By Jill Kurtz
Online Career Tips Contributor
Sometimes the most powerful communication tools are the most basic, like your email signature. Every email you send should include an effective automated email signature.
I am surprised by the number of emails that I get to both my personal and professional email accounts that do not contain a signature. That leads me to have to send additional emails to ask for phone numbers or mailing addresses when needed. And, in some cases it makes it hard for me to figure out who sent the message.
Is a signature always necessary? Probably. Even people who have your contact information may find the signature helpful when they need to reply to you and are not at their regular computers or are on a mobile device. Your signature helps them to reply with just a click rather than having to search for your contact information.
So what makes a great email signature? Here are the key elements:
- Your name. Your email address may or may not contain your name, but that information is listed in the header and the signature comes at the end of the message. Be sure you list your name and, for professional accounts, include any applicable professional credentials.
- Your email. This is the most often omitted yet most essential element of the signature line. If your email is forwarded, your email address may be included in the header information. Be sure to list it in the signature so that it can’t be lost.
- Other relevant contact information. Include phone numbers, fax numbers, and addresses that you want to be used to reach you. If this is a personal signature and you don’t want to be called at work, don’t list that number. Likewise, if you don’t want to receive work-related calls on a personal cell number, don’t list it in the signature.
- Social sites. Add links to the social sites that you use regularly. The slickest way to do this is to use the site’s logo and link it to your account. Not all email programs support that approach, however. Don’t include social sites that you don’t monitor; remember the goal of the signature is to give the recipient effective ways to contact you.
- Optional: Salutation. It can be a time saver to build a salutation into your signature. Something like “Best, Your Name” or “With regards, your name” can save you from typing the same text over and over. Of course, the salutation should be geared toward the typical recipient and be more formal for business and friendlier for personal accounts.
I don’t personally find inspirational quotes, lists of awards, and other non-contact information helpful in email signatures. These just create clutter.
There are tools that can help you to create a good email signature or a consistent email signature across multiple accounts for businesses. These include WiseStamp and Hancock.it for Gmail users and CompanySIG for a variety of email programs.
Comments are closed.