Did You Know?
According to a study by Hubspot, 75% of email recipients form an opinion of the sender based on their email signature.
This study reveals to us how important email signatures are in terms of professional communication.
While many of us put a lot of effort into crafting perfect email subject lines and captivating body copy. Still, we often underestimate the power of our email signatures as a marketing tool.
A strong professional email signature is a great way to endorse your brand and make a good impression on everyone you email.
In fact, an Email Marketing report by Newoldstamp, a well-known email signature generator, says 82% of marketers use email signatures to increase brand awareness and reputation.
What’s more, a well-crafted email signature with relevant links and contact information can substantially increase website traffic and generate high-quality leads.
But how do you create such professional email signatures that showcase your personal or business brand?
There are probably 99 ways but the easiest and the most professional way is through an email signature generator.
But, first of all, let’s learn:
How to make an email signature?
An email signature is a short block of text that appears at the end of every email you send. It typically includes your name, job title, company, contact information, and links to your website and social media profiles.
*The above signature is made with Newoldstamp
To create a strong email signature, you can use an email signature generator. This is an often free and easy-to-use tool that will help you create a professional and visually appealing signature.
Now, let’s understand the different methods to make a signature.
- DIY (Do It Yourself): To create an email signature, simply type your information into your email program and add your company logo, if desired. You can also format the text as needed. However, keep in mind that there are limits to how fancy you can get.
- HTML Templates: If you have some technical knowledge, you can create an email signature using HTML. This allows you to add images, custom fonts, and other styling elements to your signature.
- Email signature generator: You fill in your info, play around with the design, and voila! It spits out the HTML code.
- Email client templates: Some email apps come with pre-made signature templates. It’s not as flexible as HTML, but it’s handy when you want something quick and easy.
If you are not familiar with it already, you might be wondering:
What is an email signature generator?
An email signature generator is a tool that helps you create a professional-looking email signature that showcases your expertise and fosters business connections.
In other words, they’re your secret weapon for leaving a lasting impression on potential clients and co-workers.
They provide you with a template to follow and allow you to customize the content with your own information, such as your name, job title, company, contact information, and social media links.
Also, you can set up your desired fonts and colors for the branding in the signature.
Now, you have got an idea of what an email signature is and how it works.
So, let’s break down the potential benefits of using an email signature generator.
That brings us to the question:
Why use an email signature generator?
Email signatures are the digital equivalent of a handshake. But, creating a great email signature can be tricky.
You want to include all the important information, but you don’t want to overwhelm your recipients with a long and cluttered signature.
Dozens or even hundreds of your employees send thousands of emails every day. These emails are a great opportunity to promote your brand and move your business forward. And the best part is, you can do this automatically with an email signature generator.
Here are a few good reasons why you should use it:
- Ease to create: Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you can use an email signature generator to create a great signature. Just enter your information and choose a template. It’s done!
- Customizable: You can choose the information you want to include in your email signature, such as your: 1) Your name, 2) title, 3) company, 4) contact information, 5) company logo and 6) social media links & more.
You can also choose the font, size, and color scheme of your brand in your email signature.
- Promote your business: Most email signature generators provide options to add your social media links and website links. So, you can promote your products or services, and encourage people to visit your website using email signatures.
Departments that benefit the most by adding promotional elements to email signatures
Now that you’ve learned the benefits of using an email signature generator, let’s take a look at some of the potential drawbacks.
Limitations with email signature generators
As a sales leader, you’re always looking for ways to improve your team’s performance. Email signature generators can be helpful, but it’s important to be aware of their limitations.
- Security risks: Some email signature generators may contain malicious code or links, which could pose a security risk to your recipients.
- Compatibility issues: Not all email clients support HTML signatures, which means that your signature may not look the same on all devices and platforms.
- Lack of customization: Some email signature generators offer limited customization options, which can make it difficult to create a signature that is truly unique and reflective of your brand.
- Lack of control: If you are using a free email signature generator, you may have limited control over your signature and how it is used.
For example, the generator may insert ads or other unwanted content into your signature.
So far you have learned both the pros and cons of using an email signature generator.
Now, look at some of the best email signature generators you can use in 2023 to generate professional-looking emails.
Manual signatures v/s Email signature generators
What are the best email signature generator tools?
With so many email signature generators out there, it can be tough to pick the best one. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our top 5 picks to make your life easier.
Also, we have created sample email signatures using these platforms to give you the perfect feedback.
*The above email signature has been created with the help of Wisestamp
Wisetamp helps create free professional-looking custom email signatures in just a few clicks. However, most of the advanced features such as signature styles, decorative lines, and picture edits are only available for the Pro version which comes under a paid subscription.
Key Features
- Up to 5 signatures with the free plan.
- Available for both individuals & organizations.
- Install your email signature in Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Outlook, and others with a single click.
- Supports animated GIFs, Banners, Disclaimers, Meeting Schedulers & more.
With Newoldstamp, you can easily add promotional content, images, and legal disclaimers to your signature, and even schedule it to change automatically. Newoldstamp is perfect for businesses of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500 companies. It is also ideal for individuals such as freelancers, sales professionals, and lawyers.
Key Features
- Master Signature Template: Manage all employee email signatures from a single location, making it easy to ensure brand consistency and make updates.
- Email signature segmentation: Create unique signatures for each division to meet your business goals and brand requirements.
- Signature auto-update: Auto-update signatures centrally without bothering your team.
