On average, office workers will send 40 emails per day. However, they make the mistake of treating email signatures as an afterthought rather than an opportunity.
Why?
Email signatures are meant to give you a chance to do the following:
- Make known who you are.
- Make you more reachable to people.
- Give people a place to find out more — either about you, your business, or a project you’re working on.
So, if you’re not taking full advantage of the opportunity to connect and engage with your email recipients by having a professional email signature, now is the time to fix that.
What Elements to Include in an Email Signature
Some might consider the issue of writing an email signature so easy that there is no need to write a post reminding people how to do it. Well, it is that easy, but there is so much important information that your email signature might miss out on.
You can include other important information about your brand or business in your email signature in addition to your name.
Here are 8 ways to write the best email signature, no matter what profession you’re in:
Basically, all you need for an email signature are the following:
1. Stick With 3 To 4 Lines
- Your Name.
- Title (optional).
- Company (linked to the website).
- Phone number.
No matter which elements you use, you’ll need only 3 or 4 lines of text.
2. Display Social Media Icons
Now more than ever, social media is very important for not just individuals, but now brands. With many brands advertising and engaging with customers via social media, it’s important for you – a company, or someone who’s part of a company – to make that known to your email recipients. How? By displaying social media links “icons” to your email signature.
Now, even as you stay active on your social media, when it comes to your email signature, only stick to 5 or 6 icons – relevant ones. By adding these icons, not only will recipients know where to find you on social media but will also drive traffic to your online content if you’re posting links to that content on social.
Here’s Airbnb email signature example with social media icons:
3. Keep Email Address Out Of Email Professional Signature
“It’s baffling how common people would include their email address in their email signatures,” says Jacob Robertson, a business writer at Phd Kingdom. “Include your email is like placing two return address stickers on an envelope, or reintroducing yourself at a party after the host has already done so.”
To avoid this unnecessary repetition, consider using a social media profile, your company’s blog, or your portfolio in place of your email.
4. Display One Image
The truth is, people will remember visuals more than text. However, you can’t use just ANY visual for your email signature – it has to be memorable. In fact, experts and psychologists say that color images tend to be more memorable than black and white. Remember: Your goal here is to stand out in your signature.
5. Have A Good Call-To-Action
What do you want people to do when they look at your email signature? A good call-to-action (or CTA) should be the following:
- Up-to-date
- Simple
- Won’t push hard, AND
- Matches your email style
In other words, your signature should appear post-script, rather than feel like a sales pitch.
6. “Sent From My iPhone”
Believe it or not, using the iPhone’s stock signature could help improve your image. According to researchers, a sender who has “Sent from my iPhone” in their email signature are perceived to be very credible — regardless of whether they’re writing from their phone or computer. However, when using this strategy, keep your target audience in mind.
Now, if you don’t want to use this phrase in your email signature, then consider this formula: Apology/Location/Status [Communication] from [My] [Device]. Here are some examples of this:
- From my smartphone so please forgive any dumb mistakes.
- [Name] sent the message. iPhone sent the typos.
- Sent from my iPhone. Forgive the brevity, the typos and the lack of nuance
7. Booking links
As your business grows, scheduling new and recurring appointments can be challenging. Adding a booking link to your professional emails is a lovely and organized way to make clients book appointments 24/7.
It is also an effective way of driving traffic to your website, which can help your business increase conversions and profits. The best thing about this method of booking is that everyone is online these days.
Adding booking links to your emails is an efficient, comfortable, and convenient way to increase your appointments. You can add booking links or a standout button, the latter being more advisable.
8. Simple And Consistent Colors
As mentioned before, colors stand out more than black and white. Therefore, adding color to your email signature is a nice touch, just as long as you keep it consistent – that means sticking with 1 or 2 colors, in addition to dark text.
9. Be Mobile-Friendly
Finally, as more people use their mobile devices more often, it’s important to make sure that your email signature is well-formatted for such devices, not just for desktops. That means that mobile users should be able to read and click your signature if they want to know you and your company.
10. Disclaimer or Legal Requirements
Well, if you did not know this, it would interest you to know that adding a disclaimer to your email is a legal requirement for all businesses. A disclaimer is a way of protecting and limiting your business and brand reputation from legal liability.
