Email signatures are underrated and inexpensive marketing tools for small business. How many emails do you send a day? And how many pairs of eyes could be landing on your branding and clicking through to your social media pages or website? It’s a conversion opportunity you don’t want to miss. Read on to find out what makes and breaks an email signature:
Format
Your entire email signature should never be an image, as this makes it impossible
for people to copy details, as well as increases the chances of your email ending
up in junk mail thanks to the fastidious filters of some email providers. Having one
single image also means you can only include one hyperlink. If you’re including social
media accounts, you’ll need more than one clickable link! Even if an image looks
great when it leaves your screen, it might render in a completely different fashion
when it reaches the receiver’s inbox, or not load at all depending on their settings.
Design
It is possible to design your own email signature, however if you’re graphically
challenged, it’s best to hire a professional designer who can produce a couple of
concepts to choose from and ensure it’s up to industry standards. Just like a physical
business card, the design should be simple and include your company logo. Limit
colours to two or three and add highlights consistent with your branding. Avoid
small, hard to read fonts and washy font colours – you can’t go wrong with blue or
black.
What to include
Full name, job title, business name, website and contact details are essential. Social
media accounts are also important, but be selective with which ones you include so
your signature isn’t overrun with icons. To avoid causing clients frustration, add only
the contact details you actually use. It sounds obvious, but if you’re only in the office
three hours each day, leave this number off and just use your mobile number. And if
you don’t want to be interrupted in the middle of a rose ceremony on The Bachelor,
include your hours of contact.
What not to include
Don’t divulge personal social media accounts, unless you are a blogger or brand
personality where your personal account doubles as a business tool. Never put your
home address either, even if you work from home. You never know where your
details will end up from being forwarded and shared with third party recipients. If
your email signature is longer than seven lines, reconsider the last few lines – do
they really need to be there?
Sass factor
Everybody has an opinion about whether creative job titles are appropriate. Only
you can judge if calling yourself a Moving Moment Magician within your wedding
videography business is going to be well received by your contacts. The sign off is
also your opportunity to inject some personality. Things like Kind Regards and Yours
Sincerely are standard, but is that what you want to be known for? The general
consensus with adding quotes to the end of an email signature is no, but again, only
you can judge what works best for you and your brand.
Your email signature is free advertising space – use it wisely and take advantage of
links to drive traffic to your website and increase your social media following. Spend
time looking through your inbox and critique your contacts’ email signatures. Think
about what you like and what you’d change before crafting a professional email
signature design for your own business.
