Recently, I reviewed different ways to greet people in email and business letters. Today, I have a list of different ways to close your correspondence. In honor of JHA’s third consecutive year on America’s Best Employers List by Forbes, I’m honoring Forbes by sharing a portion of their article called 57 Ways To Sign Off On An Email with you. (Click the link for the entire article; I cut out some closings that were weird, grammatically awkward, or just inappropriate.)

• Best – This is the most ubiquitous; it’s totally safe. I recommend it highly and so do the experts.
• My Best – A little stilted.
• All the best – This works too.
• Bests – I know people who like this but I find it fussy. Why do you need the extra “s?” [KC – Okay, this is horrible! It’s so horrible I left it in here to share with you.]
• Best regards – More formal than the ubiquitous “Best.” I use this when I want a note of formality.
• Regards – Fine, anodyne, helpfully brief. I use this.
• Warm regards – I like this for a personal email to someone you don’t know very well, or a business email that is meant as a thank-you.
• Thanks – Cynthia Lett, a business etiquette consultant, says this is a no-no. “This is not a closing. It’s a thank-you,” she insists. I disagree. Forbes Leadership editor Fred Allen uses it regularly and I think it’s an appropriate, warm thing to say. I use it too.
• Thanks so much – I also like this and use it, especially when someone—a colleague, a source, someone with whom I have a business relationship—has put time and effort into a task or email.
• Thank you – More formal than “Thanks.” I use this sometimes.
• Many thanks – I use this a lot, when I genuinely appreciate the effort the recipient has undertaken.
• Thanks for your consideration – A tad stilted with a note of servility, this can work in the business context, though it’s almost asking for a rejection. Steer clear of this when writing a note related to seeking employment.
• Thx – I predict this will gain in popularity as our emails become more like texts. Lett would not approve. [KC – Kara would not approve either. Spell it out, folks. And certainly don’t abbreviate with a letter that’s not even in the original word.]
• Hope this helps – I like this in an email where you are trying to help the recipient.
• Rushing – This works when you really are rushing. It expresses humility and regard for the recipient. [KC – I wouldn’t recommend this. Even if you are rushing, you don’t want people to think you are not taking your time with them.]
• Sincerely – Lett also likes this but to me, it signals that the writer is stuck in the past. Maybe OK for some formal business correspondence, like from the lawyer handling your dead mother’s estate.
• XOXO – I’ve heard of this being used in business emails but I don’t think it’s a good idea. [KC – Uh, yeah, I definitely wouldn’t use this…unless it’s for Dave Foss.
  J]

Kara Church

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