The humble email signature is perhaps the most overlooked marketing opportunity in daily business communications. An effective signature can be a subtle, powerful way to reinforce who you are and what you represent. It serves as another marketing channel by encouraging recipients to follow links to learn more about your company.

At first. it might sound trivial to say that email signatures should included in a B2B digital marketing strategy. Trust us, it’s sillier not to include them. According to a 2015-2019 study by Radicati Group, Inc, the average office worker sends 40 emails per day. Think about it. That's 40 opportunities you have to market your company in those daily emails you send off.

As you will see, designing great email signatures takes careful consideration. You need to combine informational content and presentation in a way that serves your readers. But paying attention to these types of details is ultimately what will make you stand out from competitors.

What Is a Professional Email Signature

Throughout our careers, many of us have undoubtedly searched for a professional email signature template. Maybe we’ve used a free email signature generator to try to get a step up.

This preoccupation with signatures goes beyond individual concern. Companies need to make sure that employees are using their signatures wisely; and that they are consistent and convey a professional image.

Why is the signature such a crucial part of business email etiquette?

A simple way to think of a business email signature is that it is your digital business card.

Not having a good footer to close your email is like going to a conference without a card to hand out. The people you approach will not remember you as clearly or know how to contact you later on.

So, a typical email signature tells people who they’re dealing with so you can start building a rapport. Beyond providing contact information, you can take things a step further and transform your signature into a marketing communications channel. For instance, by including things like your company logo, branding elements, social media links, or a call to action.

Why Email Signatures Are Important

Ending your business emails with a professional signature isn’t just a formality. We maintain that an effective email signature is an integral part of a successful email marketing strategy. These days, there’s even a term for it – email signature marketing.

It is predicted there will be 4.3 billion email users (half of the world’s population) by 2023. The average office employee receives over 121 emails each day. With this competition for attention in your prospect's inbox, a strong signature helps you stand out from the crowd.

Good email signatures enhance your professional image and help develop relationships based on trust. People know you who you are, why you’re contacting them, and how they can easily reach you. It helps you advertise your organisation by enticing readers to visit your website, social media channels, or look through your portfolio.

It is an easily implemented way to aid communication, drive brand awareness, and create a long-lasting impression.

What to Put in a Professional Email Signature

A signature that only lists your name and basic contact information cannot take full advantage of this potential marketing channel.

Don’t go overboard by including every piece of information you can think of. Rather than being helpful, the more things you link to, the more likely your reader will experience choice paralysis.

So, what should your company email signature include? Your brand, work culture, and even your industry will decide this. However, here are some easily implemented signature tips for elements you can include.

Name, title, and organisation. You should include your full name, your position or your professional title, and the affiliate company or organisation you're representing. It is also becoming more common to include your preferred personal pronouns when emailing individuals you've never met. This removes any ambiguity, especially if your name is viewed as gender-neutral.

Contact information. Your contact information should include your business website and office address. It should also include at least one phone number (with a country prefix if you work internationally).

Note: Some people say including your email address in a signature is unnecessary. However, some email clients (such as Microsoft Outlook) show display names rather than email addresses in the “From” field. If your email is forwarded, it can be difficult for readers to reply if they don’t already know you. Including your email address in your signature is a fail-safe in these types of situations.

Social media icons. 80% of people who use professional email signatures in their business communications include social links. This can be an effective way to help prospects or clients learn more about you. However, don’t add an icon for every single platform you use. Select current social accounts that coincide with your professional goals – LinkedIn, for example.

Photo or logo. A headshot in your signature can humanise your emails by letting the reader put a face to your name. Likewise, including a logo in your email signature can assist with brand recognition.

Other elements (optional). There is a host of other useful elements you might include in your signature, and that can be included in any campaign planning activity. For example:

• A link to your booking calendar

• A CTA to receive your latest blog post

• A link to a white paper or video presentation

• A banner with the latest deal or offer

• A link to a product landing page

• Customer reviews or testimonials

• Relevant awards and certificates

Depending on your industry and place of operation, there might also be specific laws governing email signatures for business communications. For instance, including legal disclaimers.

Again, the point of a signature isn’t self-aggrandisement. And you mustn’t overwhelm people with extraneous bits of information. Create a good user experience by only including those features that provide actual value to the email recipient.

How to Make Your Email Signature Look Professional

A well-designed email signature is visually interesting without being flashy. It should get attention while keeping things professional.

Here are some best practices to help your company get its email footer looking at its best.

Use simple and consistent brand colours. Incorporate your brand colours in your signature to make it pop out from the rest of your email. Pick one or two colours that will help showcase dark text. 

Follow visual design hierarchy. You want to present your information in an easily digestible manner. Similar to a well-designed resume, use visual hierarchy to direct readers' eyes to the elements they should pay attention to first. Use font size, distinct font styles (plain, bold, italic), and colour to help guide the eye through your signature’s design. 

Use space dividers. Space dividers are a useful tool for breaking up different types of information in your design. For instance, presenting each element (your name, contact information, and calls-to-action) on a separate line makes it easy to read. You can also use dividers such as the vertical bar symbol (|) to emphasise specific pieces of information.

Make every link trackable. Make any links and social media icons you include in your signature trackable. This is the only way you’ll be able to determine whether those links are driving action. This allows you to test out different wording and format to optimise performance.

Use responsive design. You want your company’s email signature to look good and be functional across a wide variety of devices. As you figure out your design, make sure everything can scale correctly to different screen sizes. 

How to Create a Professional Email Signature

As you can see, a lot of thought goes into a well-designed email signature. However, implementing these signatures is a straightforward process with the right tools.

An email signature management solution that we’re happy to recommend to our readers is Exclaimer. Its advanced features let you take your email signature marketing to the next level:

• It integrates with multiple email clients, including Office 365, G Suite, and Outlook so you can access contact details.

• You can segment signature elements depending on what applies to the recipient – e.g. promote specific articles, add a booking link, etc.

• You can add specific time limits to the things you’re promoting in your email signatures, such as a conference or special offer. 

• You can create email signatures depending on the context. For example, you can attach a full signature when initially contacting a new prospect. As the conversation continues, you automatically switch to a more simplified signature that doesn't clutter up the thread while continuing to build a more organic connection. 

• You’re able to group employees so that signature elements can be more relevant to their function. For example, localised legal disclaimers for team members operating in different jurisdictions.

• It allows you to easily add fully HMTL signatures to your emails from both desktop and mobile devices. This ensures a consistent customer experience and helps maintain your professional image. No more closing with an awkward “Sent from my iPhone” plain-text email signature when working on the go. 

Exclaimer lets your marketing team manage email signatures centrally so you can be more strategic about this piece of marketing real estate. 1827 Marketing likes Exclaimer so much that we have become their official partners. Clients of ours who buy Exclaimer through us as part of their content marketing and marketing automation services get the additional benefit of having our team manage their email designs and campaigns for them.

If you want to learn more about email marketing strategy, contact 1827 Marketing. Our expert team will help you build an email marketing solution around the specific needs of your business.