There are lots of elements to a successful email, but many brands and professionals underestimate the power of their signatures.

Your email signature tells your recipients who sent the message, of course, but it also lends legitimacy to your content and/or your request. And if you really take the time to do it right, it can increase your engagement levels and get you a lot more responses.

Here’s what to know about email signatures, including easy ideas that you can use to go beyond the standard elements and get more bang for your signature buck.

Why Your Email Signature Matters

Getting your email signature right offers several benefits, regardless of who you’re reaching out to and why.

For starters, email signatures take the guesswork out of contact recognition. It’s one of the fastest ways for a recipient to figure out who sent them the message, both in terms of the brand itself and the individual team member.

Email signatures also give your email authority. Whether you’re sending out a consumer-focused email newsletter or a cold outreach email to a potential lead, your signature tells the recipient that the email is coming from a real person, not just a nameless bot.

Finally, email signatures make it easy for recipients to get in touch. By providing a quick snapshot of your name and contact information, you make it a lot more likely that someone who has a question or wants to learn more will actually take the time to do so. Since they don’t have to dig around to figure out who their best contact is, there’s a higher chance that they will contact you.

All of this adds up to emails with higher engagement rates. So, let’s look at some ways that you can maximize your email signature! 

15 Ideas to Improve Your Email Signature

You’ve got one email signature, so make it count. But before you do anything fancy, make sure that you have the tried-and-true essentials of email marketing in place: your name, your email address, your company website, your phone number, and links to your main business-focused social media profiles. Next, consider adding a few of the following:

1. Add Your Calendly Link

If a recipient wants to schedule a time to chat, providing a Calendly link will be much more efficient than a bunch of back-and-forth emails.

2. Link to Live Chat 

In the same vein, you can also include a link to your Slack DM, your Skype, or your Microsoft Teams Chat page, all of which allow leads and prospects to get in touch immediately with questions or requests.

3. Link to Review Your Product

A Yelp or Google Review link can encourage someone to leave a product review they may not have taken the time to do otherwise.

4. Link to Sign Up for Your Email eNewsletter

The best way to grow your newsletter contact list is organically; the more channels you can create for doing so, the better. Including a link to your newsletter sign-up is one great way to do it, and it also makes it simple for recipients to share that link with others.

5. Link to What You’re Reading or Writing

A link to your blog or sales enablement content can help boost your thought leadership credentials and clue recipients in on what you’re all about. Alternatively, you could link to a relevant piece written about you as another way to lend legitimacy to your message.

6. Link to Your Product Demo

Prospects and leads are busy, so instead of having them sign up for a personalized demo, you could link to a general demo and, from there, connect for more one-on-one discussions.

7. Use Emojis

An emoji is a way to stand out and make your email seem a bit more friendly and personable. It isn’t always the right way to go, so first, decide if it’s in line with the tone and image you want to convey for your brand and appropriate for the person or group of people you’re sending your email to.

8. Include Badges You’ve Earned

Plug in some bragging rights by including honorable badges such as your GetApp rating, Google Review rating, Inc 5000 placement, or another share-worthy “best of” list your company made it onto.

9. Include Your Favorite Quote

A short quote could be a memorable sign-off for your signature, though like an emoji, it should be considered in context with your general tone and the expectations of your recipient(s).

10. Have an Image of Yourself or Your Company Logo

Many professionals end their signatures with an image. Just make sure to do some testing so that you know it actually shows up instead of that dreaded broken attachment thumbnail.

11. Add Brand Colors

Adding brand colors to your email signature is a great way to make it stand out. Brand colors can help to add some personality to your signature and make it easier for people to remember your brand.

12. Link To Your Social Media Profiles

If you want to take your email signature to the next level, include links to your social media profiles. This is a great way to promote your personal brand and connect with potential clients or customers. Make sure to include links to social media profiles with a professional presence, such as LinkedIn.

13. Link To a CTA

Add a call-to-action (CTA) to your email signature to give recipients an easy way to learn more about you and your work. A CTA could be a link to your website, blog, or online portfolio. You can also use it to attract new business and leads by promoting your resources and events. Irrespective of the CTA you choose to include, make sure it’s relevant and valuable for recipients.

14. Showcase a Relevant Offer

Do you have a special promotion on one of your products or services? Or a seasonal, limited-time offer? Your email signature is a great place to promote it! By including a short link to a landing page that offers more details about current discounts and offers, you can get more eyes on your products and services, which could help to boost sales.

15. Add Some Animation

An animated email signature can make your sign-off eye-catching and memorable. You can add a short animation that plays when someone opens your email as a fun way to add personality to your signature. For example, you could animate your image into a gif, add a small, animated graphic to highlight your company logo, or animate your name. 

What Is An Email Signature Generator?

An email signature generator helps you create a custom signature for your email. These tools allow you to include your name, contact information, website, personal message, slogan, social media links, and other fun elements (depending on the email signature generator you use).

Email signature generators let you create email signatures that express your personality whilst keeping your sign-off professional. These tools allow you to choose from various templates and create your signature in just a few minutes or create your custom signature from scratch.

Email Signature Generators to Try

Many different email signature generators are available online to help you create a custom signature for your email account. Below are a few you can use to create custom email signatures:

Things To Avoid in Email Signatures

Below are a few things to avoid when crafting your email signatures:

  • Don’t make it too long. An email signature should be concise and sweet – around four or five lines at most.
  • Don’t overwhelm your recipients with too much information. Keep it to your name, title, contact information, and a few other elements of your choice for the best results.
  • Don’t use a hard-to-read font for your signature details.
  • Don’t include unnecessary information.
  • Don’t use too many social links. Keep it to the most important and relevant ones.
  • Don’t forget to make sure that your signature is optimized for mobile viewing.  

With a bit of experimentation, you can find the right balance of content for your email signature. You may also want to adapt your signature depending on who you’re reaching out to, especially for general outreach vs. specific lead interactions.

Your email sign-off is more than just your name and contact information. It’s an opportunity to show off your personality, build trust, and leave a lasting impression. With a little creativity, you can take your email signature to the next level.

Author Bio:

by Benchmark Team