You’re about to send the email you agonized over, but there’s one final step: ending it. What’s the best phrase to get someone to actually write you back? Happily, Boomerang looked into the matter. After reviewing the sign-offs from 350,000 email threads in the mailing archives of 20 online communities, they found the best response if you want a response is … “Thanks in advance.” (65.7 percent response rate)
And in second was “Thanks.” (63 percent)
And in third was “Thank you.” (57.9 percent)
You see the pattern. In short, a little gratitude goes a long way. That said, “thanks in advance” is particularly ingenious because by thanking them in advance your message very politely puts the onus on the other person to actually do something.
Oh, and among the most common email sign-offs, “Best” proved to be the worst. Write your messages accordingly.
—RealClearLife Staff
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