The Most Effective Email Sign-Offs for Every Occasion

Effective email sign-offs don’t just signal the end of the email. They help set the tone based on your relationship with the recipient and the context. But most importantly, email endings are an opportunity to leave the recipient with the desired impression. 

In this guide, we’ll show you how to end an email properly in different situations. Whether it’s a professional business enquiry, a friendly message to a client, or a casual follow-up with a colleague, we’ve also included tips for choosing good email sign-offs.

Key Takeaways

• There’s no one email sign-off that fits all situations and contexts. 
• An effective email ending sets the right tone and makes the recipient feel comfortable to respond. The wrong sign-off can cause confusion and discomfort and may even ruin a relationship. 
• When determining how to sign an email professionally, consider the tone of the message, the context, and your relationship with the recipient. 
• Common ways to sign off an email formally include “Thank you,” “Sincerely,” and “Great job on the (task).”
• Email closers for informal communication include “Cheers,” “Take care,” “Catch you later,” and “See you soon.”

What is an email sign-off?

Also called an email closing, this is the short phrase you put at the end of the email. It’s usually added after the body of the email and before your name or email signature. 

For some people, email endings are a useless formality that indicates the end of an email. But those who understand the power behind an email sign-off know it does more than that.

The perfect sign-off reveals your character and trustworthiness. Just like a firm handshake exudes confidence, the right email closing tells your recipient you are a professional. 

Mind you, this goes beyond formal conversations. Even among coworkers and colleagues, using the right casual email sign-off is necessary to strengthen your relationship. Friendly email sign-offs, like “Take care” and “Catch you later”, may appear simple. But they are powerful virtual acts that make the recipient feel valued.

What makes a good email sign-off?

The best email sign-off is tailored to the recipient, the topic, and the emotional tone of your email. 

When communicating with a client, your boss, or someone you don’t know well, it’s best to stick to respectful sign-offs. For example, “Respectfully,” “Sincerely,” and “Warm regards.”

A good email ending would emphasize your main message relating to the email topic. Remember your email sign-off is the last thing that the recipient reads. So, it only makes sense that it reinforces the message you’re trying to drive home.  

The best email sign-offs will also add a positive emotional tone that your specific reader considers to be socially appropriate.

Best ways to end and sign-off emails 

The best way to sign-off your emails is to match the relationship with the recipient and the tone of your message. You can personalize when possible as it adds a human touch to your email, assuring your readers that they are conversing with a real person. However, you should only personalize your email endings among recipients you already have a relationship with.

Remember to always be polite and respectful regardless of the type of email. In a formal set up, being polite and respectful will always leave a lasting positive impression. In informal exchanges, this is a simple way of showing that you are both friendly and professional.  

One last thing: don’t be too casual with your sign-offs, regardless of how close you think you are to your customers, clients and superiors. This can easily come across as unprofessional and potentially undermine your relationship.

Top email sign-off examples for any correspondence 

Understanding and following email etiquette can be tricky, and it all ends with that crucial sign-off.

Here, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of versatile email sign-off examples tailored to suit any occasion or context. Whether it’s professional correspondence or a friendly catch-up, these are the best ways to end an email professionally.

Professional email closings 

Workplace sign-offs

Manager to employee

• Thanks for your hard work on [specific project/campaign].
• Appreciate your effort on this great job!
• Looking forward to your update on [project/task]
• Let’s sync up on this soon–thanks for moving it forward
• Please prioritize this and let me know if you need support
• I recognize the challenge here–thanks for handling it so well 
• Apologies for any confusion on my end–let’s align on the next steps 
• I appreciate your patience, and thanks for your flexibility
• Great progress on [project/task]–I’m looking forward to hearing more from you
• Your contributions to [project/task/campaign] are really making a difference. Thanks for your hard work. 

Employee to superior

• Thank you for your feedback—I’ll take it into account
• I appreciate your insights and will move forward accordingly
• Thanks for your guidance—I’ll update you on the next steps
• Looking forward to aligning further—appreciate your time!
• Noted, I’ll take care of it and update you shortly
• I’ll make sure this is handled—thanks for the direction!
• Thanks for flagging that—I’ll address it right away
• Apologies for any oversight on my part—I’ll ensure it’s corrected
• Let me know how you’d like to proceed—I’m happy to adjust
• Appreciate your trust in me on this—I’ll make sure it’s done right
• Thanks for the clarification—I’ll keep you informed on the next steps 
• I appreciate your feedback—I’ll make the necessary changes and get back to you shortly

Coworkers and colleagues

This type of sign-off can be fairly casual, but it depends on the atmosphere in your workplace and the specific colleague you’re writing to. Between peers, it’s easy to be weirdly formal but just as easy to be too warm to make some people uncomfortable. The best approach is to go with your gut. Here are some friendly email sign-offs to add to the mix. 

