Every business owner knows the importance of having a business card. You proudly hand it to prospective clients in the elevator, at meetings, or even at the grocery store. Its design, color, and text speak volumes as to who you are and what your business has to offer. And most importantly, it contains all of your contact info such as your name, business name, email, phone numbers, website address, and even social media links. You would not want to hand out a blank business card.
Well, the same goes for email. An email signature is a virtual business card included at the end of an outgoing email. Too many times I have seen clients make the mistake of NOT including an email signature in their emails. This is not acceptable, especially if you have a business and want to make it easy for clients to communicate with you. It very important for people to have instant access to know how to reach you on multiple levels.
Automatically Generated Email Signatures
As all entrepreneurs know (or soon learn), every minute counts when tallying your profits at the end of the day. Signatures take the time and hassle out of typing your contact info manually each time you prepare a new email. All email programs have an easy way to automatically generate email signatures. When in doubt, go to the “Help” section of your particular program and do a search. When it is set up automatically, it goes out on every single email that is sent out (new emails, replied to emails, and forwarded emails).
What to include in an Email Signature
A basic email signature may contain any of the following information:
- Business Owner Name
- Business Owner Title
- Business Name
- Phone number/s
- Fax number
- Physical / Postal Address
- Website Address (Ensure that http:// is prefixed)
- Email Address
- Logo
- Slogan / Tagline
Email Signature Tips and Advice
- Keep it simple. Keep your contact info down to the most important. Every single email address you own or your Facebook contact doesn’t need to be there unless relevant to your business.
- Be consistent – if you use pipes (|) or colons (::) to separate your telephone number, use that format throughout your signature. Last thing you want to do is confuse someone who wants to hand you money.
- Easy to Read – use the tried and true fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Verdana, Georgia, etc. They ship with every computer sold, so you are assured that your text will translate correctly. Avoid super small or extra large fonts. Use one color as opposed to multiple colors which can look busy. And lastly, use less words not more.
- Different email signature options – Have several signatures and use them appropriately. One for recruitment, one for marketing, another for an unusual or one-of-a-kind client. Signatures are for the client to clearly remember YOU.
- Hyperlink – Make sure all links are click able
- Test – If you use HTML signatures, test them on various email providers to make sure it translates properly.
Email Signature Examples
As you can see from the examples above, business email signatures are all done differently. Some include the basic info and some include a lot more. If those are a bit too elaborate for you, then you can always stick with a simpler option like this one:
John Doe
Co-Founder | BestSignatures
www.bestsignatures.com | John@bestsignatures.com | 415-555-1212
Email Signature can be used as a Marketing Tool
You can be the brightest, funniest, most creative person in your field, but if you don’t have an email signature with your contact information on every business email that you send, you’re practically invisible. Your email isn’t just a part of your communication, it IS your communication. Your signature can be used as a marketing tool for your business. You can use it to promote special offers, upcoming events, or just encourage people to follow you on your social networks. No matter what you use it for, it will definitely drive traffic to your business website which will in turn generate more sales. No contact info – no sale – no check.
So, if you are NOT utilizing the use of an email signature for your business, take some time to get that set up today! Don’t miss out and lose potential clients because you don’t have a virtual business card in place. If you are unsure how to go about it, feel free to email me and I can get that set up for you right away!
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