Best practices for email signatures
If you're like most people in the business world, you probably send hundreds of emails a day. Every message has one chunk of text in common: each one contains your email signature with your contact information.
Your email signature serves a specific and important purpose. It gives people more information about you and your company and provides additional contact information.
We've seen lots of different email signature styles over time... some good, some questionable. The right email signature can strengthen your brand and even generate leads. Here are some best practices to think about when setting up your email signature.
Keep it simple.
We've seen email signatures that were so packed with text, images, links, and badges that it makes you want to poke your eyes out. There are a couple of issues with adding to much "bling" to your email signature. One: spam filters may flag it and keep it from getting delivered. Next: offering too many options in your signature can simply be distracting to your recipients. It just plain looks ugly and this can cause subtle damage to your brand.
Keep it plain text.
I'm going to get a lot of disagreement on this one but we are in favor of plain text emails. They are more likely to get past spam filters and they're just more elegant. A plaint text signature will also help you curb the temptation to add 17 different social media badges to the end of your message.
Make sure your signature gets included by default.
It can be very frustrating to try to call someone after receiving an email only to find that you can't find their phone number anywhere within the email. Grrr! Make sure your signature gets automatically added by our email program or smart phone.
Include basic information.
The typical email signature should contain your title, company name, phone number, and a link to your website. Don't include your email address... they already have that since you just emailed them.
You can also think about adding a single call to action like a link to an ebook or other offer but don't get too carried away. When it comes to your email signature, think "less is more" for a more streamlined and user-friendly email signature.
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