On our page about business letter writing phrases we listed the rules for when to use Yours sincerely and Yours faithfully. Quite a few users of the site have asked if there are any similar rules for writing emails.
In answer to the question, I think there are two things to consider.
Firstly, emails have a short history compared to that of letters and consequently there are no fixed rules. However, that doesn’t mean that there is no etiquette for emails. There definitely is.
Secondly, if we are trying to establish some kind of general rule, we should remember that there are basically two types of email:
- the formal email (business, work-related)
- the informal email (usually to friends or acquaintances).
Obviously a formal email will require different phrases and language style to an informal email written to, say, a friend.
Here are some examples of the way I usually start and end business emails.
When we know the recipient’s name:
| [salutation] | [sign-off] | |
| Dear Mr Smith | … | Regards |
| Dear Mrs Coles | … | Regards |
| Dear Miss Jones | … | Regards |
When writing to a colleague or close business partner:
| [salutation] | [sign-off] | |
| Dear Vladimir | … | Best regards / Best wishes |
| Dear Annemarie | … | Best regards / Best wishes |
A friendlier form here would be to write Hi Vladimir, Hi Annemarie. This is common at many companies.
When addressing more than one person:
| [salutation] | [sign-off] | |
| Gentlemen formal (to several male colleagues) |
… | Regards |
| Dear All formal (to several colleagues) |
… | Regards |
| Hello everyone informal (to several colleagues) |
… | Use an informal close, relevant to the content of the email. |
| Hi everyone informal, friendly (to several colleagues) |
… | Use an informal close, relevant to the content of the email. |
These are the guidelines that I use for my business emails. However, I appreciate that trends come and go, and that etiquette can differ from country to country and from company to company.
What do you use in your email? Do you prefer any other phrases, such as Warm regards or Warmest regards? Please leave a comment below and share your opinion with everyone.
About 
It’s nice to see the art of letter writing applied to email correspondence. In these times of text messages and forum short codes, the skill of writing is almost becoming a lost art form – and in business it should be even more important that professionalism and courtesy is maintained.
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