How to create a professional email signature: 13 tips and examples
Discover how to create a standout email signature to enhance your overall professional image.
First impressions matter. Psychologists believe it takes about 30 seconds to decide whether we like a new person or not. It takes even less time to make an impression online. A proper email signature is your opportunity to stand out, define yourself, tell the world what you’re working on, and let them know you are open for business.
An email signature is the business card of the 21st-century. Before anything else, it should include your name, company, job title, and phone number.
However, if you really want to grab their attention you need to go above and beyond. You could insert your company logo, incorporate brand elements, pop in a promotional banner, and you should definitely have some social media links in there somewhere. It all adds up to paint the picture of a professional, trustworthy contact.
The following advice lets you transform a basic email signature into a professional tool that gives you the leg up you need to achieve your goals.
1. Keep your signature simple
The main attributes of a professional email signature are that it is easy-to-read and concise, whilst broadcasting the following information.
- Full Name
- Job Title and Company Name with Hyperlinked Website
- Contact Number
- Social media links
Consider including branding elements in your email signature. For example, a logo, a company motto, or a banner. As long as your custom logo feels simple, but good, you are going to win this game. As long as you don’t go overboard, these features make your email more effective – especially if you work for a recognized brand.
2. Avoid adding too much detail
Don’t stuff your signature with irrelevant or hollow information. You might include your company’s address, but only if you’re running a small local business that people might need to visit. You don’t need to include this information if you work for a tech giant. Likewise, it’s completely unnecessary to include your email address seeing as though… you’re already emailing them… from your email address.
All in all, your email signature should be short and to-the-point, rather than long-winded and flatulent.
3. Find the balance between content and design
Before you start changing fonts and splashing color around, you first need to decide what is the most important information in your signature. This information goes first.
Once you have prioritized the contents of your signature, you should consider the following tips and find a balance between content and design.
- Give a reader more space between digital elements to increase comprehension by up to 20%.
- Use dividers or white spaces to separate different signature elements and focus reader’s attention.
- Use spacing to divide elements, not lines. Fewer lines and other visible dividers offer a clearer image.
After that, adding a little color helps draw a reader’s eye. When selecting the right shade, think about what is closely associated with your brand and industry, or what is most appealing to your audience.
Try not to use more than two colors, and try to make sure they match. It’s a similar case with your font selection; keep things simple and avoid anything too loud. It can even be a good idea to have a brand font, and keep a uniform style across the company.
5. Add a photo
Why not upload a photo of yourself, rather than a company logo? Put a face to your name and build trust and personality. Don’t use both a photo and a logo though, because your signature becomes cluttered and unclear.
6. Make it social
Adding corporate social media links to your email signature is a nice way of giving your business some more credibility. On top of that, it provides another opportunity to drive traffic and acquire new leads. Icons are big space-savers, so consider putting links underneath their related social media icons.
Finally, make sure these links are trackable, so you know when they are clicked.
7. Include a call-to-action (CTA)
A good CTA is exactly what encourages your customers to interact with you. The action you want them to take depends on your goals. For instance, a call-to-action could be a link to your blog or product. Your CTA might lead a client to download an eBook, peak their interest with a special offer or discount, tell them how to book a demo, or do absolutely anything else you might want them to do.
Just don’t forget to update it regularly!
8. Make your company stand out
If your company has received an impressive award or reached a significant milestone… why not show it off in your signature? This helps generate more interest among clients and leads.
9. Make your design mobile-friendly
Smartphones and tablets can no longer be ignored by email marketers and sales managers. They represent a massive part of all email interactions and revenue. About 3 in 5 consumers check their emails on-the-go; 75% say they mostly use their smartphones when they are checking their emails.
So, try to implement a design that looks good on mobile devices too. Make sure the text is large enough to read on a small mobile screen; ensure links and buttons are large and spaced enough.
10. Optimize your email signature for all email clients
Make sure your signature has a format that is suitable for all email clients. Be careful with HTML formatting because some portions of your signature might not be visible to everyone. For instance, Microsoft Outlook doesn’t recognize background images, so avoid using them.
11. Forget about embedded content
In Outlook and most other corporate email clients, recipients can’t watch embedded videos. They simply don’t load for security reasons.
Moreover, it’s better to use JPEGs rather than PNGs in your signature because they load quicker. Finally, don’t forget to use the ‘-nosend-’ tag on all images. Otherwise, they might be incorrectly processed as an attachment by some email clients.
12. Use a signature generator
An email signature generator is a tool that can help you create a perfect email signature easily and quickly. There’s a wide range of them available, but we’ve got our favorite.
HubSpot offers a free email signature generator that you can take advantage of. It works with many popular email providers – like Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook, and Yahoo. The app has 6 templates to choose from, multiple colors, provides a CTA, and has social media integration. Cool!
So, how exactly can an email signature be used for different purposes?
Well, each department can use signatures to meet specific goals.
Marketing:
- provide links to social media;
- send leads to your latest content;
- offer links to to webinars, conferences, and other events you are attending or hosting.
Sales:
- clickable images of products;
- current promotions and offers.
Client relationship and account Management:
- info about your company with contact information included;
- links to a landing page;
- client references and testimonials
All in all, an email signature should be extremely simple, easy-to-read, and needs to include the same standard elements that every professional should use. At the same time, as a company representative, you need to personalize your signature with additional creativity to stand out.
Don’t underestimate the role of email signatures in your marketing and sales campaigns. Learn how to use them effectively and get the most out of them. Experiment with banners, links, and content to promote your business. Add a splash of color to your footer, track signature performance, and aim for continuous improvement. Leave no stone unturned in your search for conversion!