First impressions count, and this doesn’t just apply to your personal appearance. It’s the same with your email signature. You could say that it’s even more important, because you haven’t got that face-to-face interaction to back you up.
If you’ve ever wondered about how to create a professional email signature, then keep reading for our advice on making the most epic first (online) impression possible.
Keep it Short
Keep it short and keep it sweet. You need to make sure that in the small space of time that your recipient has to read your email, they understand who you are, and see how professional you are.
This doesn’t mean that you should shorten your name, or use nicknames. It means keep the opening words short, don’t overload the signature with a long sentence.
Contact Details
Your contact details. This might seem like an obvious choice to make, but you’d be surprised with how many people don’t include full contact details.
If you live in an area with bad Internet connection, then you should include your main and alternate contact telephone numbers.
On the other hand, if you live in an area with bad telephone reception, then think about including the address people could post a letter to (a bit old school but it’s nice to get a letter that’s not a bill right?
Cover all bases, and make sure that everyone you’re emailing out to can contact you in more than one way, especially if you’re applying for a new job role or are reaching out to a potential client.
Include Social Media/Website Links
Now, this mainly applies if you’re applying for a media job role, especially one that includes content or blogging. A link to your professional website lets you easily showcase some of your best work.
Be careful with social media. If you’re applying for a new job or approaching a new client, then don’t including links to your Facebook if there are loads of pictures of your last holiday to Zante.
This doesn’t create a good first impression. If in doubt when including social media links, then just don’t. It’s the safest option.
Include required information
Now this isn’t restricted to your contact details and any of your social media links. If you’re emailing on behalf of a small business, you may have to include anything set out by EU law e.g. your companies registered address, place of registration and registration number.
Test it
Again, this seems like a simple point, but with the range of screens people can view your signature on, it’s important to test your email on each of them to make sure it works.
If you have a tablet, then send your email to yourself. The same applies with a smart-phone.The format can change, so can the layout. If you’ve spent hours crafting the perfect signature on your computer, it may not look the same on a tablet or smart phone.
Think about sending it to a friend, because they can give you an honest opinion on how your new signature looks, and any changes that you might need to make.
So there we have it, our top tips for creating a professional email signature. Just remember; first impressions count, so you need to invest as much time as creating a good email impression, and maintaining good business email etiquette as you would with a face-to-face one.
What do you think? What advice would you give about creating a professional email signature? If you’ve got your own top tips, we’d love to hear from you.
