| How well is your email signature working for you? For | | | | contain 5 phone numbers. The lines listing those |
| most people who use email, an email signature is just | | | | phone numbers can be much more effectively used |
| a basic contact information signature file that they | | | | for another purpose. And, make sure your email |
| append to their emails without giving it much thought, | | | | address is the email address at your website. |
| if they choose to use an email signature at all. | | | | Sometimes you might not get the option of posting |
| However, for online business owners, an email | | | | your website URL, so if you can only post an email |
| signature can be the least expensive yet most | | | | signature, savvy readers can ascertain your website |
| effective tool in your online business marketing | | | | URL from your signature. Don't use your email |
| toolkit. Why? Because it enables you to promote | | | | signature real estate to give any more free publicity |
| yourself and your business without any blatant | | | | to Yahoo, Google, AOL, Earthlink, or any number of |
| advertising. It's like sending a business card with a call | | | | other ISPs. |
| to action in every single email that you send. | | | | 3. Make an offer for a free introductory product. |
| Where should you be using your email signature? | | | | What's your free giveaway on your site -- an |
| Here's a quick list: | | | | ecourse, email newsletter, special report, ebook, |
| --on every single piece of email that you send to | | | | audio or video clips? Give people a reason to visit |
| friends, family members, colleagues, etc. from your | | | | your site by offering your freebie in your email |
| computer's email program (Outlook, Outlook Express, | | | | signature. If your freebie contains info that they |
| Eudora, etc.) | | | | want, publicizing it in your email signature is a definite |
| --in every email that you send in response to a | | | | way to get them to visit your website. |
| posting on email discussion lists | | | | 4. Auto sendout. Every email program has the |
| --in every posting that you make on an online | | | | capability to automatically append an email signature |
| discussion forum | | | | to every piece of email that you send. Make sure |
| --anytime you send a broadcast email out to your list | | | | that feature is turned on in your email program so |
| through your email broadcast service | | | | that you don't miss any valuable marketing |
| You never know where you email will end up (how | | | | opportunities. It's tough to contact you if your email |
| many emails do you forward in one day?) nor who | | | | is missing its signature file. |
| will be reading it, so it pays to attach an effective | | | | 5. Plain text or HTML? I'm still a big fan of sending |
| email signature to everything that you do. It serves | | | | out plain text emails for day-to-day correspondence. |
| as a wonderfully effective free marketing tool that | | | | For the most part, I don't use fancy fonts or special |
| works for you 24/7. I've gotten countless subscribers | | | | colors or formatting in my signature file. I want my |
| to my newsletter from simply using a compelling call | | | | email signature to be clearly displayed in any email |
| to action in my email signature. | | | | program, and plain text is the best way to |
| What are the components of an effective email | | | | accomplish that. There are services like Plaxo (for |
| signature? I've seen horribly long email signatures (as | | | | users of Microsoft Outlook) that will let you create a |
| many as 20 lines), signatures missing basic contact | | | | business card image that is appended to your email |
| information, and email signatures that leave me | | | | as your email signature and import that into Outlook. |
| thinking, "So what?". Here's how you can create an | | | | However, I don't use Outlook and I find these |
| effective email signature that will help you get clients | | | | cumbersome, as there isn't a way to cut and paste |
| online: | | | | the sender's contact info into my contact database. |
| 1. Keep it short. Nothing is worse than reading an | | | | Additionally, many online discussion lists and forums |
| email signature that's longer than the email itself. To | | | | don't accept images or HTML in their posts. So, even |
| be most effective, limit yourself to no more than 7 | | | | though the business card images look pretty, I would |
| lines. As you participate in discussion lists or online | | | | encourage you to stick with a plain text email |
| forums, the list moderators may limit your signature | | | | signature. |
| to as few as 5 lines. So, just like you make your | | | | 6. Make it clickable. Because you never know what |
| printed business card "Rolodex proof" (i.e. don't put | | | | email program your recipient is using, type in a few |
| essential contact info at the bottom of the card | | | | extra characters in the email address and website |
| where it will be lost when holes are punched into it | | | | URL lines of your email signature file to guarantee |
| for your Rolodex), keep your most essential info in | | | | that the link will be clickable. For a website URL, type |
| the first 5 lines of your signature file. That way, if | | | | in the entire URL, starting with http:// rather than |
| some info is cut off when you post to a discussion | | | | simply www. to make sure that your link is universally |
| forum, it won't be the essential info that you want | | | | clickable. For your email address, adding mailto: at the |
| to convey. Better yet, do as I do and create various | | | | beginning of your email address, i.e. will enable the |
| email signature files for different uses, including ones | | | | reader to click on that link and will open a blank email |
| specifically created to comply with the rules of | | | | addressed to you in any email program. |
| various discussion lists to which I belong. | | | | 7. Use a border. Having a simple border to separate |
| 2. Include only essential contact info. This would | | | | your name as you end an email from your email |
| include your name and title or tag line, as appropriate, | | | | signature will lessen the confusion as to what is |
| phone number, website, and email address. The | | | | considered the main text of the email versus the |
| phone number and email address may be optional, | | | | email signature. ASCII characters like == or ~~~ will |
| depending on the purpose of your email and how it | | | | create a simple border that is effective but not |
| might be displayed (for example, sometimes an email | | | | distracting. |
| discussion list will post your email address | | | | An effective email signature has incredible power to |
| automatically in the body of your post, so you can | | | | drive traffic to your website. Take a few moments |
| use that space in your signature for something else). | | | | and evaluate your signature and see if it's doing its |
| Don't list every single way that someone can contact | | | | best work for you. Your email signature is an |
| you -- only the most important, essential methods | | | | incredibly effective marketing tool that can provide |
| that you prefer. I've seen some email signatures | | | | great "bang" for almost no bucks. |