Have you provided helpful information via email and want to see whether someone appreciates it?
Of course, “hope this helps” is an option but is it the only suitable phrase?
Is It Formal to Say “Hope This Helps”?
It’s formal to say “hope this helps.” Furthermore, it’s a professional phrase that shows you have tried to provide useful information to someone.
Generally, it’s an email closing statement. It is not rude, which makes it suitable when you’re trying to build a positive working relationship with the recipient.
For instance:
That’s all there is to mention. I hope this helps answer your question.
Pros
- It’s a professional way to end an email.
- It shows you genuinely want to help the recipient.
Cons
- It needs a pronoun (like “I”) at the start if you want it to be personal and friendly.
- It’s a bit overused and repetitive.
“Hope this helps” is already a fantastic option in most formal emails. Though, we recommend having a few other synonyms ready to help you mix things up.
So, keep reading to learn what to say instead of “hope this helps.” We’ve touched on the best alternatives and how they work in emails.
What to Say Instead of “Hope This Helps”
- I hope you’re satisfied
- I hope this is what you wanted
- Does this help?
- Is this what you were looking for?
- I trust this will help you
- I’m sure this will be a big help
- Let me know if you need more help
- I hope this proves useful
- May this be as useful to you as it was to me
1. I Hope You’re Satisfied
Of course, “I hope you’re satisfied” is a great formal email alternative that works well. We highly recommend using it when you’ve offered someone a solution and hope it satisfies their original problem.
You might use it when emailing clients. It shows that you’ve done everything in your power to satisfy them and come to a decent resolution.
However, it’s very impersonal. You should avoid using this one when emailing people you have a good relationship with. After all, it doesn’t show that you care much about their problem.
You should check out this email example if you’re still unsure:
Dear Mr. White,
We have cleared up all the issues on our end. We hope this fixes most of the problems.
I hope you’re satisfied,
Jack Miller
2. I Hope This Is What You Wanted
If you want to sound slightly more friendly and personal, we recommend using “I hope this is what you wanted.” It’s very suitable in business emails to show that you care about someone’s problems and want to fix them however you can.
For instance, you can use it when emailing customers you get along with. It shows that you’ll do everything possible to help and “hope” that you’ve managed to do your duty.
Here’s a useful sample email to help you with it:
Dear Shui,
To clarify your question, we are still looking into the matter. We will let you know when we have more to say.
I hope this is what you wanted to hear,
Jensen Burton
3. Does This Help?
You can even ask a question to replace “hope this helps” in some instances. For instance, “does this help?” is a great professional question to ask when you want to confirm whether you’ve helped someone.
Generally, using a question implies that you’d appreciate a response. It sets the recipient up to respond to you to answer whether you have helped them.
This email example will also help you:
Dear Abigail,
We are currently looking for someone to fill the position. We will let you know when we’ve found someone.
Does this help answer your question?
Christopher Milotic
4. Is This What You Were Looking For?
Another great question to ask is “is this what you were looking for?” We always recommend throwing in a question as an email closer when you would appreciate the recipient getting back to you to answer the question.
In this case, you can ask this when you have provided information to help someone. However, you may be unsure whether the information is all that useful. So, it’s worth finding out if it was what someone was “looking for” or whether they needed more.
An example email might also clear things up:
Dear Yuko,
We would like to assist you further. So, we have attached a document with all the common problems.
Is this what you were looking for?
Richard Market
5. I Trust This Will Help You
A more formal alternative that works in an email is “I trust this will help you.” It’s a very confident way to share helpful information with someone.
Using “trust” over something like “hope” shows that you know your information is useful. That’s why you should only use it when you are certain that you’ve provided adequate information to assist someone.
You could use it when emailing clients who have asked an obvious question. If you have the correct answer without needing to ask other people to help you, then you should be confident and use a phrase starting with “I trust” to show this.
Use the following sample email to help you out:
Dear Tim,
To clarify your concern, no. We do not offer this service at the moment. We are unsure whether it will be available in the future.
I trust this will help you,
Claire
6. I’m Sure This Will Be a Big Help
Even when you’re confident that you’ve helped someone, it’s still wise to remain friendly. Something like “I’m sure this will be a big help” is a great friendly alternative to “hope this helps.”
You can use it when emailing customers who need your help. It shows that you have a good working relationship with them and want to offer them help in whatever way you can.
This email sample should show you how to use it:
Dear Ms. Packet,
We have gathered all the information you might need to fix your system. You can find it at the bottom of this email.
I’m sure this will be a big help,
Martin Langford
7. Let Me Know if You Need More Help
You might want to encourage someone to reach out in case they need help. Maybe you know they don’t always contact you when they’re struggling, but you want to help them however you can.
We recommend writing “let me know if you need more help” in business emails to encourage a reply. You should use it when emailing clients and showing them that you’re available to help whenever they need you.
Check out this example to see how it works:
Dear Ross,
I want to help you as well as I can. That’s why I’ve attached the following files.
Let me know if you need more help,
George Winter
8. I Hope This Proves Useful
A hopeful phrase like “I hope this proves useful” is a good formal alternative to “hope this helps.” We recommend using it when emailing employees. It allows you to share useful information with them in the hope that it helps them with their work.
You can refer to this example to help as well:
Dear Mason,
I’m glad you reached out about this. We have a few ideas that might help you sort it out.
I hope this proves useful,
Lewis Sutton
9. May This Be as Useful to You as It Was to Me
This phrase is quite an interesting one. Of course, it’s a bit niche, so it won’t work well in all situations.
However, if you’ve found something helpful before, you may want to recycle it. Let’s imagine someone else has contacted you with a similar problem. You could say “may this be as useful to you as it was to me” to try and help someone fix something.
It only works if you can relate to the issue. Otherwise, you might not be able to share the same resource that helped you in the first place.
This email example should also help you:
Dear Charlotte,
I have attached the same file I used when I went through the issues. I’m sure it’ll cover most of your problems.
May this be as useful to you as it was to me.
All the best,
Hughie