Usually, I don’t give a second thought to how I sign off on emails. They usually come easily to me based on the content of my email. But last week I was stumped!

I was writing an email to a client requesting they follow up on an issue for me. My email was light enough but I got unstuck when it came to ending it. I needed a line that made it sound like I wasn’t hounding yet communicated that the issue required attention.

My bout of writer’s block had me consulting Google. During my search I came across a lot of articles about email signoffs and what’s acceptable and what people should steer clear of. I actually found it interesting and couldn’t stop reading!

So, I present to you the dos and don’ts of email sign offs.

The most common and professional sign offs

Most people use email as a work tool, so it goes without saying that the sign off needs to be professional. Here are the most commonly used professional email sign offs.

· Kind Regards

· All the best

· Best

· Best regards

· Regards

· With appreciation

· Many thanks

· Cheers (if you’re looking for a professional yet friendly tone)

· Thank you for your assistance in this matter

· I look forward to hearing from you

· I look forward to working with you on this project

Email sign offs you should avoid

There are some sign offs that should be avoided especially if you are writing your email in a professional capacity. These include:

· Love (save it for family and friends!)

· Thx or rgrds (you’re not texting!)

· Yours truly

· Have a blessed day

· Xoxo

Other things people do at the end of their emails but probably shouldn’t

I’m sure, like myself you have probably received an email with a quote at the end. Whether it’s a movie quote, a philosophical quote or an inspirational quote, it can come across as a bit cheesy.

Another thing to potentially avoid is the use of emojis. Yes, they’re cute but unless you’re overly familiar with the person you’re emailing probably not a good idea.

The subject of email sign offs can go on for days. What are some of the best or worst that you’ve seen?

Often we forget that we are not the target audience when it comes to what we communicate. While our target audience may require our services, we need to remember that we may be providing them with a service because they do not have the expertise to carry out the function that they hire us to provide.

When we correspond with our clients we need to remember that we are possibly talking to a lay person when it comes to our field. I am guilty of making marketing and consumer behaviour references that my clients don’t understand. It’s great we know what we are talking about but if your client doesn't know A from B then we need to be mindful and give them the main points in easy to understand terms.

Don’t ever treat your client like an idiot but keep in mind that they may not know what an AB demographic is or what a HDMI cable is. They just need to know that you are developing a campaign targeted at white collar, high income earners or that there is a cable that will give you a great quality image on your TV.

Using easy to understand language can eliminate a multitude of problems down the track. How many times have you thought you were getting one thing but ended up with another simply because you didn’t understand what you were being told.

So before talking to a client think about what you need to tell them and whether you are using technical terms or if you using terminology that is easy to understand.