Crafting a Client-Winning Email Signature for Your Online Business

Whether you’re using Google’s GMail, Microsoft’s Outlook.com for Business, or another business email service, one of the most overlooked yet important elements of your email is the email signature. Take note of the following tips to make sure your email signature leaves the best first impression with your customers and clients.

Don’t Overdo It With Images

Email signatures with images tend to be more professional-looking and therefore more reassuring. However, you also need to make sure you’re using the right number of images to make a great impression. Use jpg images instead of png images. Use the ‘-nosend-’ tag on all graphics, so they’ll appear correctly in the email. Make sure you hardcode the image width and length – Don’t assume it will simply look nice in the end. Use “alt text” to let the customer see what the image is suppose to do. Also, do not include animations such as GIFs, which are an absolute eyesore (and honestly are rarely used in most professional environments). Make sure your company’s logo is prominent but practically sized.

Keep Email Links Short, Simple, and to the Point

The old bromide “less is more” holds true here. Most organizations use images as links in their email signatures. This keeps email signatures less complicated and clean (see above). However, if you must use written links, try to keep them as short as possible. Utilizing link shorteners such as bit.ly or Google’s goo.gl can go a long way toward removing the clutter. This can also have the added benefit of allowing you to monitor link clicks for analytics use. Also it’s a good idea to limit your email signature to 5 lines.

Be Sure to Follow the Law

Make sure to include any appropriate contact info. Also, be sure to include any disclaimers that separate opinion from fact when appropriate.

Use LongHand HTML and Inline CSS Coding

If you’re coding your own signature, make sure you write it out longhand to ensure compatibility with most email services. Otherwise, the services may not recognize short cuts or wild implementations that you might be used to. Using longhand HTML alongside inline CSS will ensure that your email signature looks right every time.

Consistency is Key in an Organizational Email Signature

Don’t stray from everyone else in your company. Stay consistent with your email signatures across your entire organization. This means if one person uses an image that’s 500 pixels wide and 400 pixels tall sitting just above an address, everyone should use the same thing. Consistency is key when it comes to appearing as professional as possible to your clients.

The preceding was originally published as Craft a Great Email Signature for Your Business and was updated exclusively for WebScorch with improved information.