With an incredible 269 billion emails sent every day around the world, it stands to reason, emails are a vital form of communication for small businesses. Email signatures are an important part of a small business’s identity, helping nurture consistency and professionalism.
Email Signature Best Practices
If you want to improve what is likely to be one of your most prevailing forms of business communication, take a look at the following 15 best email signature practices.
Have an Email Signature Practice in Place
First and foremost, you should have an email signature practice in place. As Ivana Taylor, small business marketing expert, online publisher, influencer and publisher of DIYMarketers.com, told Small Business Trends:
“The most important email signature practice is to HAVE ONE. I’m astonished at how many people have NO email signature.
Make It Clear Who You Are
It might sound obvious, but your email signature needs to include your name and your position in the business, so recipients know exactly who you are.
Include Information About How People Can Reach You
Emails provide the perfect opportunity to provide recipients with your contact information. As Ivana Taylor advises:
“Every email signature needs to have (at the very least) your name, physical address, best number to reach you, your email address, as well as a skype address (for international folks).”
Include Links to Social Media Channels
Encourage your email recipients to find and follow you on social media by including links to your social media channels on your email signature.
Make Your Email Signatures Mobile Friendly
Did you know that 50% of all emails are sent from mobile devices?
As Growth Mail, providers of innovative email signature software recommend, rather than sending emails that feature unprofessional “sent from my mobile” messages, send emails that “still feature your professionally designed email stationery and clickable marketing messages,” wherever you are.
Include a Headshot on Your Email Signature
Enhance the professionality of your emails further by including a headshot so that people know what you look like. According to Ivana Taylor this matters for a host of reasons.
“If you’ve never met someone and you’re going to finally meet at a conference — the image is a big help. But here’s another tip — use the SAME headshot image for ALL of your profiles including your email signature because this makes it easy for people to confirm that the John Smith that is writing the email is the same John Smith on LinkedIn for example. If you have a popular name, it’s critical that you give people as much information as you can so that they can connect with YOU and not someone else.”
Create a Clear Design
Fussy email signatures that are long and cumbersome can confuse and put recipients off. Aim to create a clean, clear and consistent design. As Chamaileon, experts in email signature design, recommend:
“Your email signature design shouldn’t be too long. Don’t include more than 7 lines. Don’t share too many details about yourself. It’s not your biography. Needless to say, you shouldn’t include personal details either.”
Add a Link to Your Blog or Website
Email signatures are a great opportunity to promote your blog or website, so be sure to include a link to them.
Provide Links to Featured Products
Ivana Taylor also advises using email signatures to add links to featured products.
Feature Links to Case Studies
Sophia Bernazzani, writer and editor of the HubSpot Service blog recommends linking to case studies in an email signature.
“If you’re talking to potential customers, what’s better than sharing stories of successful ones?”
Add Links to an Automated Meeting Scheduler
Ivana Taylor says small businesses should think about adding a link to an automated meeting scheduler, “so that people can schedule meeting with you.”
Include Free Tools on Your Email Signatures
If your small business has a free tool, help engage recipients and generate greater interest in your business and its services or products by including a link to your free tool on your email signature.
Have a Professional Sign Off
“With much love” wouldn’t look too professional in a business email. Whilst there is no right or wrong, it’s a good idea to have a professional email sign off practice throughout the business, such as “best regards” or “yours sincerely.”
Keep Email Signatures Consistent and On Brand
The emails you send are a representation of your business and your brand. Make them recognizable by using the same branding that identifies your business, such as the color, font and logo.
As Lisa East, Senior Account Manager at Autoweb Design and Marketing and Sales Consultant at The Thinking Cap, advises:
“Keep it on brand, make sure you keep to your colour palette.”
Go Through All of the Platforms that You Use and Make Sure You Have a Signature
Reiterating Growth Track’s recommendations to ensure your email signatures are mobile friendly, Ivana Taylor advises going through all the platforms that you use making sure you have a signature.
“Your email signature is valuable marketing real estate — so be sure to use it to its full potential,” said the marketing expert.
Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “15 Email Signature Best Practices” was first published on Small Business Trends