How To Keep Letter Endings Informal (Tips and Examples)

Updated March 22, 2023

Informal letter (or email) endings allow individuals to develop a sense of familiarity with letter recipients. Creating these endings requires creativity to reflect your overall intentions. By learning how to write such informal letter endings, you can communicate more effectively with those around you and can increase the effectiveness of correspondence by ensuring the recipient understands your intentions. In this article, we discuss making letter endings informal, how to write these endings, how to determine the recipient, and provide several examples of letter endings.

How to make letter endings informal

Here's a guide to help you to make letter endings informal:

1. Consider punctuation

Something to consider regarding your letter endings is their punctuation. When writing your letter ending with enthusiasm, you may wish to use an exclamation mark. When you complete letters without enthusiasm, you may sign off with a comma rather than a period. This is especially true when the letter ending requires the recipient's name. For example, you may write Sincerely yours, Jane.

2. Consider the reason for the ending

You may also want to consider the reason for your letter ending and how you want the reader to follow-up. If you want the reader to complete specific actions after reading your letter, you may want to include these in the ending.

Example: To summarize, I think it's a good idea to move forward with the current budget. Please would you follow this up with the marketing department? If we keep buying the team morning coffees, it may be necessary to adjust the budget, though!

3. Consider the reader's emotions

When writing this informal letter, you may also want to consider how you want the reader to feel after reading the email because this determines how you end the letter. For example, letters that request or require services may benefit from informal endings that balance professional endings with informal endings. In these scenarios, you can use examples like, Thank you or Hope to hear from you soon.

What are informal letter endings?

Informal letter endings refer to the way in which you end letters or emails to those with whom you're communicating. There are significant differences between the way you speak to your close friends and your supervisor. While you can write informal letter endings to colleagues and supervisors, you may want to use letter endings that balance professionalism and informal sign-offs.

Related: How To End a Letter

How to identify the recipient

In some scenarios, you may not know how to end your letter because you don't know the recipient. When you don't know the recipient, you can use informal letter endings to establish a relationship with the recipient or to provide a sense of comfort. Knowing the identity of the recipient is important because you require this information to determine the tone of the letter, along with how to address and sign it. Here's a guide to help you identify the appropriate contact person for your letter:

1. Review company websites

To discover the contact person for your email, you may want to review the company website to discover their hiring managers, supervisors and other professionals. When looking for someone within your company, you can also review the website or intranet with the information you already have, which allows you to discover the right person. Company websites provide you with titles, full names and a general tone on which you can base your letter ending.

2. Network frequently

If you require someone's contact information for an open job position, you may want to use networking websites. These websites typically have a list of those working for companies. Once you obtain the necessary information, you can prepare to write your letter ending.

You may also want to speak to those around you to look for potential contact information. Speak to your immediate network in your place of employment. Your colleagues may have contact information for others within the organization. Likewise, you may want to speak to those close to you to determine whether you have friends in common with the person you want to contact. This can help to provide you with the information required to write your letter ending.

Related: Guidelines on How To Network

3. Contact the employer or organization

You can contact the employer or organization of the person you want to speak to if you want to save time. When calling an organization, you typically speak to an administrative assistant or receptionist who can answer additional questions. You may find this useful if you want to apply for a job position within the company and wish to speak with the hiring manager. In this situation, the receptionist can provide you with additional information about the position and perhaps even about the hiring manager's personality and preferred tone.

Examples of informal letter sign-offs

Here are some examples of informal letter or email sign-offs:

Speak to you soon

The phrase "speak to you soon" has several variations, including "talk to you soon," "speak soon" and "looking forward to seeing you." These letter endings suggest that you have an existing relationship with the recipient and that you plan to speak with them in the near future. For example, you may want to use this phrase when speaking to someone close to you, when you have an upcoming meeting with the recipient or when you expect them to answer shortly. You may also want to establish a date for future discussions and meetings.

Yours truly

This letter ending suggests you have a personal relationship with the recipient. This sign-off phrase has several variations and provides a balance between informal and formal writing. You may want to consider following this sign-off with your name or with your professional signature and job title. This ending suggests you feel devoted to the recipient. If the recipient is your coworker, you may want to consider using this sign-off for colleagues you have especially strong connections with. Alternatively, use this sign-off for loved ones and close friends.

Cheers

This letter ending shows the recipient that you have an optimistic, informal personality. You may also want to use this sign-off when the letter is especially positive because this ending typically reflects the overall tone of your letter or email. Before writing your letter, consider whether the correspondence relays positive or negative information. This determines whether the letter ending 'cheers' is appropriate.

With love

This sign-off has several variations, including "xoxo" and "sincerely yours." Consider using this phrase when sending a letter to a close friend or someone you have a strong, personal relationship with. For example, you may find it beneficial to use this phrase when speaking to relatives or coworkers you communicate with outside your place of employment.

Sending good vibes

This letter ending shows the recipient that you're optimistic and that you have both positive intentions and a sunny outlook. You may also want to use some variations related to this sign-off. For example, consider saying, "Wishing you good vibes and happiness" or "Sending positive vibes your way."

Have a good trip

This sign-off shows the recipient that you pay attention to their plans outside of work. This sign-off is both informal and demonstrates comfort between you and the recipient. Here are some variations associated with this sign-off:

Wishing you safe travels
Hope you get to see [enter landmark or tourist attraction]!
Don't forget about us while you travel the world!

Thank you

This sign-off works for both formal and informal letter endings and suggests a previous relationship with the recipient. This is because you require a previous interaction with the reader to thank them for a task or service. Expressing gratitude toward the recipient maintains strong relationships and shows respect.

More examples of letter endings

When writing your letter endings, you may want to consider including personal details. These details typically refer to previous conversations with the recipient of the letter or email. Here are some more examples of letter endings that are informal:

Looking forward to learning more about your passion for gardening!
And in honour of our 'Toy Story' obsession: to infinity ... and beyond!
By the way, I looked at the weather forecast for your area. It's supposed to be pretty cold, so remember to stay warm.
I realized today that we've really been adding more components to this project. It might be necessary to double our budget by the time we're done!
Feel free to email me if you have any questions about our project! I'll be around all day today and tomorrow to answer you.
I hope you make it to your yoga class tonight! Talk to you soon.
Here's to getting the week off for personal wellness!
Your friendly neighbourhood office manager.
It's always a pleasure speaking with you and talking about our favourite books and movies.
Congratulations on your promotion! You're the best there is and now everyone knows it.