Let’s talk about email signatures: Are they important?

Do people actually care about email signatures? Why, yes. Yes, they do. And this is exactly why you should, too. For starters, an email signature is the small part of your email you see on the bottom. It’s a quick snippet of your information that’s packed with the essentials: name, job title, contact details, website, and sometimes even social media accounts. 

What’s important to understand in all of this is that email signatures play a major role in your personal brand. Whether you’re a freelancer or a company executive, that small bit of information found in the lower corner of your email says a lot about what you have to offer. 

Why email signatures are important

We live in a world that’s obsessed with labels. And while it’s easy to argue that this can be politically damaging, being categorized in the context of business is crucial. At the end of the day, we are all extensions of each other and an expanded network enables you to better market yourself. The wider your network, the easier it is for you to score clients and gigs and close deals. Whatever contribution you bring to the table, remember that how people perceive you and the value of your work is intricately tied to what energy you exude, whether digital or not.

As a result, it’s important to consider how you can translate this onto your emails, too. What’s great about them is that they’re customizable and anyone can get creative. This becomes especially useful when you’re looking for a job, reaching out to potential business partners, or contacting private institutions. This gives them a preview of who they’re talking to and what position you carry. 

The question now is how your signature can leave a lasting impact without it being over-the-top or tacky. 

Here are a few tips you can consider when crafting the perfect email signature:

Design can be everything

Because this bit is roughly 2-3 lines of vital and personal information, your design can make or break the impact you want others to have on you. A catchy design emphasizes crucial information, all while garnering meaningful attention. If you don’t represent a company or a particular brand then your design elements should be true to your professional self—however you deem it to be.

Simplicity is key

This is the bottom part of your email. You wouldn’t want confetti or dramatic jazz hands popping out of nowhere when they reach the end of your message. Minimalism isn’t limited to interior design and less will always be more; this proves to be even more true in your email signature. Don’t overwhelm your reader with loud design elements such as oversized fonts or a plethora of colors. Use 2-3 colors at most. 

Be faithful to your brand

Brand recallability is vital in client retention. Use this opportunity to remain faithful to whatever company, advocacy, or affiliation you’re a part of. If you work for an enterprise that has a predominantly red logo, then use the same shade of red. If your company’s logo has round, un-sharp edges, find a way to incorporate that into your signature, as well. 

This makes for a cohesive aesthetic and lets your recipient remember you more easily. 

Let your fonts do the talking

If it isn’t clear yet, comic sans isn’t an ideal font for a signature. But so are many other fonts. Similar to the rule on colors, don’t puzzle your recipients with fancy and sophisticated fonts. Clean and simple ones should do the job. What’s more, it’s also important for a font hierarchy to be established. For example, you wouldn’t want your name to be as large as the title you hold. By making your name is a tad bigger than your position, you allow your reader to recall who you are rather than only who you are in an organizational chart. 

Your text also needs space

Space is just as important as font size and color. Clumped texts can discourage recipients from intentionally going over your signature. It’s important to have gaps in your letters and lines to accentuate various pieces of information. You want your reader to be able to distinguish which of your text is your name, your position, and your company. Consider space to be dividers minus the actual walls.  

Factor in how your email signature will look like on a phone 

People now live on their smartphones. Which means you should use this to your advantage. This also means that you should make sure they’re easy on the eyes both for laptop and smartphone users. To better cater to mobile users, make icons and link clickable. To avoid accidental taps, use appropriate spacing between every word. And as mentioned earlier, make sure your font is clear and readable enough. A clever way of looking at it is by asking yourself, which font you’d be if you were to turn into one. Don’t just ask yourself which font you like. Examine what kind of strokes best interpret you. 

Social media can be helpful

This varies greatly depending on who you email and what your business is. If you’re out to create a stronger, sturdier following, linking your social media can do you good. Accounts like LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter become more accessible if you make them visible in your emails. Here’s a pro-tip: instead of including the actual links to these accounts, put in their corresponding icons so they don’t take up a lot of space. 

Put in your universal contact information

If you have global clients, it’ll be useful to include your VoIP contact so they can reach you much faster. Whether Skype or Viber, make your recipients know there are other communication platforms they can reach you through. Know that not everyone will want to contact you through social media, and so leaving other communication platforms makes you more approachable. 

At the end of the day, your email signatures have to embody who you are. The challenge here is not overdoing it, but still finding a way for it to stand out. For best results, consult with an email checker to avoid the pitfalls of email branding and marketing.