• Best
• Thanks 
• Thanks so much for your [help, advice, time, etc.]
• Take care
• Cheers
• Talk to you [later, tomorrow, next week]
• Until next time
• Keep me updated, OK?
• Let’s get to it!
• Great working with you

Business-to-client sign-offs​

A prospective customer or new client

• If you have further questions, please let me know
• Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with
• Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns
• Thank you for your interest in doing business with us
• Thank you for your time and attention
• Looking forward to doing business with you
• Looking forward to helping you grow your business
• Looking forward to hearing from you 
• I look forward to meeting you
• Looking forward to working with you
• Best regards
• Warm regards
• Kind regards
• All the best

Outreach sign-offs

• Please take a look and let me know what you think
• I look forward to hearing what you think
• Thank you for your time, looking forward to hearing back from you
• Interested to hear what you think, please let me know how you wish to proceed
• I’m here for any questions or concerns you may have
• If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email

Customer support​ sign-offs

• Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with 
• Did this answer your question?
• Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you
• Please let me know if there is anything else I can help you with
• Here to help
• Let me know if the problem persists
• Let me know if that helps

Job seeker sign-offs​

An email sign-off for job seekers should be sincere and assertive but polite. You do not want to look needy, nor do you want to look pushy. Consider these email ending examples when writing an email for a job application. 

• I look forward to hearing from you
• I appreciate your time and hope to hear from you soon
• Thank you for your consideration
• Thank you for this opportunity
• Hope to hear back from you, with thanks

If you want more confidence that you’re making the right choice when sending your next job application email, look at this email writing guide.

College or university sign-offs

Student to professor/teacher

• All the best
• Best Wishes
• Best regards
• Respectfully
• Regards
• Thank you
• Thank you in advance

Teacher/professor to student

• Best regards
• Warm regards
• Kind regards
• All the best
• Best Wishes
• Warm wishes
• Warmly
• Thank you

Military​ sign-offs

V/R or respectfully are formal email sign-offs used in the military and may also be appropriate for government officials and clergy. These sign-offs are too formal for most email communications. They should be reserved for addressing an authoritative figure in a hierarchical organization or community.

Best email sign-offs for military personnel:

• V/R
• Very respectfully
• Respectfully
• Respectfully yours

Sick days email sign-offs

After COVID, we have gotten used to sending Sick\Not Sick Email sign-offs to our friends, colleagues and customers. The following are the best ways to end emails during such predicaments.  

Not sick

• Keep safe and healthy
• Hope you and your family are safe and healthy during these unpredictable times
• Hope you’re making it through this pandemic
• Stay safe
• Stay positive
• Be well!
• Have a socially distant [day, week]
• Take care, we’ll get through this
• Let’s hope for the best
• Hope things will improve soon

Sick

When writing to a sick colleague, your email closing salutations can be the perfect pick-me-up. A wrong sign-off can ruin the best intentions. Here are good ways to end an email when wishing someone a quick recovery.

• Get well soon
• Hope you feel better soon
• Hang in there
• Be well
• Take it one day at a time
• Take it easy
• Hope you have a quick and easy recovery
• Wishing you a speedy recovery
• Our thoughts are with you
• Our prayers are with you

Informal email sign-offs

The best way to sign off an email in an informal setting depends on how close you are to the person you’re emailing as well as the email topic. 

Casual and friendly sign-offs

Casual email sign-offs are used to send an email between people who are well acquainted with one another. 

Sometimes, you may feel closer to someone than they feel about you. Be sure to take your recipient’s perspective of your relationship rather than your own. 

For a casual and friendly correspondence, you can use email endings like:

• Peace
• My best
• As ever
• Talk soon
• See you soon
• Cheers
• Thx
• Have a great day
• Take care
• Take it easy 
• See you around 
• Ciao
• Enjoy your day
• Have a good one
• Toodles

Between friends

Truly, you don’t need our help with this one. Between friends, any sign-off will do, and even no sign-off at all. Make it as weird as you like, just say sorry later 🙂.

• Later
• See ya
• Talk again soon
• later gator
• Hasta la vista
• Ciao
• Love ya
• Fare thee well
• You’re ma boy
• Take it easy
• [A GIF]

Funny sign-offs

It’s never a bad idea to make people smile. Funny sign-offs can do just that for whoever it is that’s reading your email. Just remember that sign-offs work well when attuned to the right social context. So, it’s best to keep the jokes and laughs for people that feel very familiar with you.

Consider these closers if you don’t like ending an email with regards. 

Funny and lighthearted sign-offs

• May your inbox be ever in your favor
• Sent from my overly caffeinated brain
• Marketing magic in progress—stand by
• Best wishes and no broken links
• Because “Best” felt too impersonal
• Stay awesome and avoid reply-all disasters
• May your open rates be high and your unsubscribe rates low
• Wishing you high engagement and zero typos
• Till our next email thread saga…
• Brb, optimizing my life for better conversions

For when you’re overworked (but still funny)

• Currently powered by coffee and marketing stress
• If you need me, I’ll be buried in my inbox
• Closing my laptop before it closes me
• Ctrl + Alt + Delete-ing my workload
• Surviving on strategy and blind optimism
• This message has been brought to you by too many meetings
• Out of office (mentally, not physically)

Marketing and branding-themed email sign-offs 

• Let’s circle back (but not too soon)
• Signed, sealed, and segmented for your audience
• May your campaigns be evergreen and your leads be qualified
• This email was A/B tested for optimal impact
• Let’s sync… but not on a Friday at 4 PM
• Branding hard or hardly branding?
• If you read this, my subject line worked!

