Sincerely and Sundry Salutations

Dear Sirs,

I need help with ending a letter. Sincerely is lame. Can you please give me you top 10 favorites?

Sincerely,

JWW

Dear JWW,
Ten salutations would be a little flamboyant. The goal of a salutation in a gentleman’s letter is to wrap up his sentiments with a brief, respectful statement of good feeling. The two that seem to be the simplest, most effective salutations in daily correspondence are, in our opinion “Best,” and “Regards.”

“Best” is the warmer, and less formal of the two. It’s for expressions gratitude, when you’re asking for something, or when writing to a woman with whom you’re not romantically involved. If you want to make it a little sweeter, yet more formal, try the classic “Best Wishes,” or the warm-yet-formal conversation ender “All the Best.”

“Regards” is a nice sentiment to close out a business correspondence. It’s nice, but not too nice. It goes well with veiled ultimatums and works in situations where your recipient’s intentions are unclear. If you want to warm it up a bit, you can always ratchet up the warmth and/or menace with “Warm Regards.”

But those are just a few that you can always rely upon. And don’t be afraid to be creative should the situation allow it.

Authoritatively,

The Gentlemen