Why Your Email

Sign-Off Is More
Important Than You
Think
'Best regards,' 'Thank you,' 'Talk soon.'
You'd be surprised how much you can say
in a couple of words.
 

By Justin Bariso
 

Founder, Insight@JustinJBariso
 
6 COMMENTS
 

CREDIT: Getty Images

 

About a year ago, I read a very interesting article by

Matthew Malady, about his hatred for (and subsequent

revolt against) email sign-offs.

Malady argued that these "ridiculous variations" are

useless--even harmful--because they waste valuable time.

I've thought a lot about Malady's comments over the past

year. His article made me laugh, and I could definitely

see value in some of his points. But in the end, I'm a

strong believer in the opposite opinion.

I have a passion for the art of communicating subtleties

through writing. I don't claim to be an expert on this

topic. (As Guy Kawasaki says, "Experts are

useless.") But in the past year, I've connected with

persons in and out of my industry, great leads, best-

selling authors, a world-famous song artist, a very

popular movie actress, a well-known

entrepreneur/television personality, and a whole lot of

interesting people. These connections were all made

through cold emails, and they've led to some great

opportunities. (The column you're reading developed

through a great relationship that began as a

"cold" connection request on LinkedIn.) I often receive

comments such as: "Thank you for such a great

introduction" and "Really appreciate the way you

reached out."

Where am I going with this?

You're trying to build (or maintain) a relationship with

the people you email. Just as you would normally not

end a spoken conversation without saying goodbye, you

shouldn't do it with email (barring a few exceptions).

Granted, the sign-off is just a small part of your message.

What's most important is having something to say that is

interesting, sincere, and not focused solely on you.

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That being said, the sign-off is the last thing the recipient

reads--so it can be the "cherry on top," so to speak. Done

right, it's like the motivating conclusion at the end of a

really great presentation.

Because of this, I always take a few extra seconds to

consider how I want to end my emails. Over the past few

months, I took a closer look at my outbox and drew some

conclusions regarding how I use sign-offs.

Here's what I found:

Regards: One of the simplest, most common ways to sign

off, but percentage-wise, I don't use it that often. Mainly

if I'm communicating quick information, or if I've

already done something nice in the email and I don't

want to overdo it. For example, I sent the following

message to someone I met recently on LinkedIn:

Hi, ____,
Really enjoyed your article on recruiting (found on

Twitter). Will share later today.

Regards,

Justin

Best regards: I use this one a lot more, often when

relationships are new. I view it as a step up from

"Regards."

Kind regards: I use this one, too, because I think

everyone should be kind. I seem to use it often with

women, albeit subconsciously. (I believe this stems from

my parents' attempts to teach me chivalry.) I also use

"Warm regards" occasionally, but with persons I know

better.

Best: This is for variety--an alternative to "Best

regards." Now that it's ubiquitous, I use it much less.

Sincerely: I use "Sincerely" when I'm reaching out to

someone who may feel I'm trying to take advantage, or

who will hold the (perceptibly) less advantageous

position in our relationship. I also use it if I'm giving a

compliment and I'm afraid the person might question my

motives.

Of course, the key here is to be truly sincere--but ending

with "Sincerely" helps the recipient to consider that

effort. Here's an email I sent some time ago to a LinkedIn

influencer:

Hi, ___,

I was hoping I might actually connect with you. Then I

noticed you have more than 200,000 followers here on

LinkedIn.

Hmm. Still worth a try?

I'm a big fan of your work, and the story of "working

your way up" resonated with me. Thanks for the

inspiration and excellent writing.

Sincerely,

Justin Bariso

This influencer accepted my request. He has given me

invaluable advice over the past year, and is now my

writing and publishing mentor.

Best wishes: If I don't plan on seeing or hearing from this

person in a while.

Take care: Like "Best wishes," but I'm closer with the

recipient.

Thanks: A substitute for "Regards," if someone did

something for me.

Thank you, Sincere thanks, Many thanks, Much

appreciated: Same as "Thanks," but the favor was much

bigger.

Respectfully: I might use this one if I'm speaking to a

person of authority (or a person much older than me),

especially if I'm disagreeing with them on something.

Talk soon: For friends and closer colleagues.

Hope this helps, Hope to see you soon, Great hearing

from you: These are my attempts to turn what would

normally be a closing line of an e-mail into a sign-off, for

variety's sake.

Your friend: For friends. Obviously.

Peace out, Your brotha, Your boy, Your compadre: Same

as "Your friend," but shows a little more of my

personality. I would never recommend you use these

(unless you use them in everyday speech, like me), but

using closing lines that are unique to you can help "keep

it real." According to this article in Forbes, one publicist

who handles tech clients uses "High five from down

low." The author of the article hated it, but I love it.

Cheers: This one migrated from Britain, and many

people like it--informal and positive. I never use it,

though. Just not me.

Nothing: As I alluded to earlier, there are times when I

use no sign-off. This is when I have a good closing line

already that is sincere and specific. For example:

Thank you for this--it's definitely appreciated.

Justin

(German) Mit freundlichen Gruessen: Here's one for fun.

I currently live in Germany, and this is the sign-off of

choice for most Germans. It is translated literally: "With

friendly greetings." The funny thing is, even when

someone sends you a message that's meant to be totally

intimidating, or trying to rock you for being an idiot, they

still end it with this. So you end up getting e-mails like

this one:

Dear Mr. Schmidt,

We are writing to inform you that your recent actions

regarding (--) are deemed unacceptable. If you do not

act immediately to rectify this situation, we will be forced

to take legal action. You have seven days to comply with

our request.

With friendly greetings,

(The company that hates you)

(Now that I think about it, this is the perfect ending for

this email.)

Remember, the email send-off is the final word, the

spark that can reinforce the tone of your message, that

gentle push to get the recipient to act in your favor. Try

taking a few extra seconds to consider yours. What can

you lose?

Those few extra seconds can reap great benefits.

Your compadre,

Justin Bariso

PS: What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on

my thoughts, or hear how you use these sign-offs (and

how you interpret them, too). Leave a comment below,

share the conversation, or tweet me. You can also send

me a message here.

Editor's Note: Looking for Email Marketing Services for your

company ? If you would like information to help you choose the
one that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our
partner, BuyerZone, provide you with information for free:

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