If everything works, from the subject line through the content, your reader will arrive at your signature, and you have one final chance to get their business. Email services offer you the chance to customize your signature, but before you do, consider what you want that signature to accomplish. Let’s look at three popular goals and some examples.
Perhaps your goal is for the reader to get in touch with you. You want their business, so you’re tempted to offer them twelve different ways to reach you. However, a laundry list of physical addresses, emails, social media accounts, and phone numbers can overwhelm your contact. They end up doing the easy thing—not contacting you at all.
Pick one or two methods of contact that you know will reach you because you check them frequently. Start with your preferred method, and then one backup method, and leave it at that. If email is your jam, put that. Yes, they can check the headers at the top, but some people don’t understand that or won’t bother. Don’t put up barriers.
Whoa, too much. This guy loves himself. The reader is overwhelmed and doesn’t know what to pick.
Simple. Barbara would prefer you call her, but you can also email.
A signature can convey your personality, whether you use a favorite quote, an image, or a snappy one-liner. Keep it short, and make sure the tone is right for this reader. What’s appropriate for a rent-a-clown business may not work for an insurance firm. Be careful if you use an image because images don’t carry through on every email service. Also, there’s a strong chance they’re reading your mail on a phone screen, where space is limited and clarity is king. Still, a signature with personality can help you stand out, especially when you’re competing with other companies for someone’s business.
Hey, names can be tricky. Robin makes a joke of it that puts the reader at ease before they contact him.
Why send out messages with that bland “Sent from my iPhone”? Show your creative side and write something funny.
If the intent of your email is to draw someone into your sales funnel, you’ll probably have your company’s website in your signature. The whole purpose of the email’s content is to drive someone to your site, so make sure everything works. Is the link up to date? Have you kept your website fresh, or are you sending them to a ghost town? What if the link doesn’t work? Consider spelling out the website so a determined reader can paste it into their browser.
Their content above the signature probably urges the reader to visit their sites, and they spell out the URL address in case the hyperlink fails.
Figure out what your goal is, then tune up your emails with a customized signature. Experiment, do some A/B testing. Eventually, you’ll hit on the right tone and the right message to get the results you want.
