The Long Goodbye
Your brand has many touch points: your website, social media channels, business cards, word of mouth, direct mail, and many others. One of the most persistent touch points is your email signature.
Some email signatures are simple: name, phone number, website address. Boom. Done.
Others, however, are closer in length to the U.S. tax code. They include:
name
phone number
cell number
fax number (do people still fax?)
email address
website address
social media links
headshot
company logo
certification, association, or award logos
company mission or positioning statement
quote by business notable, literary figure, or spiritual guru
ad for upcoming webinar or other event
Why are some email signatures SO LONG?
Now I can hear some of you saying, “My email signature is long because I’m a lawyer/real estate agent/financial advisor/healthcare professional and am required to include a legal disclaimer.” And that’s understandable because your company or professional organization requires you to cover yourself for reasons of confidentiality, liability, or contract reasons.
However, after a bit of research, I discovered not every type of disclaimer is required by law. And because 98% of us don’t read those disclaimers anyway, some professionals have gone so far as to create hilarious email disclaimers.
But, if you’re not required to include a legal disclaimer, your lengthy email signature just adds noise and can make it difficult to pick out the vital information of your message. In other words, it’s about as useful as a CVS store receipt.
Don’t fall into the trap of recreating your business card in your email signature. It’s not built to do the heavy lifting for your marketing and you shouldn’t ask it to.
Tips for better email signatures
I was going to include some good/bad examples in this post but I decided against it in order to protect the identities of the innocent and the guilty. In the past, clients have asked me to create their email signatures which is hard to do since I don’t have access to their email accounts (nor do I want to). Instead, here are some general tips to follow when crafting your email signature:
1. Optimize the size of your inserted graphics
Most email apps (Constant Contact, MailChimp, Gmail, Outlook, etc.) make it very easy to resize inserted graphics. And you’ll be surprised at how readable your logo is even when it’s small. Remember, your branding is there as a visual cue; it doesn’t need to be the size of a billboard.
Speaking of graphics, make sure information like phone numbers are actual text and not part of an image so it’s easy for your recipient to click or copy/paste.
2. Place the right information in the right place
Don’t fall into the trap of recreating your business card in your email signature and ask yourself this before adding something, “Could this bit of information live on my website?” Your email signature, just like your business card and social media, is a great tool for pointing people to your website, which should be the hub of your marketing strategy. Your website is the best place to show off your expertise and the value you bring to your clients; it’s built to do the heavy lifting so don’t ask your email signature to carry that load.
3. Don’t add legal disclaimers to every email in a conversation
It’s very easy for disclaimers to flood an email chain with loads of text. When you’re the first sender in a conversation, place the disclaimer apart from the rest of the signature. When you’re replying to a recipient, put your email signature below your own message but the disclaimer at the very bottom of the chain. That way, it’s still in the message, so you’re legally compliant, but it’s in a location where it doesn’t become annoying.
4. Reduce visual noise
Keep your email signature lean and mean. In product development this is known as a minimal viable product; something with just enough features to satisfy customers. There’s enough visual noise already in most emails so don’t add to it with an overstuffed email signature. Here are some items to consider removing or altering:
Email address: It’s probably the same one in your email header. Remove it.
Fax number: Is there a high enough demand that you need to keep it in your email signature?
Website address: Consider making your company logo a link to your website, instead.
Inspiring quote: Unless it’s an important part of your brand message, remove it or replace it with your company’s actual vision or mission statement. If you’re embarrassed about your mission or vision statement, let’s talk.
Upcoming events: Remove them. That’s what social media and email marketing is for.
Final Thought
Many of you have spent the past several months staying close to home decluttering your closets, your basements, or your life. I suggest spending a few minutes with your email signature and deciding which content is truly serving your brand and which content can be taken to the curb.