This is a guest post from EducateTips.
Everything must be perfect in your professional email: the subject line, body content, and signature. Yep, even the signature is an essential element of an email. But most senders overlook it.
In fact, email signatures can be a powerful branding tool, allowing you to further personalize your message and create a valuable first impression on your recipients.
If you want your clients to respond to your emails, it’s time to create a professional email signature they can trust. This quick guide will help you understand which elements you should add and which to exclude from your signature.
How should I create a professional email signature?
Below we’ve listed some simple steps you can take to ensure your email signature looks professional every time.
Keep it simple
A professional email signature should contain only the most important information. Its optimal length is 3-4 lines. There’s no reason your signature can’t follow a basic structure like this one:
- Your Name
- Job title (optional), Company name (or website name) with a hyperlink
- Phone number
Simple is often better, as a busy signature can be distracting. Worse, it can look spammy to your recipients. Use only one title and phone number, rather than multiple.
Secondly, too many contact options can cause a paradox of choices. When you provide too many contacts to choose from, your recipients may feel confused by the information you’ve provided. Provide your recipients with the most seamless options for reaching out to you.
Don’t add your email
As you may have noticed, our signature example doesn’t include an email address. When your clients receive an email from you, they can simply click reply to write you back. There’s no reason to overload your signature with useless elements.
Even if your company has several locations and employees, there’s no need to include several addresses in a signature. You can easily use geo-targeting to customize your campaign.
If you utilize email platforms similar to Campaign Monitor, you can enter a personalization tag in the ‘From Name’ area. Then, the system will automatically replace the default email address to the most appropriate reply-to-address (i.e. the contact email address for a salesperson in an individual client’s city).
Upload a photo
In 2018, personalization became the #1 marketing trend. Contemporary consumers want to know the companies they support, and they want to feel known in return.
So, if you truly want to personalize your email signature, you should add your photo. What are the major photo requirements? Your image should be like any other professional headshot: clear, high-quality, and of course, it should be a photo of you.
If you don’t want to add your photo, consider instead using the logo of your company. While this doesn’t personalize your email signature in the same way, it can increase brand awareness for your business.
Consider adding an animated GIF
If you are looking to make a colorful impression, consider utilizing a GIF. If you add this element to your email signature, it will instantly grab the recipient’s attention. It’s a brand new way to make your signature look original, innovative, and catchy.
Remember, though, some email services and programs may block GIF files. In most cases, it depends on internal security.
Add links to social profiles
Integrating social media into your email marketing strategy is essential. In fact, the top communication preference for Gen Z is social media. So, if you want to encourage your clients to message you back, you should add links to your social profiles.
If you’re going to link to your social media profiles, make sure they’re professional. Your profile should be an extension of your professional persona, so don’t post offensive or controversial material. Remember, it’s crucial to use social platforms to build (not ruin) brand trust.
Here’s one last bit of advice if you’re considering linking your social media profiles: Don’t link them unless you use them frequently. Ultimately, you’re providing social media profiles so clients can reach you in a number of ways. If you most likely won’t respond via Twitter, don’t link it.
Pro-tip: remove “Sent from my iPhone”
Several years ago, experts in email marketing believed the short phrase, “Sent from my iPhone” in an email signature would increase CTR. They claimed it allowed the sender to create an image of a successful professional, someone who followed changing technology trends.
But times have changed, and iPhones are luckily no longer exclusive to a certain subculture. In 2017, a number of iPhones in use worldwide exceeded 728 million. Plus, sending an email to your client from an iPhone can feel hasty and impersonal.
Think twice before adding a quote
In some rare cases, you can also add a funny, inspirational, or motivational quote to your email signature to boost engagement. For instance, a fitness instructor might include a phrase about determination, or a therapist might include a suggestion on self-care. If a recipient finds this quote useful, it could start a dialogue.
However, in most cases, overused quotes only irritate recipients. It lengthens an email signature and can even kill the professional tone. If a quote won’t support your corporate image, don’t bother.
Add a call-to-action button
Including call-to-action is important for your marketing. You should convince your clients that they need to act here and now. You can invite them to make a call, learn more, book an appointment, or read your blog.
In other words, pinpoint the actions they should take. If your message is clear, recipients will not hesitate to click the button. It will help you drive CTR and hopefully even reach campaign goals.
Select proper color schemes and fonts
There’s nothing wrong with using colors in your signature, but keep in mind that any hues should match the overall color scheme of your brand.
Try to make your email signature clean, readable, and clickable. If you lack artistic ability, you should delegate this task to a professional designer, who understands the intricacies of quality design.
Optimize for mobile
Mobile is valuable to your marketing efforts. In fact, 57% of all online U.S. traffic came from smartphones and tablets in 2018. Most people tend to spend more than 3 hours a day on their phones, and they check their inboxes multiple times throughout the day.
In other words, your email signature needs to work on mobile devices.
In fact, this influx of mobile traffic is one of the most important reasons for simple email signatures. The less information your signature contains, the better optimized it will be. Also, make sure your text is readable on all displays.
Run A/B testing
No matter how well you researched the preferences of your target audience, it’s impossible to predict how effectively your email signature will work.
Fortunately, you can run A/B testing to find out which elements of the signature attract people most. For instance, you can test how different fonts sizes and colors work, whether animated GIF is useful, or whether the quote is necessary. Check only one element at a time to get accurate results.
Wrap up
A professional email signature is great for promoting your personal brand and increasing CTR. What’s more, it can be a simple and easy way to build trust with your clients.
If you want to encourage recipients to connect with your company, design a quality, professional signature.
Want an unforgettable email to go with that signature? Sign up for Campaign Monitor today.
About the author: Daniela McVicker is a specialist in email marketing and SMM with a genuine passion for writing and technologies.