Why Do You Need a High-Impact Email Signature Right Now?

Recently, I received an email from one of the salespeople at a leading tech company. The guy wanted to have a meeting with me to pitch his company’s SEO tool. Being in the blogging industry, I regularly get such emails. So, in general, I would give a quick reply if I am interested or will let it go.

But this time, something in the email triggered all my buttons! He had a very weird email signature. And more importantly, I couldn’t resist reading it twice. Here’s how it read (I changed the name of the sender and the company for privacy reasons):

Now tell me, isn’t it something outlandish? Who writes an email signature like that? I’ve never seen someone write like that. But to be honest, I was impressed. Reason? Well, this particular email signature got its job done. It grabbed my attention and made me think twice about reaching out to him.

Then I thought, if email signatures are this powerful, a lot of us should start using them effectively. And so, I decided to come up with this detailed guide to help people understand its importance. In this piece, I’ll also explain how you can create one for yourself and share some important tips for email signatures.

So, without much ado, let’s begin.

What is in an email signature?

An email signature is a small piece of information that you add at the end of your email. Emails evolved from traditional mail, and these traditional emails had “Valedictions” at the end of each mail. So, we can say email signatures are highly advanced versions of these valedictions.

Email signatures allow the writer to add some additional and contextual information to the email. Example, in the incident I talked about in the intro, Nathan’s email signature gave me a lot of additional information. It showed me who exactly Nathan is, what services his company offers, and how creative these guys are!

See? It would have taken almost 150 words to express what he expressed with a single email signature. So, a high-impact email signature has the potential to grab attention and share crucial information in a blink.

Now let’s take a look at some other benefits too.

Why do you need an email signature?

If you ask me one reason for having a great email signature, I’ll give you 7! Here are they:

Reasons #1: Your email looks professional

A great email signature oozes professionalism. Look, it’s very simple. For more professionals, an email signature is not a big deal. They don’t pay attention to it. But if you do, it clearly shows that you have a knack for attention to detail. You are focused on clear communication. On top of that, a good email signature acts like your business card, as it offers all the necessary contact information about you to the receiver.

On top of that, it gives a broad overview of what exactly you do and the overview of your company. As you add names, logos, details, and other information to the signature, your email will look polished and professional. And who doesn’t love such a professional email?

This small addition can shoot up your credibility and the recipient’s perception of your brand. Result? You can build a better business relationship, and through what? A small and simple email signature!

Reasons #2: It enhances brand recognition

Every brand wants to be popular. So, it has to take every opportunity to showcase its brand identity. Why do you think McDonald’s always has that McDonald’s statue outside its every outlet?

It’s purely for brand recognition. You can do the same with a professional email signature. You can create something that resonates with your brand. You throw in your brand logo, match the color palate, match the font, and bam!

You get yourself a powerful email signature that can help with your brand recognition. Now, every time you send an email, your receiver will see your signature and will relate it to your brand. So the next time they see any other material from your brand.

Every email acts as your branding tool as it subtly promotes your branding efforts. Such efforts can help strengthen your brand identity and experience growth.  

Reason #3: It provides quick access to important information

Emails are meant to carry important information. So what if someone wants to reach out to you and talk about the email you just shared? Or what if they want to explore your social presence if you just send them a cold-pitching email?

Would you want them to go through a lengthy procedure of finding your social profile, contact number, or contact email to reach out? That’s a big NO-NO, right?

But if you have a professional email signature, your problem is fixed. It will have everything from your contact information to your social platform links. Result?

They can find you wherever they want without breaking a sweat. Remember, always make reaching out to you easy. The fewer steps you have, the higher the conversion rate you’ll have, and vice-versa.

Reason #4: Increases social media engagement

Social media engagement is going down for almost every brand. And that’s not because the social media’s popularity is dipping. Instead, it’s due to the rising competition. More and more users are fighting hard to lure a big chunk of social media users.

So, you will have to do anything and everything possible to boost your own social media engagement. A well-designed email signature can prove its worth here, too.

When you have an email signature with your social media handle links, you can direct the recipients to those platforms. Result? More engagement, more subscribers, and more views. That’s great for boosting your social presence, right?

People tend to check social media pages and links when they are attached to some other information. Here, your primary information is your email, I agree. It’s serving its own purpose, again, I agree.

But if you have an email signature with social media handles, it acts like a cherry on top! More people will engage with your brand, and you will find more potential customers. It’s a simple yet effective way to leverage your email communication for broader marketing efforts​. Here’s a great example.

Do you see? There are 5 social media buttons right beside the contact information. This makes the email signature clutter-free and efficient.

