Email Signature Do’s and Don’ts

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Your email signature is almost as important as your business card, in fact it’s your digital business card. An unattractive email signature says a lot about you and your level of professionalism.  Here is what you need to know to have an awesome email signature.

DO:

Keep it Simple:

  • Less is more!
  • Promote your primary contact method.
  • Remember the basic email signature format:
    • Name
    • Position
    • Email 
    • Website
    • Logo (properly sized with Alt Text)

Use an Image:

  • Using a professional image of yourself puts a face to the name and legitimizes your company and your role within that company. Make sure the image has “alt text” assigned in case the recipient’s email service blocks images.

Social Media:

  • Provide 1 or 2 of your preferred social media links, but remember not to overshare.

Keep it Consistent:

  • Make sure that all team members throughout your company have a consistent email signature.
  • A consistent email signature establishes brand recognition.
  • Companies like HubSpot  and WiseStamp have tool you can use to keep your company email signatures consistent.

Test It:

  • Recruit friends and family to give you feedback on how your signature appears on their various devices (PC, MAC, mobile, tablet, etc).
  • Check out Boomerang’s “Respondable” add-on to see how likely someone is to reply to your email.

DON’T:

Include All Forms of Contact:

  • Don’t include a long list of all the possible ways to contact you. It not only appears desperate, but it comes off as a bit pushy and just looks plain messy.

Use an Image as Your Signature:

  • Try to avoid using only an image of your signature as your signature. Some devices will actually block such images in an email. Preventing the receiver from seeing anything.

Have a Weak Sign Off:

  • A simple “Sincerely”, “Best”, or “Thank you” doesn’t hurt, but let your personality shine through.
  • A creative and fun sign off shows the receiver that there’s a real life person behind the screen.

 

For additional reading see: Fast Company’s  “5 Common Mistakes You’re Making With Your Email Signature” and Ocreative’s “The Importance of Email Signatures”.