Your Email - A Marketing Opportunity
Your send email everyday as part of your business communication. Don't miss this opportunity to simply and easily market your brand. Create one or more email signatures that are appended to the bottom of each and every email you send out. You wouldn't think of closing a letter without putting it on lettehead and adding a signature, so why send an email without including your buisness name and contact information.
What does your email address say about you?
Are you still using that silly aol address your kids made up for you? or a free account that has ads at the bottom? If you are using your email for business make sure that your email address looks like it. You can get a free gmail account and if you have your own website url, then by all means, use it for your email (Susan@SusanLeinen.com). If you don't have your own url, you can still get an email with your company name in it. (SusanLeinenDesign@gmail.com) Make sure that when you set up your email account you set up your name to show up in the "from" list. These practices will help you avoid having your email marked as spam as well.
What to include in an email signature
Promote your brand.
Include your company name, tagline, and website as a hyperlink. Type out the full "http://mywebsite.com" so that those who would rather copy and paste it into a browser than click the link.
Contact information.
Include at least your email, (I know that they have it in the "From," but they might be looking for it here.) and business phone number. If social media is an important part of your marketing strategy (and it should be) include the link to your facebook and/or other social media accounts.
Keep it brief and readable. Don't add any unnecessary information; if it's too wordy, people won't take the time to look at it anyway. Save your favorite quote or joke for your personal email signatures.
What about logos?
Adding your logo could be a nice extra, but keep in mind that some email readers won't see it all if they have their email set to block photos, so DON'T make an image that has all your contact information in it and then paste that in as your signature. Also, any images you add will show up as attachments to your email and it can be confusing for folks that are really trying to download the important document you attached and not your mini-me portrait.
How do I create an email signature?
Creating an email signature is different in each email program that you use. Here are some links to help you navigate the details in your email program:
Microsoft Outlook - http://email.about.com/od/outlooktips/qt/Create_Email_Signature_Outlook.htm
GMail - http://email.about.com/od/gmailtips/qt/et_signature.htm
Yahoo! Mail - http://email.about.com/od/yahoomailtip1/qt/How_to_Set_Up_Your_Yahoo_Mail_Signature.htm
Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail or Outlook Express - http://email.about.com/od/livemaildesktoptips/qt/How_to_Create_a_Signature_in_Windows_Live_Mail_Outlook_Expre.htm
Fastmail - http://email.about.com/cs/fastmailtips/qt/et123103.htm
Here's two more articles about best practices for creating an email signature:
The Art and Science of the Email Signature
20 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Signature
Do you regularly send out emails to a group?
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DCP
