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5 tips
for a better email signature
Frédéric Gonzalo

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A year ago on this blog, I wrote a piece called EMAIL is DEAD… NOT!
Well, lo and behold, email marketing is still alive and kicking, even
though many marketers focus mostly on their social media tactics
sometimes to the expense of easily reachable tools, such as an
effective email signature. After all, most employees in your company,
no matter in which department they work, use a corporate email that
goes out to external contacts, thus contributing to the brand’s
perceived image. So why not maximize the efficiency of this tool? Here
are 5 tips than can help:

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1. LINK TO SOCIAL MEDIA
PROFILES… IF APPROPRIATE
If your organization has a thriving
presence on Twitter or Facebook, why not
have a button or link under your
signature? We sometimes take for
granted the fact that employees are a
brand’s best ambassadors and that not
everybody knows about your Facebook
page, or Pinterest boards. If individuals
use social media platforms with a
professionnal scope, in most cases
Linkedin at least, this makes for a great
link to add with your signature. Be careful
not to link with a social media profile
where
personal
content
gets
shared, unless you and your organization
are comfortable with this perspective.

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2. SEPARATE SIGNATURE FROM
COPY
It’s a simple tip, but there needs to be a visual
separation to mark where the body of your
message ends, and where the signature begins.
The rule of thumb is to use the “–” at the end
of your message, just like PR specialist use -30to mark where the press release ends. There
are many plug-ins available so that the
signature is an automated one, for example
Right Inbox if you use Gmail as I do. (NOT an
affiliate link)

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3. DON’T USE IMAGES
A common mistake is to include a
corporate logo or, even worse, to have
the whole signature as an image.
Many, if not most, internet service
providers (ISP) and email
providers, such as Gmail, Hotmail or
Yahoo will block off images considered
“attached” to an email message, thus
your signature will not make it into the
recipient’s inbox. If you are trying to
establish contact or wish to follow up, it
defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?

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4. COMPLETE CONTACT DETAILS
This is a personal pet peeve: I hate it
when I receive an email from
someone, then wish to follow up with
them by phone… but there are no
contact details in the signature!! As
mentioned above, most email services
offer automated signatures, if not
directly within Outlook or Lotus
Notes, then through a plug-in or webmail service. Complete contact details
should include:

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1. Name and surname, add title if relevant, i.e.
MBA, CFA, etc.
2. Phone number, with area code and country
index, specially if you deal with international
clientele.
3. Email address, in particular if you have a
separate one you wish to be contacted on.
4. Website, whether it’s yours, your
companies, or your blog’s

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5. ADD AWARDS OR BRAND USP
Last but not least, why not take advantage of this
communication opportunity to highlight a recent award
won by yourself, or your company? Is your hotel highly
ranked on TripAdvisor or did your destination recently
win an award or mention by a prestigious magazine?
This is the place to mention it, under the email
signature. Another option is to simply reiterate your
brand’s vision or mission, in particular if it is distinctively
unique and appealing to your audience.
Below is an interesting infographic to learn some more
on the topic. Enjoy!

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