Don’t miss out on the opportunity to build your brand email by email.
When I was a kid, I’d write letters. Like real letters – with a pen and paper! When I ended the letter, I’d have a closure that changed depending on who I was writing “Love,” “Sincerely,” etc. Even my name would change because everyone called me something different – Jen, Jenny, Jennifer. But one thing would always be the same. How I signed it. I always included a little smiley face. That became my sort of trademark. When someone got a letter from me, they could expect that smiley face on every one.
Your company’s email signature should be handled the same way. While it may differ depending on who’s writing it and the subject matter enclosed, it should LOOK the same no matter what. Here are a few things to consider.
1. Keep a consistent look across your company
It’s a no-brainer that your company needs a logo. It’s a visual representation of you and your company and helps you develop an identity. Logos can be placed on clothing, stationery, business cards and an umpteen amount of promotional items. As you plan the rollout of your new logo, please don’t forget about your email signature. Develop a look for the email signature that keeps the same style across every employee and every email program to maintain the same, consistent message.
2. Build your signature in html instead of an attachment
Here’s a pet peeve from me. Set your email signature up as html and NOT as an attachment. This means you need to put your logo up on a server (i.e. your website’s media library) and reference that logo in some code in your signature. Signatures done this way don’t appear to have attachments on the recipients end (thankfully) and will allow your logo to appear inside the email chain when they are forwarded. Plus, all of your contact info is in actual text allowing the reader to tap it if they’re reading the email on their phone and call you without typing in the number.
Negotiate this as part of you logo design package or have your web designer develop this for you. It’s not hard to do yourself either. There are some email signature programs out there that you can use. Hubspot has a free generator that’s easy to use and will export the html code for you when it’s done.
3. Take into account different email programs and devices
Be thorough! I send emails from my computer, my mobile phone, my website and my webmail. No matter where I send it from, the email signature looks the same! It’s a little extra work but it’s worth it in the end. It’s another way to make sure that you’re keeping with the overall brand of your company.
4. Use your domain and a sensible email over the free email services available
I know that having a gmail or hotmail account is easy because it’s free but are you missing out on some opportunities by doing that? When I’m developing marketing ideas for people, we talk about the end goal. It’s usually to send traffic to their website so that we can track how successful the campaign was and allows us to find out more about our customers in an effort to build upon that. Using an email that is yourname@yourdomain.com is much more effective than golfingnut@gmail.com. It helps build traffic to your website and makes it easy for people to remember.
5. Add legitimacy to your electronic communications and build relationships
Countless emails are sent every day. It has become a necessary form of communication. I often follow up a phone call with an email that sums up what we talked about so people can refer back at a future date. Emails that end with a professional looking signature simply look more professional and offer a level of legitimacy that plain text emails just don’t have. Having a professional signature just shows that you’re invested in your company enough that you took the time to build the signature. And let’s face it, consistent email signatures help distinguish you from a bot posing as you!
There are a few people I’ve worked with and for that I’ve never actually met in person. Some I’ve never even talked to on the phone! Providing a photo inside your email signature puts a face with a name and makes it that much easier to build a relationship with someone.
6. Make your contact information easy to find
Sometimes it takes a long time to gain a customer. You have to be there at the right time. Don’t miss out on a new opportunity because your potential customer can’t find your contact info! Make sure it’s front and center on every piece of information you send out. In an even bigger picture, make sure you make it easy for that customer to forward to someone else so that you can expand your client base even further! Include your full name, mailing address (or location depending on your industry), phone number, your email (in case of a forward), your website and social media links (if that’s important to your industry). Don’t overwhelm the recipient but give them what they need to get a hold of you quickly.
Bottom line, make sure your email signature isn’t an afterthought or a hodge podge of whatever you have on hand. Consider it an important part of the whole logo package you develop. It’s important.