Reason #5: Personalized communication

Look, people get tonnes of emails daily. And most of them are generic and automated. They don’t feel personal or unique. Result? Most of these emails are ignored. Now imagine what if you could have something unique as your email signature, just like what “Nathan” sent me a couple of days back?

This will entirely flip the game, to say the least. It will give your email a personal touch. The reader will feel that the brand is doing something different.

Some might not even notice that it’s your email signature that’s making your email stand out. Still, they would be impressed subconsciously. You can create an email signature with a photo or creative design element.

It could be anything that sets you apart from the rest of the emailers. This can help build a super strong relationship with the recipient.

When you have such elements in your email, it feels more human and less automated. And that’s exactly what clicks with the people today. People are tired of generic stuff. They want a fresh perspective. And such personalized email signatures can do that for you.

Check out this example. Don’t you think that by adding her photo and contact information to the signature, Jessica has made it more personalized?

Reasons #6: Drives traffic to your website

Now this might sound too outlandish, but it’s a fact. You can surely drive traffic to your website via an email signature. But how? Well, it’s pretty simple. You can replace your social media handle’s links with your website link. So now, when you send an email to your clients, they might click on your website’s link, and you will get more traffic.

In short, an effective email signature can act as a mini advertisement for your website. This is especially useful for increasing visits to specific landing pages, promotional offers, or new product launches.

The convenience of direct access encourages recipients to explore your business more. This ultimately leads to higher conversion rates and improved online engagement. This is a great example of the same.

Here, the sender has smartly placed a link of helpful information at the bottom! This will compel a lot of recipients to click on the link and drive traffic.

Reason #7: It helps achieve goals​

It doesn’t matter what goal you have in mind; a fantastic email signature can help you achieve that. Let me explain how. Let’s say you are promoting your app and want more people to download it. Now, if you subtly add your app’s download link to your email signature, recipients will feel a bit intrigued. Not many email signatures have links like those.

So what do you think they’ll do? Curiosity readers, curiosity! It will get the best of them and will compel them to click on that link. Result? The recipient will land on your app download page. And once they are there, there is a strong chance your recipient might download your app.

So, it’s a perfect way to promote and achieve your business goals. And remember, it’s not limited to adding the links to your app. You can use it to promote your surveys, give reviews, or follow your blog. Pretty neat, right?

Now that you know why you need an amazing email signature, the question left is how to create one. Let’s jump on to that.

How to create a fantastic email signature?

Email signatures are a reflection of your brand. So it’s very important to stick to your roots when you are designing one. Here are a few tips that can help you create an impressive email signature:

Focus on name and affiliation

This goes without saying. Nobody wants to talk to an anonymous John Doe! So make sure you add your first and last name to your email signature. Adding your job title and affiliation is equally important. Along with that, add your company affiliation.

This comprehensive information will help you establish credibility with the recipient. Check out this perfect example from the co-founder of Foxela. Name, title, and affiliations are clearly mentioned.

A lot of professionals do not entertain emails received from anonymous senders or someone with no job title. Underneath that, you can throw in your LinkedIn handle or contact information. But make sure your name is highlighted more at the top.

You can place the job title and company affiliation below that in a bit smaller font. Make sure you follow a proper design hierarchy to help recipients easily identify you and what you are offering.  

Maintains brand consistency

As I’ve said before, your email signature is the reflection of your brand. So, it has to look, feel, and sound similar to your brand identity. Keep it simple and silly. Do not throw in everything to make it complex.

People love simple things; they help them process information easily. Maintain your brand’s color tone; if you have a specific font, try to use that only.

Apart from that, do not use too many colors in your font; two is the upper limit. If you are adding your logo to the email signature, make sure the signature matches its color tone. And please, keep your signature readable!

Use darker colors with light backgrounds for more contrast. You can also add your social media icons or website to subtly promote your brand and boost traffic there.

Add interactive elements

This is another excellent option to make full use of your email signature. You can pick from a wide range of interactive elements for your email signature. Each one will bring in some extra benefit. For example, if you are an interior designer, you can add a link to a mini-carousel of your work.

This will give your recipients a chance to explore your work or product right there. They won’t have to visit your website separately to find and check out your work. Here’s a great example. The sender gives a direct option to explore the website or buy the product right from the email signature itself.

Another option is to use an embedded calendar to book an appointment! This can be an ingenious option, especially for professionals like dentists, doctors, accountants, lawyers, and other service providers.

An embedded calendar gives the recipient the convenience of booking an appointment without going through multiple steps. Remember, shortcuts are always better when it comes to customer journeys.

Apart from that, you can also add a video intro link for personal touch. This will allow your recipients to know more about your brand and its offerings. Such interactive elements can entirely transform how your email signatures impact your goals. They can help you highlight your capabilities, save time, and make a lasting impression.

