The two most important elements of every email you send are its subject and signature. While the first element makes the first impression and has to drive the recipient’s attention so that he or she would open your message. An email signature plays an equally important role. It is the final chord of your message that should logically finish your email and keep the recipient engaged.
In our previous articles, we already told you how a professional signature helps increase sales, get traffic or clicks, and promote your business. In this article, we would like to tell you about some of the most common mistakes that you should avoid in your design.
What To Include In Your Signature?
Let’s start with the basics and figure out what are the main elements of an effective email signature.
A signature has two main goals:
- Give your recipients contacts for feedback;
- Make your audience more engaged and open to further communication.
Apart of these tasks, a well-designed stamp can turn into a useful tool for growth and promotion of your business, as it helps to spread a word about your company, make it more recognized, and connect with potential customers easier. However, to make it work, you should follow certain rules.
First of all, bear in mind that the shorter and more laconic your signature is, the better effect it has. It is important to make sure that the most important information does not get lost in a huge abundance of insignificant content and marketing offers. Also, it is vital to ensure that your signature is noticeable in the letter.
What information to include? Some of the key elements of every signature are:
- Name, title, and company name;
- Link to a website, blog, or store, phone number, and other means of communication;
- Social network buttons;
- Your photo or the company’s logo.
At first glance, everything is simple. Yet, many people make the same mistakes when creating their signatures. We have identified some of the main ones to help you avoid them.
The Most Common Mistakes In Email Signature Design
Although many of us use email on a daily basis, not everyone is aware of the importance of their email signatures. Many users still don’t have one. Others created it with a whole bunch of mistakes that make their stamps not effective at all.
You should never underestimate the value of a good email signature and the opportunities it has for you and your business. However, only a good design will bring good results.
Below are the most commonly made email signature design that you need to consider!
“Sent From …”
It does not matter whether you send your emails from a smartphone, tablet or computer. In any case, there is no need to let your recipients know this. Such signatures are set on many devices by default. However, if you want to look professional, you should remove it.
Not providing the links to your website
Your corporate email signature is a free and easy way to advertise your online store, website or blog. So why should you miss out on this opportunity? Many people do not provide the links because they are afraid to seem too annoying. In fact, there is nothing wrong about sharing the links within your emails. If someone isn’t interested in checking out your website, he or she will not follow the link. However, if some of your recipients would be interested in this, you have to make sure that you have a link included. After all, it is a great way to get more clicks and traffic!
Including too many links
There is also a mistake opposite to the previous one. While some people ignore links at all, others push it way too far and include the links to all websites, social channels, and networks that exist. This is a terrible idea. As a rule, it is enough to include a few links to the sources that would be of the most interest to your recipients. Most often people give a link to a website or blog along with a few most popular social network accounts (for example, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram).
Give the full links
Full links look bad. It is better to use a hyperlink instead. And, if we are talking about social media, you should better place clickable icons.
Large picture
If the size of the image is too big, it automatically makes your message too heavy. While this may still work if your recipient opens the letter from a computer, there may arise certain issues with the mobile devices. Such letters take too much time to load or aren’t displayed correctly.
Not including contact details
One of the main goals of your email signature is to provide your contact details. Thus, if you don’t include them, there is no point of adding your signature at all. Think of it as of your digital business card.
Not giving the full phone number
This is a vital mistake if your business is international! If your international phone number is not full, your potential customers will have to search for the country or state code themselves and waste their precious time.
Not making a single design for all employees
If you have a single corporate design for all of your team members, you show the professionalism of your company.
Use too many different colors and fonts
It is great if you can add a personal touch to the design of your signature. However, you should keep it simple and relevant to your field of activity. For example, a designer can go a bit further in his design to showcase some of his skills, while a lawyer with a bright and colorful signature will look unprofessional.
Not include a photo or logo
A photo or company’s logo will make your signature look more complete. Besides, in the case with a photo, it helps to set a closer contact with your audience, while a logo helps increase the brand’s recognition. In both cases, you get more benefits!