For When You’re Just Done With Emails

• Consider this my official sign-off until further notice
• Too many emails. Not enough snacks
• Email sent. Sanity not included
• If you need me, I’ll be staring blankly at my screen
• Unsubscribing from this conversation now

See our guide packed with funny email signatures and sign-offs, then check out our funny sign-off templates.

Spiritual sign-offs

• Peace and love 
• Sending Good Vibes
• Peace
• Shalom
• Salam
• Namaste
• May you be filled with loving-kindness
• Set your heart on doing good
• Smile at the world, and the world will smile back
• Enjoy this moment
• Follow your heart
• Stay true to yourself
• May you be peaceful and at ease
• May you be happy
• May the force be with you

Holiday and religious sign-offs

Depending on the occasion, some religious sign-offs are more spiritual and are mostly used between believers of the same faith. Make sure you’re not giving the impression that you’re part of the faith when you’re not, or you risk offending your recipient.

Christian sign-offs

• Don’t Stop Believin’
• Have a blessed day 
• God bless 
• Blessings 
• Have a blessed holiday filled with happiness, love, and faith
• Happy holiday
• Merry Christmas
• Have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year

Jewish sign-offs

• Shalom
• Shalom aleichem
• Shabbat shalom (say this on Friday before sabbath)
• Chag sameach (Happy holiday)
• Shana Tova (happy new year)
• G’mar Chatima Tovah (say this on Yom Kippur)
• Mazal tov (say this on birthdays or when having a new child)
• Happy Hanukkah
• Happy Passover
• Happy Sukkot

Muslim sign-offs

• as-salam alayka – Sigle, Masculine
• as-salāmu alayk – Single, Feminine
• Eid Mubarak (say on Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr)

Hindu sign-offs

• God bless you with prosperity and happiness
• I wish you happiness and prosperity
• May this Diwali open the doors of wealth and success for you and your family
• Happy Diwali
• Happy Onam
• Happy Dussehra
• Happy dhanteras

Unique sign-offs for different needs

A unique sign-off approach is best used for informal business sign-offs. A unique sign-off is simply one that addresses your email’s main concern and fine tunes its emotional tone to what you want to convey. Just be sure to keep it socially appropriate. 

Complete any of the following template options:

• Looking forward to working with you on [task, job, event, etc.]
• Can’t wait to hear what you think about [suggestion, idea, solution, project, etc.]
• Congratulations on your [success, nomination, promotion, contract, etc.]
• Thanks for your time, please send my regards to the [team, volunteers, partners, board of directors, etc.]
• I feel that our cooperation on [topic] would immensely benefit both sides
• I will consider your request for [a raise, donation, cooperation, team up, etc.] and get back to you 
• I would greatly appreciate it if you could [get back to me, send my order, fulfill a reimbursement, etc.]
• Hope you enjoy our [product, service, event, etc.], please feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns

Tips for choosing the right email sign-off 

When it comes to email marketing, your sign-off, although brief, significantly affects how your message is received and interpreted. The best sign-offs for emails can tilt the scale in your favor and increase your chances of receiving positive feedback. An inappropriate one can create a negative impression and ruin the relationship you’re trying to nurture. 

Here are useful tips on choosing professional ways to end an email in different situations:

Always know your audience 

This is the best sign-off email tip we can offer. The first step in determining how to end an email is to consider your recipient.

• What relationship do you have with them?
• Is it your boss, a potential client, or a colleague?

You’ll want to stick to a more formal approach if you’re writing to your boss, potential employer, or client. A more casual sign-off will suffice when writing to a long-term coworker. 

Match the tone of your message

An easy way of determining the best sign-off for email is to go for an ending that aligns with the tone of the main message. Matching the tone helps reinforce the topic besides portraying you as a professional. Aligning the closing with the body also encourages the recipient to respond. 

Keep your sign-offs concise

The third tip when choosing how to sign-off emails is to keep the ending concise. An email closer that is direct to the point helps maintain the tone and avoid confusion. 

Avoid abrupt and overly casual sign-offs

Abrupt and overly casual sign-offs like “Bye” and “Cya” fail the email courtesy test. These sign-offs are best avoided in professional emails, of course, unless you’re in a super-casual company or industry. 

Don’t use slang or abbreviations in formal email closing

The rule of thumb when writing professional emails is to avoid slang and abbreviations. Let’s face it, not everyone will understand what TTYL or BRB mean. Using such email endings in a professional set up might make your recipient think you are not taking the conversation seriously, potentially leading to missed opportunities. 

Accompany your sign-off with a professional signature 

A professional email sign-off is not the only thing that matters when writing a great business email. It pays to match it with an equally professional signature that will reinforce your professionalism and attention to detail. Essentially, the two act as a powerful marketing tool to promote your brand.