HOW TO CREATE AN EMAIL SIGNATURE THAT GETS NOTICED (AND GETS RESULTS)

By MasterWing Creative Agency

Sending out emails is something we do so frequently, and for so many different reasons, that we often don’t think about it. Once you set up your ESP (email service provider) with the correct information about you or your organization, how often do you go back and review your email signature? If you’re like most people, never.

Email signatures are a critical part of your organization’s branding – and an important part of your marketing. Your email signature is the most important, and most neglected, part of your email.

What Is Your Email Signature?

An email signature is attached to each and every email that you send and it lets people know more about you than you might think. It’s your opportunity to share what’s most important about you and your mission, and how to connect with you.

Your professional email signature could include

  • 3-4 lines of text
  • your photo or logo
  • social media links
  • a call to action

The important thing to remember is to keep your signature easy to understand, up to date, and in working order.

If you’re considering different email signature design ideas there are a few things that you should think about and a few email signature best practices to know. Let’s take a look:

Email Signature Design Ideas

Depending on the type of organization you represent, there are many different ways to personalize and customize your email signature so that it gets noticed and gets results.

Style

Your email signature can showcase your personal style. That could mean using different font styles, sizes, and colors to make your signature stand out. The official ‘signature’ portion is where you’re going to have your name and your title so that everyone knows exactly who the email is coming from.

  1. Have your actual signature scanned to use as your email signature. Or maybe you want to use a fun font that fits in with your organization, like a childish scrawl for a nonprofit that supports children or elegant calligraphy for a business that sells invitations.
  2. Add color to your signature text so it stands out in a sea of black text.
  3. Include your phone number in your email signature if you want people to contact you by telephone.
  4. Your email address is optional – after all, they have it in the sender field.
  5. Include your title, role, or relationship to the organization below your name. People like to know what your relationship is with the organization.
  6. Add your linked website so that people know how to find you online to learn more about your organization.

Image 

People remember images far longer than they remember words.

  1. People do business with people. Add your photo to your email signature so that people can get to know and trust you, and make a deeper connection between your name and your image.
  2. A video embedded in your email signature stands out and gets noticed. Use a video to introduce yourself, your organization or the purpose of your email.
  3. Logos are colorful and get remembered. Add your organization’s logo to your email signature to clearly identify your mission and to keep your brand front of mind.

CTAs

What do you want people who read your signature to do? Do you have a CTA (call to action) for your email signature? Right below your name, a CTA can invite readers to:

  • Subscribe to your newsletter
  • Sign up for your event
  • Download your free eBook
  • Book a consultation

While you might think that these are obvious goals for the email, people actually respond a great deal better when they are explicitly told what action to take next. By including a simple call to action like ‘call now to schedule an appointment,’ ‘click here to find out more’ or ‘email us with your ideas’ you can get more people to take your desired action.

Social Media Icons
Your most important social media icons can be added to your email signature to invite readers to follow you. When adding social media icons to your email signature,

  • Make sure that they are linked to your social media platforms
  • Only choose 2-3 social media icons, don’t add all of them or its likely none of them will get clicked
  • Icons can be black and white, the platform’s branded colors, or your organization’s own branded colors, depending on your strategy and goals

Email Signature Best Practices

So, what are the best practices to follow with your email signature?

  1. Keep It Simple: While color and font choices are okay don’t use too many, which can overwhelm your reader.
  2. Track Your Links: Learn about your reader’s behavior so that you can see when people are clicking through to and what they’re doing.
  3. Include An International Prefix:  If you don’t know where your customers or readers are coming from, make sure you include your international prefix on your phone number so anyone can contact you.
  4. Make It Mobile-friendly: A lot of people are checking emails from their mobile devices and you want to be sure they can easily read your email and get all of the important information.
  5. Ensure Your Signature Is Easy to Read: Be sure anyone reading your email can tell easily who you are, your title, and your organization.
  6. Email Signature Mini Audit: At minimum once per year, review and test your email signature to make sure the information is still correct, links work and your CTA is your most desired reader action.

Email Signature Do’s and Don’ts

  • Do have a good layout that works for mobile
  • Do include buttons to link to your key social media pages
  • Do include a professional headshot or logo
  • Do follow your brand design/guidelines
  • Don’t make your signature block an image
  • Don’t overload your signature with a lot of information
  • Don’t include a lot of different fonts and colors
  • Don’t include an extensive disclaimer unless your profession requires it, such as an attorney

Ready, Set, Email!

By the time you’re done following our email signature tips and best practices, you should have a high-quality email signature that gives the right impression to your readers and helps your organization to thrive and grow. You may not have realized the impact a simple email signature can have, but once you have designed a good signature, you’ll see the difference in results.