Which email ending actually gets the recipient to reply or click? The one that asks for a single action, gives a deadline, then stops. One precise closing sentence and a complete signature are enough to close a commercial email, with an unsubscribe link at the bottom and an optional P.S.
A lone “Sincerely” leaves the reader without instructions: they close the message and move on to the next one. Below you will find wording to copy for each type of email, then the footer obligations that Gmail and Yahoo have enforced since February 2024.
5 rules for a last sentence that drives action
The last sentence carries one dated action, and the signature identifies the sender. The 5 rules, in order:
- Ask for one action. “Book your slot before Friday 5 pm” gives a gesture and a date, whereas “Feel free to contact us” gives neither.
- Tie the action to a benefit: “Reply before Thursday to keep the launch price”. The reader knows what they gain and what they lose by waiting.
- Reuse the vocabulary of the email subject line. A subject like “Download our SEO guide” calls for an ending such as “Download your guide by clicking here” and rules out an offer of a phone call.
- Stick to one link or action button. Two links force the reader to choose, which means putting it off.
- End with a signature that identifies the sender: name, job title, company, phone number, booking link.
Before and after: the email ending by message type
4 common situations, each with its weak closing and its action-oriented closing.
| Email type | Weak ending | Action-oriented ending | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closing a sale | “Looking forward to hearing from you.” | “Approve the quote before Friday 5 pm: the price is guaranteed until then and delivery leaves on Monday.” | One action, one deadline, one consequence |
| Follow-up | “You may have missed my message.” | “Reply YES if the proposal from October 12 still stands, or NO if you would rather close the topic.” | One-word answer, clean exit for the reader |
| Customer retention | “Thank you for your purchase.” | “Laura, tell us in two lines what you think of your new watch: just reply to this email.” | First name, specific product, minimal effort |
| B2B prospecting | “I remain at your disposal to discuss.” | “Would a 15-minute call on Tuesday at 10 am or Thursday at 2 pm work for you? Reply 1 or 2.” | Stated duration, two time slots, binary choice |
In a sales email, the deadline must match a real fact (end of a price, a delivery slot). An invented deadline damages trust as soon as it happens twice. For a follow-up, cite the date of the first message: the reader finds the thread again without reopening the inbox.
The retention case belongs to relationship marketing: the ending builds on the customer’s purchase or ongoing project. In prospecting, B2B cold emailing works better when it offers two time slots rather than an open calendar.
The P.S. and the signature: what the reader sees last
The postscript often gets read even when the body of the message was only skimmed. Reserve it for a single message: remove a hesitation (“P.S. No credit card is needed to try it”) or restate the deadline. A three-line P.S. turns into a second email body.
The signature has to stay readable on a smartphone. 4 elements are enough: name with job title, company with its website, a phone number and one discreet call to action such as “Book a meeting”. An image alone will not do, because many email clients block images by default: the text carries the information and the logo sits beside it.
Replying with a keyword instead of clicking
On mobile, replying to an email takes fewer steps than opening a link in a browser. Offer a keyword to send back: “Reply DEMO to book a slot” or “Reply PAUSE to suspend your emails for 60 days”. This option sits alongside the unsubscribe link, which stays at the bottom of the message.
Which sign-off to place before the signature
The tone follows the recipient. With a customer or an unknown contact, “Best regards” or “Kind regards” remains the safe choice. “Yours sincerely” adds distance and suits a formal letter more than an email. “Sincerely” or “Warm regards” fit an exchange that is already underway. “Talk soon” suits a regular contact.
“Thanks in advance” assumes the request will be granted: replace it with a dated request, such as “Please confirm your attendance by Tuesday”. For a job application, keep “Kind regards” after a sentence about your availability. Whatever the sign-off, it comes after the action sentence.
What Gmail and Yahoo require at the bottom of a message
This section concerns bulk marketing sends. It weighs on deliverability as much as on compliance.
Since February 1, 2024, Gmail requires senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to offer one-click unsubscribe, with a clearly visible link in the message body. The spam rate must stay below 0.3% in Postmaster Tools, and Google even recommends aiming for under 0.10%. Yahoo asks for a working List-Unsubscribe header, a visible link in the body (it can lead to a preferences page), unsubscribes processed within 2 days and a complaint rate below 0.3%, according to its Sender Hub.
A hidden unsubscribe link pushes the gesture toward the “Spam” button. Every report feeds the complaint rate that both providers cap. A preferences link (frequency, topics) offers a softer exit than leaving altogether. One-click unsubscribing must remain available next to it.
In B2B in France, prospecting by email remains possible without prior consent if its subject relates to the recipient’s profession. The CNIL, the French data protection authority, requires every message to identify the sender and to let recipients refuse further messages by a simple means (page in French). A sentence placed just before the signature can fill that role: “If this message does not concern you, forward it to the right person or reply STOP to no longer be contacted.” Finish with the company name followed by a link to the privacy policy. The legal framework for emailing covers the rest.
A good email ending changes nothing if the message bounces before it is read. Run a sample of your list through an address verifier before the next campaign: it reduces hard bounces.
4 mistakes that cancel an email ending
- Stacking action links: one CTA and one unsubscribe link are enough.
- Adding steps: the final button leads straight to the page of the expected action, with no intermediate form.
- Switching register on the last line: a casual message that closes with “Yours faithfully” sounds false.
- Burying the unsubscribe link in tiny type: the reader then looks for the “Spam” button.
Reread the ending of your next campaign email before sending: if the last sentence contains neither an action verb nor a deadline, rewrite it with one of the templates in the table.
