Email signature 101: What to include, benefits, examples, & more
Does your text-only email signature need an upgrade? We've got you covered. Get email signature best practices for every profession and stand out every time you hit send 👇
What are the benefits of an email signature? 🤔
You might be asking yourself about the importance of a customised email signature, as opposed to simply just rounding off your emails with “Best” or “Kind Regards”.
So we're here to set the record straight. Here are the top 3 reasons why you need to invest in your email signature:
It’s personal 🤝
Customised email signatures are a way to express your personality to recipients, many of whom you may not have met.
For example, you can add a high-quality photo of yourself in your email signature to help recipients put a face to a name and humanise your email conversations.
If you or your team has recently won an award, you can include the relevant logo, like a Queen's Award for Enterprise, instantly increasing trust between you and the recipient.
With these extra details, you can help build both your company and your personal brand.
So now's the time to bin your default “Sent from my iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch” message once and for all.
It’s a great marketing tactic 🎯
Email signatures are great for marketers.
And adding clickable image CTAs to your email signature helps recipients connect with you and your brand in more meaningful ways.
But what is email signature marketing, exactly?
Well, let’s say you’re given the task to promote a new product or service on behalf of a company you work for. You can link a one pager describing its benefits in a clickable image CTA.
Social media icons, meanwhile, help recipients engage with your brand without being sold to. And eventually, when the recipient does make a buying decision, you'll be top of mind.
The takeaway? Signatures (when done properly) have the potential to be a strong aspect of your sales process or email marketing strategy.
It’s professional 👨🏽💼
Think of a professional profile on a company website. They usually a high-quality photo, basic but important information, and links to social media accounts.
Email signatures function in the same way, giving you credibility within your industry.
Email signatures also serve a professional branding purpose. Because if everyone in your company uses the same email signature template, it looks uniform and standardised.
What are the key components of a professional email signature? 🧑🏿🍳
Scroll or use the menu below to discover all the key ingredients of a professional email signature 👇
Basic information | High-quality visuals | Professional sign off | Simple design | Confidentiality | Animations| CTAs and social media icons
Basic Information
By looking at your email signature, recipients will know:
With that in mind, be sure to include:
Tip 1: Don’t include your email address because the recipient can just click “Reply”.
Tip 2: Remember, keep the above information simple and easy to understand. For example, a recipient may be confused about how to reach you if you include more than two phone numbers.
High-quality visuals 🤳🏿
Don’t include pixelated images. If you’re going to include a photo of yourself, make sure it’s high quality.
Images that are unclear may appear unprofessional and untrustworthy.
Tips on taking a professional photo of yourself
Lighting:
- Take your photo in a room with good natural lighting. For example, in a room with lots of windows.
Tip 1: Be aware that excessive sunlight may spoil the clarity of your photo.
Tip 2: If you take your photo at night, artificial lights might spoil the quality of the photo.
Background:
- Opt for a clear, light background like you would on a passport photo.
No cropped images:
- The set 1x1 measurement in email signature generators means that parts of your face will either be cropped out or overly zoomed in.
- Don’t forget to smile and present recipients with a friendly face. This’ll personalise your signature.
Professional sign off ✍🏻
Use phrases like “Best,” “Kind regards,” or “Many thanks”. Informal phrases like “Laters,” “Ciao,” and “In a bit” will make you sound unprofessional.
Simple design 👀
There’s nothing worse than an overcrowded email signature because it distracts the recipient.
Keep to one colour and font scheme. Ideally, it should be the one based around your brand or company.
And the same goes for clickable icons.
Finally, it's worth using a table or divider so you can make sure the design looks simple and all the information has been formatted correctly.
Confidentiality 🤐
So, you’ve made your email signature professional. But there's a final piece left in the puzzle:
They’re crucial as they ensure your email messages GDPR compliant. So don’t forget to put one in.
Animations 🤖
Animated GIFs are great for drawing attention because they're moving images. But including more than one is likely to distract your recipient.
An appropriate use of GIFs in an email signature is in your company logo. For example, you could use the first part of the GIF to make your company logo appear before following it up with your value proposition.
CTAs and social media icons 📈
As we mentioned earlier, clickable image CTAs are great additions to your email signature. They help you personalise your email marketing approach. And they can be used for several different reasons:
- Sharing or promoting content/content distribution.
- Highlighting special offers
- Linking meeting portals
Tip: Use a CTA to link a calendar where someone can set up a meeting with you. It takes the stress out of sifting through emails to find meeting links.
Just remember - don’t include multiple CTAs, and make sure they’re relevant to your business needs right now.
Using a generator tool is a great way to ensure your email signature has a high quality look to it every time. And in the clip below you'll find out how Cognism's email signature generator tool works 👇
Generating traffic with your email signature 🏎
Scroll or use the menu below to learn how email signature CTAs can help you drive traffic to your site 👇
What is a CTA? | How do you write a CTA? | What are CTA phrase examples? | What are the different CTA formats? | How should I use clickable social media icons?
What is a CTA? 🤷🏽♀️
A call to action helps customers take the most natural next step in their journey, whether that's reviewing further information, booking a demo, or purchasing a product.
An email signature CTA is a bonus marketing channel to use to help drive traffic to your site, and increase on-page conversions.
CTA email signatures are gold dust in B2B marketing.
How do you write a CTA? 🧑🏻💻
The wording should be clear, concise, and instructional. After all, you want to convince recipients to take the next step.
Once the action has been taken, you can then work on securing further commitment.