For example, a typical disclaimer states that your company or brand is not responsible if your services or products are used in a way that differs from the instructions given.
It is advisable to keep the disclaimer simple, clear, and general; just state the limits of your business liability or responsibility. If you have a long version, you can state the basics and then add a link to a longer version.
5 Professional Email Signature Examples
Remember that your email signature is an opportunity to share information that helps build trust and recognition for your business. Hence, you need to get it right. Here are a few email signature examples to guide you in the right direction.
Real Estate
In a period where digital things are replacing manual things, email signatures have presently become the business cards that people used in the past. And if you are into the real estate business, people will recognize your brand through your email signature.
If you communicate with your clients most of the time through emails, then there are four things you must always include in your email signature and they include
- Your contact details and professional info
- A lovely photo of you and a quality logo of your brand (appearance matters).
- Give a glimpse of your review sites, social media, and real estate listings.
- Lastly, add a sales offer or a call to action.
Engineer
As an engineer, your email signature can help portray a sense of integrity and professionalism to your potential clients. A decent, standard-looking, and simple email signature is what you need to impress your clients.
About 80% percent of the information will be about your professional details, and the other 20% is about your personal details. Here are some of the details you need to include in your signature:
- Your full names
- Company name
- Your job title/qualifications
- A decent photo of you and a logo of the company
- Website address/ physical address
- Social media icons
- Disclaimer
Therapist
As a therapist, it is necessary to present a positive, confident, and trustworthy image to potential clients. This means that your email signature gives a warm and resonating vibe to clients.
Your signature should represent your practice to enable you to increase new clients, referrals, and returning clients. Your signature should include:
- Full names and titles
- Phone number
- Physical address
- Social media icons
- Links to your services
- Booking link
Lawyer
A good email signature can help you build trust and a lasting impression on your potential client, and as a lawyer you need this for your brand.
The law industry is a competitive one, so you need to stand out from others. A simple thing as a good email signature can set you apart from others.
There are seven elements that you must include in your signature, and they include:
- Your professional details
- A quality Firm Logo
- A respectable image of yourself
- Social media links and icons
- Website link
- A legal disclaimer
- And a call to action (CTA)
Blogger
As a blogger, you communicate with the world out there on a daily basis, and a simple thing as an email signature is a good way of presenting yourself in a positive way and building more connections.
If you are thinking of an effective way to market your brand, leave a lasting impression, direct more traffic to your website or get people to take action, then an email signature is a necessity.
As a blogger, your email signature should include the following details:
- Your name
- Workplace name/Company
- Your position or job title
- A decent photo of you and a quality company logo
- Link to your website
- Social Media icons and links
How to Make a Professional Email Signature
You can easily create your email signature thanks to different platforms like Sender. These platforms have templates and guides which can assist you in creating something unique and outstanding.
Sender – You can create a professional signature footer on your email campaigns with ease. Sender offers you a platform to connect easily with customers and grow your business without spending much and nothing at all for small businesses with up to 2500 contacts.
Exclaimer – Exclaimer is another perfect app you can use to create your email signature. The best part is that it is free and easy to use, you do not need to be a pro or expert to create yours.
- Begin by downloading a template that you like.
- Use their drag and drop signature designer to create the email signature.
- Place the contact information where necessary.
- Add logos, photos, social media icons, and email disclaimers.
- Customize the look of your email signature by selecting the fonts, color, and layout design you want.
- Lastly, you can include links that drive more traffic to your landing pages and website.
Proper Email Signature Templates
A proper email signature will convey your professionalism and leave a positive impression on your clients. But for this to happen, you need to be on the right track which entails using the proper signature templates of the information.
Also, the industry you belong to will determine the type of template you use. If you are a lawyer, doctor, therapist, or accountant, you will need a simple email signature that uses plain colors and texts.
But if you are in the creative art industry, you might switch up things and be more creative and playful with the colors, fonts, and designs.
Leave Lasting Impression with Professional Email Signature
While leaving a lasting impression is hard, it doesn’t have to be. By following these 8 tips, you’ll create a professional email signature that will not only make you more noticeable to email recipients but will also drive sales for your company.
Also read:
- How to End an Email & Sign Off Professionally (With Examples)
- 11 Email Footer Best Practices & Examples
