Best Practices For Writing Email Sign-Offs That Will Generate Replies to Your Emails
Email sign-offs can make a big difference in how customers perceive your message. This article provides insight into how to write email sign-offs that will generate responses from your customers.
When you're writing an email, you double-check for errors and spend so much time thinking about subject lines and email copy. But the email sign-off gets little attention. While all these elements are important, email sign-offs are equally important to create a positive lasting impression.
A brilliant email sign-off can leave your customers eager to reply. A wrong one, on the other hand, can leave a negative feeling about your brand. However, when it comes to email sign-offs, there's no silver bullet. So we've written this article to explain the best practices for writing email sign-offs that will generate replies to your emails.
Before we begin, let's explain what an email sign-off is and why it matters.
Ready?
Let's get started.
Table of contents
- What is an email sign-off?
- Why your email sign-offs matter
- Seven best practices for writing email sign-offs
- Types and examples of great email sign-offs
- Wrapping up
What is an Email Sign-Off?
An email sign-off is a short phrase that is usually written at the end of an email just above your email signature.
Without an email sign-off, your message may be perceived as incomplete.
An email sign-off consists of two elements:
- the sign-off or closing remark at the end of the email body
- the email signature (usually formatted in the sender’s email account settings)
While email sign-offs may take only a few seconds, do they even matter? If yes, why do they matter?
Read on, the next section throws light on the answer.
Why Your Email Sign-Offs Matter
The way you write your email sign-offs can greatly impact your email performance—whether you want your customers to take action or not.
Imagine an email that's written without a closing remark like—"best regards'', “thank you” or “regards.” The customer might think that the sender lacks simple business etiquette or they may not realize the missing email sign-off—either way, it doesn't create a lasting impression.
Since the email sign-off is the last thing your customer reads, you need to use the opportunity to make your content top of mind.
A well-written email sign-off can attract your customer’s attention, ignite a positive feeling and increase the chances that a customer will write back.
A study of over 350,000 email threads by Boomerang revealed that an email sign-off improves the overall average response rate.
While there are different reasons for writing emails, think of an email sign-off as the end of a conversation.
If you were speaking to a customer over the phone, you wouldn't just end the call without saying another word, would you?
Then why avoid writing a closing remark in your email?
Seven Best Practices For Writing Email Sign-Offs
So far, you learned what an email sign-off is and why it matters, so how do you write a great one? In this section, we'll highlight seven best practices for writing email sign-offs.
1. Provide information with an appropriate balance
While email sign-offs provide a great way to share information, you need to bear in mind that email sign-offs should come with an appropriate balance.
This way, you can connect with your customers without overwhelming them. Your closing remark, full name, title, company, and logo should not be written and designed in a way that distracts your customers from the intended message.
Here’s an example of a balanced email sign-off from Clickup:
This email sign-off from click-up is well designed. The sender’s name, company logo, and address are well-formatted.
2. Add a personal touch
It can be challenging to figure out how to make each email unique to every customer. That's why it can be easy to settle for plain boring email sign-offs that can suit any situation.
However, this approach won’t create the chance to connect with customers on a personal level. That’s why you need to understand your customers beyond just their names and email addresses.
Plum shows a good example of a personalized email sign-off. “Here to help” signals to the prospect that some assistance will be provided if they need any help once they sign up for the product.
Analyze customer data to gain insights into customer psychographics, behavior, demographics, and preferences. With this information, you can create accurate customer segments and add a personal touch to each email you send to them.
For instance, “here to help”, when you know a customer just signed up for your product, or “Keep up the great work!” when you know a customer just crossed a major milestone.
Engage lets you track customer data and use the information to create customer segments for your messaging.
3. Use only one
In an effort to write the best possible email sign-off, it can be tempting to get carried away by including more closing remarks than is necessary. For instance:
Hope to hear from you
Thank you in advance
Best wishes.
How do you think customers would perceive your emails when it includes more than one email sign-off? It can be confusing and customers may think that you’re not sure how to end your email. A confused customer is less likely to respond to your email. So, make sure you stick to one.
4. Stick to a professional closing
One of the most annoying ways to end a business email is by being unprofessional.
This may irritate customers and won’t fit the context of the message. Informal closings like xoxo, hugs, love, thx, etc. are to be used for messages sent to close friends and family members.
If you’re writing a business email, it usually requires a more formal style, so ending your email in “Yo” or “xoxo” may leave a wrong impression and not motivate customers to respond.
Here’s an example of a more professional closing:
5. Apply the right format
While including all the parts of an email sign-offs is essential, you also need to format email sign-offs in the right way. Make sure you have a comma after your closing remark, then add a space beneath.
After you add a space, include your full name. Beneath your name, include your title, company name, and any other contact information that your customer may need. You can also include your company logo, website, or any other relevant link to improve the impact of your email sign-off.
Here’s an example:
{closing remark},
Full name
Title
Company
Phone number
Linkedin URL
6. Use your full name
Using a nickname in your email sign-off may not be applicable unless you’re emailing a close friend then. Also, avoid using only your first name. Instead, include your full name (first and last) so your recipients don’t get confused. When you include your full name, you display a good professional attitude.
7. Remember the context
When it comes to writing email sign-offs, ensure that it's appropriate for the tone of your email and the relationship you have with customers. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to writing an email sign-off.
Types and Examples of Great Email Sign-Offs
This article wouldn't be complete without going through different types and examples of email sign-offs. Here are six examples:
- Expressing gratitude
When you close an email in an appreciative mode, you signify to customers that you value their time and attention.
Some examples include:
- Thank you
- Thanks
- Thank you for your consideration
- Eternally grateful
- With gratitude
- With appreciation
2. Expressing sincerity
Showing sincerity in your emails can be a great way to build trust.
Some examples include:
- Yours truly
- Sincerely yours
3. Simple acknowledgment
Ending your email with a simple recognition is a great way to close your message.
- Best regards
- Warm regards
- Respectfully
- Warmly
- Regards
4. Soliciting a response
Depending on the context of your email, you can send an email sign-up that solicits a response. Your sign-off can call your customers to action or directly ask them for feedback.
5. Convey the next steps
Email sign-offs can be used to inform customers what to expect or that there's more information coming their way.
- More to come
- More soon
6. Complimentary
Who doesn’t love a great compliment? You can give your customers a pat on the back with an encouraging email sign-off and they will most likely feel obligated to reply.
- Stay awesome
- Keep up the great work
- Congrats
Wrapping Up
You want your emails to get your customers' attention in every possible way and well-written email sign-offs can help accomplish that. Whether it's a welcome email, onboarding email, or newsletter, the right email sign-off helps you to connect with customers on a deeper level, nudges them to take action, and even reply to your emails.
Don’t settle for vague, cliche email sign-offs that may make customers annoyed or not even notice your brand at all. Remember, you need to understand your customers and use facts you know about them to add a personal touch to your email sign-offs.
With Engage, you can send personalized messages to your customers via email, SMS, push notifications, and in-app messages to make it easy for you to build a relationship with your customers.