For example, you might want to convince someone to sign up for a newsletter. Your CTA should be worded like: “Subscribe to the newsletter now”.
The newsletter becomes a regular email in the customer’s inbox. After that, you can work on keeping that person committed to reading your content.
What are CTA phrase examples? 💡
CTAs should always directly address the customer. Don’t waffle or use long-winded phrases as you’ll risk losing traffic.
If you're at the top of the marketing or sales funnel (TOFU), use the phrases in the blue space. If you're in the middle of the marketing funnel (MOFU) use the phrases in the purple space. And if you're at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU) lean towards the phrases in the red space.
What are the different CTA formats? 🔁
There are several different types of clickable CTAs:
- Clickable social media icons with direct links to social media profiles.
- Clickable buttons that direct people to demand generation content e.g. YouTube videos, webinars, podcasts, eBooks, white papers, blog posts.
- Clickable banners that direct people to offers.
- CTAs that link and direct your target audience and customers to polls or surveys.
Remember: Be selective with the CTAs you include so you don’t overwhelm the recipient.
How should I use clickable social media icons? 📲
When you use social media icons, remember to link profiles that are valuable to your business. For example, don’t link your Twitter feed if you haven’t tweeted since 2010.
A note on design
CTAs and social media icons are also visual. That means you need to design your banner, button, or icon properly.
Make sure it’s the right size and not pixelated. If done well, clickable icons will be the first thing the recipient sees in the signature.
Email signature FAQs 🙋🏼♀️
Can I make my email signature for free?
Yes, you can manually make a signature, or you can make one using an email signature generator.
How do I create an email signature on Outlook?
Save icons→ Open “Outlook”→Hit “Settings”→Type “Signature” in search→ Click on “Email signature”→ Type in signature or paste from a generator.
How do I create an email signature on Apple Mail?
On iPhone:
Go to “Settings”→ Click on “Mail”→ Scroll down and tap on the “Signature” button→ Select either one or all accounts→ Delete “Sent from my iPhone”→Paste signature from the generator or type in the text box→ Exit “Settings”→ Click on “Mail”→ Write a new message and the signature will pop up.
On iPad:
Go to “Settings”→ Click on “Mail”→ Scroll down and tap on the “Signature” button→ Select either one or all accounts→ Delete “Sent from my iPad”→ Type in the text box→ Exit “Settings”→ Click on “Mail”→ Write a new message: the signature will pop up.
On Mac:
Click on “Mail” app→ Click on “Mail” icon in the app→ Open “Preferences”→ Click “Signatures”, then “All Signatures”→ Click the “+” sign→ Delete default name and email address→ Type in the text box→ Click “place signature above quoted text”→ Close “Preferences” and open “Mail”→ Open new draft message→ Select preferred signature.
On Apple Watch:
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone→ Scroll down and tap “Mail”→ Click on “Signature”→ Delete “Sent from my Apple Watch”→ Type in the text box→ Exit the Apple Watch app→ Launch “Mail” in your watch, and write your message→ The signature will appear after your message is sent.
How do I create an email signature on Gmail?
Open “Gmail”→ Open “Settings”→ Scroll down to “Signature” under “General”→ Click on signature/ hit “Create New” under “No Signatures” section→ Type signature→ Scroll down and “Save Changes”.
Why use a generator to make an email signature?
It’s easier to create a professional, custom email signature if you use the generator. All you have to do is paste it into the relevant textbox when you’re adding a new signature.
It’s much easier to add extras such as:
- CTAs and social media icons
- Colour
- Images/logos
What size should my email signature be?
300-600 pixels wide and 150-200 pixels high. These are the best dimensions.
Make sure you test your final email signature on different devices.
What are some things to avoid when creating an email signature?
- Overcrowding the email signature. Stick to one font, one colour scheme, and a select few images. Plus, don’t overdo it with CTAs and social media icons. Less is more.
- Inserting cheesy quotes. There’s no place for a “Live laugh love” quote on your email signature. This is important especially for professional email signatures.
What is a clickable email signature?
A clickable email signature includes CTAs such as social media icons or clickable banners. They will lead to sites, content, or portals for meetings.
How should I go about designing my email signature?
Keep it simple. Align with the colours of your company, and use one font. Make sure it all fits together nicely.
Are email signatures necessary?
Email signatures are necessary for a couple of reasons:
- They help to make a lasting impression: you’ll stand out as you won’t be using default messages like everyone else.
- They’re great for marketing. Clickable icons can keep conversations going and generate traffic to your sites.
- You can use your email signature as part of your go-to-market strategy, and share TOFU content.
If you want to create strong brand recognition, then an email signature is a great way to do this. Each time a new email drops in the recipient’s inbox, they’re reminded of you and your brand.
Why is my email signature blurry/not clear/pixelated?
There’s a couple of reasons why your email signature might be blurry:
- If your mobile device scaling settings haven’t been set, the signature might be coming out fuzzy.
- Not using the correct format for images. Make sure they’re in a PNG format.
How do I create a unique email signature?
A unique email signature is all about creating an email signature that’s personal and special to you. It helps with engagement with your brand, as it’ll stand out from other people who perhaps haven’t invested as much time into their email signature. Recipients will recognise your email signature to be unique, because you’ve paid attention to little details, even aligned it with current trends.
Here are some components to think about including when creating a unique email signature:
- A colour scheme e.g. colours of your personal branding/the company you work for
- Clickable icons
- Photograph of yourself
- Company logo or image
- GIFs
- Gender pronouns
- Causes you support
And there we have it! You're ready to create your professional email signature 🤝
