You may not think of it at all. Maybe you base it on whatever you speculate your relationship is to the person you’re writing to. But email sign-offs mean a lot more than you might think. They say something to the person receiving the email, and what that says can be good or bad depending on your choice of words. You wouldn’t dream of writing “Love, So-and-So" at the end of your business email, but there are those in the field who use equally ridiculous sign offs. Here are some of the more popular email sign offs and whether or not you should use them in your business emails.



One of the most popular salutations in the business world is a simple “Thanks,". It’s safe, it’s polite, and it’s professional. However, it’s also a little familiar and should be kept to those emails where you actually have a personal relationship with the person to whom you’re writing. Avoid using it if you have nothing to actually thank the person for. Then it may come across as the slightest bit snotty, as if you’re sarcastically thanking them for reading your email. Overall, however, this is a decent salutation you shouldn’t be afraid to use.

One salutation to avoid at all costs is, “Ciao". This should only be used for personal friends or informal emails. Never to business associates or customers. “Ciao" is not only informal, it can also come across as cocky and annoying, which is definitely not what you want to project to anyone you’ll be doing business with.

The best work related salutation you can use is simply “Sincerely". Some may argue that this closing is best reserved for a letter and too formal for email, but it will never offend anyone and no one can argue that it’s unprofessional. If you want to mix it up with some other closings there’s nothing wrong with that, but few people are going to stop at that “sincerely" and think, “What? Does this fella know it’s just an email?" It’s perfect.

Other email tips include foregoing the use of caps lock in your messages. This is read as yelling or screaming in internet correspondence, and it’s not appropriate for a business email (even if the effect you’re going for is yelling or screaming). It should go without saying, but you should also avoid the use of foul language in your business correspondence. You may be tempted to forget this rule if you’re writing to a business associate that has been known to have a salty mouth. Don’t. Cursing in person and putting profanity in an email are two different things. Other than that, you know the drill. Keep it professional, and keep it interesting.