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30 Professional Email Closings Beyond 'Best Regards'

The closing line is the last thing a recipient reads before your signature. Matching it to the context matters more than finding a more original phrase.

Updated August 29, 20266 min read

"Best regards" is not wrong. It is default, which is a different problem: it signals that no thought went into the message, right before your name and signature try to signal the opposite. The fix is not a more clever phrase — it's picking a closing that matches who you're writing to and why.

Below are closings grouped by context, not by tone alone, since the same phrase can read as warm in one context and careless in another.

First Contact & Cold Outreach

First-contact closings should feel low-pressure. Anything that reads as demanding a response works against the message.

  • "Looking forward to hearing your thoughts"
  • "Happy to answer any questions"
  • "Hope this is useful"
  • "Let me know if this is relevant to you"

Client & Customer Follow-Ups

Follow-ups benefit from closings that imply continuity — that this is one message in an ongoing relationship, not a one-off request.

  • "Talk soon"
  • "Speak with you shortly"
  • "Looking forward to our call"
  • "Thanks again for your time"

Internal Team Messages

Internal email tolerates more informality than external correspondence. Overly formal closings between colleagues can read as distancing rather than polite.

  • "Thanks"
  • "Appreciate it"
  • "Let me know what you think"
  • "On it — will update the thread"

Formal & Legal Correspondence

Formal contexts — legal, government, first contact with a senior executive — call for closings that stay conservative rather than original.

  • "Sincerely"
  • "Respectfully"
  • "Kind regards"
  • "Yours faithfully" (UK/Commonwealth convention when the recipient's name is unknown)

When a Closing Line Doesn't Fit the Signature Below It

A closing line and the signature block underneath it should not fight each other in tone. A casual "Talk soon" followed by a dense signature with a legal disclaimer, a license number, and a formal title reads as inconsistent. If your role requires a formal signature block — legal, real estate, regulated finance — pair it with a correspondingly measured closing, and save the informal phrases for internal threads where the signature itself is lighter.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it unprofessional to skip a closing phrase entirely and go straight to the signature?

In fast-moving internal threads, yes it's increasingly common and not read as rude. In first-contact or external client email, a short closing line still signals that the message was written for that specific recipient rather than copy-pasted.

Should the closing phrase match the formality of the signature block?

Yes. A casual closing paired with a formal, disclaimer-heavy signature (or the reverse) creates a mismatch that reads as inconsistent rather than as a strategic contrast.

Put This Into Practice

Gmail Users

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Microsoft Outlook Users

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