Design hierarchy is everything

Humans tend to ignore good designs. But if there is something off with the design, their subconscious mind kicks into the action! The same goes for your email signature. Let’s say your company affiliation fonts are larger than your name.

Sounds off, right? When your recipient sees this type of signature, they’ll most likely subconsciously ignore your email. The reason is something doesn’t feel right to them. So do not make them that mistake.

Design hierarchy is your Holy Grail. Do not compromise it. Make sure critical information like your name and job title are visible in your email signature. This will help readers decide to connect with you in a split second.

On the top, try to use bold or colored text to amp up these critical details. Apart from that, do not experiment with too many fonts. It looks dull and unprofessional. Stick to one or at max two. The goal is not to show off your design skills. It’s all about grabbing the reader’s attention right away.

Use mobile-friendly designs

You know how important mobile optimization is, right? Today, 50% of the internet traffic comes via mobile devices. It’s a strong possibility that your recipient might also open your email via a mobile phone. So, it’s obvious that you will have to optimize your email signature for your mobile.

How to do it? Well, keep the design simple and easy to read.

Do not use small fonts, as they might not be readable from a mobile device. Make sure you are keeping proper distance between the icons in your email signature. This will ensure the users can click on whatever platform they want without messing it up.

Give different signatures to different departments.

This is a great way to offer clarity to your recipients. A lot of times, sales emails get ignored. Imagine you have sent a very important email to your recipient, but they discarded it, thinking it’s another sales email. It can cause a lot more damage than you think! So, is it a better option?

Give a unique email signature to each one of your departments. Tailor the signature of each department concerning its identity. For example, you can add elements like Call-To-Action to schedule a demo or promotional offer in your sales team CTA.

Similarly, you can add quick links to FAQs, support resources, and contact information for seamless assistance for your support team email signatures. Your Marketing team can showcase recent campaigns, social media links, and blog posts to drive engagement. This minor tweak can streamline interactions and reinforce your brand’s professionalism and attention to detail.

Custom signatures help convey the specific roles and expertise of each department, fostering trust and clarity among recipients. Additionally, it allows departments to highlight relevant achievements, certifications, or events, enhancing the overall perception of your company.

Now that you know how to create a great email signature, let’s take a look at a few things that you should avoid.

7 things to avoid in your email signature

Avoid overloading with information

Don’t cram too much information into your signature. That’s not an essay. Keep it concise and relevant to avoid overwhelming the recipient. Remember, when it comes to email signatures, the less is good!

Skip large images or files

Adding images is good, but not the big ones. When you add such images, they will load slowly, and the reader will pass by. Moreover, bigger images might not be displayed correctly across multiple devices. You can use small and well-optimized images instead. They will ensure you achieve your goals.

Don’t use excessive colors and fonts

Excessive colors and fonts can make your signature look confusing. It also looks unprofessional and chaotic. You don’t want that for your email signature. So, use minimal colors that match your brand, and the same goes for the fonts. Keep the signature clean and consistent.

Personal social media is a big NO!

You can add your company’s social media profile but not your personal one. That sends a bad message. You are not here to make friends for fun, right? But yes, if your personal profile is relevant to your role, then you can send it. But I strongly advise not to.

Don’t use outdated information

That’s a problem with a lot of email signatures. People create an email signature once and forget it forever. No, folks, that’s not how it works! You will have to constantly update information in your email signature. Update your new job role, new contact information, or links. This way, you do not miss out on a potential lead.

Skip unnecessary quotes or mottos

A short and professional quote might do some good. But a big and lengthy one feels irrelevant. So avoid it entirely. Using such quotes can distract your reader from the core email message.

Don’t include confidential information

Well, this one is for your own good. Do not add any confidential information to your signature. You are sending emails to a lot of people, some known and a lot of unknowns. So why risk breaching your privacy? So, stay away from sharing that thought.

Make the best out of your email signature

Email signatures are an amazing and yet almost untapped source of branding and marketing. A lot of businesses and professionals know about it but ignore it. Don’t become one of them. Professional email signatures can act as your brand ambassador and speak volumes about your attention to detail.

They can help you make a solid first impression and even prevent a reader from ignoring your email. As I mentioned in the beginning, I personally experienced that firsthand from Nathan! So the thing works, and I can personally vouch for that. So go ahead, explore the limitless possibilities of using an email signature, and make an impact.

Wrapping Up

I hope this guide on email signatures has offered you much-needed insights. Look, I have included quite a lot of information. You cannot deploy all of it at once. If you do, you will end up with a cluttered and unimpressive email signature that no one wants to look at!

So, do a little bit of research, identify what might stick with your audience, and then create one. Use the perfect combination of the tips I mentioned above, and you will have a confident and fantastic email signature.

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