
Bob
Don’t know if the reader can tell the difference but I hope either way I hope they feel good about my communication
actually, I lied, there’s a third: with my Mom it’s always
Love,
Bob