Hubspot provides the best professional-looking email signatures within a few minutes.
The tool also includes a variety of templates to help you personalize your email signature with information, colors, fonts, and even a photo. Plus, you can easily link all your social media accounts to give your signature a professional touch.
But beware, you can’t increase/decrease the size of the picture in your email signature.
Key Features
- Free Forever
- The HubSpot email signature generator is compatible with a wide range of email servers, providing flexibility for users. This means that you do not need to switch to a new email platform to use the tool.
- This tool is a one-stop shop for your holistic marketing and management needs, offering a variety of free tools to help you succeed
*This image was created using Mention (We intentionally did not use an image in our signature)
Mention is a free email signature generator that also works as a social media monitoring tool. The basic UI and loads of free templates make this platform unique in this list.
Key Features
- Delivery of your created signatures straight to your inbox.
- Limited customization for fonts, theme color, and theme text is available.
- Create a custom call-to-action signature.
Best practices for creating effective email signatures
Now you are informed about email signatures, email signature generators & free email signature tools.
To help you out further, we have compiled a set of best practices for creating professional email signatures for your business team.
These tips will help to ensure consistency across your team’s email signatures and reinforce your brand’s image in a positive light.
Use standard fonts
If the font you use on your email signature is not supported by the recipient’s phone or computer, the fallback font will be shown. It will kill the impression.
When selecting fonts for your email signature, opt for web-safe fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Comic Sans MS, Helvetica, and Times New Roman. These classic fonts are compatible with all devices, so your signature will look identical to every recipient.
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t use multiple fonts to highlight details of your emails. Use different font sizes to do so.
Add your contact information
There is no hard and fast rule regarding the contact information you share via email signature. However, include at least the following information:
- Your name
- Your Company name(logo if possible)
- A Link to your company website
- Your designation within the company
- An alternative contact information( Phone No. , Social Media )
💡 Pro Tip: Avoid attaching a secondary email address and phone number in your email signature. Add a phone number only if you answer calls.
Upload a professional image
Research shows that the most memorable photos are those that contain people. Including your face in your email signature can increase your conversion rate, so using a professional headshot is beneficial
💡 Pro Tip: Smile naturally in the picture & wear a professional outfit. It has shown to increase engagement and positively influence people’s willingness to do business with you.
Attaching your social media page links in your email signature helps a lot. They help you increase your social media numbers. The recipients can further engage with you on your social media pages. You build a community for your brand.
For example, when Unilever added LinkedIn follow buttons to their email signatures, their following leaped from 40,000 to 235,000 within ten months. Isn’t that an amazing way to drive your audience?
💡 Pro Tip: If you have a B2B offering, attach your LinkedIn page and your latest YouTube video that explains your product or service.
Highlight visible calls to action
Email signatures are great drivers for calls to action. The action you want them to take could be just about anything: schedule a demo, attend an event, download sales collateral, etc. Be as clear and descriptive as possible within a 2-6 word range in your CTAs.
For example, you are a sales rep and you want people to book more sales meetings. A button text in your email signature saying “Schedule a meeting” is clear on what you want people to do, but it doesn’t really describe what you offer your prospects in terms of benefits. Instead, try something like “Try this FREE Consultation”.
💡 Pro Tip: To improve conversion with an email signature, segment your audience and test out multiple CTAs.
Double-check the email signature
Before you hit the ‘save’ button, double-check these elements in your email signature-
- Optimization – When composing an email signature, keep in mind that your recipients will be viewing it on a variety of devices, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Check how your signature looks on different devices to ensure that it is readable and visually appealing.
- Links – Make sure that all the hyperlinks and calls to action correctly direct the users to the destination URL.
- Aspect Ratio – The email signature should generally be easy to notice but not too big to become overwhelming. Typically, you’ll want to use a 3:2 ratio (width and height, respectively) for horizontal orientation and 1:3 for vertical.
💡 Pro Tip: Send yourself a test email and check it both on your computer and mobile device before sending it to the prospects.
Add data privacy & legal disclaimers
Professional email signature disclaimers should always include a confidentiality statement. This is to clarify that the email is private and should not be shared with anyone else without the sender’s permission.
Protect yourself and your recipients with these essential email signature disclaimers:
- Keep your secrets safe ➡ Confidentiality disclaimer.
- Shield yourself from viruses for enhanced web protection. Virus transmission disclaimer ➡ Virus transmission disclaimer.
- Clarify your intentions ➡ Non-binding disclaimer.
- Share your thoughts, not your legal liability ➡ Personal opinion disclaimer.
- Respect your customers’ privacy ➡ GDPR disclaimers.
💡 Pro Tip: At the time of crafting your professional email signatures, keep your business’s image and legal safety in mind.
Are text-based email signatures better for cold emails?
While many articles speak about the benefits of using a professional email signature, an analysis by Yesware found that cold emails with simple text-based signatures had a 20% higher response rate than those with HTML signatures.
The study also found that plain text emails were likelier to be opened and clicked on.
We would like to back Yesware out here. After analyzing multiple cold email campaigns, we’ve found that emails with simple text signatures have better deliverability rates and hence get more replies.
If you are into cold email outreach, we suggest you try a simple text-based format for email signatures like this:
Regards, {Sign-off}
Subha {Your Name}
SmartReach.io {Organization}
Cold email software like SmartReach.io allows you to add both text-based signatures and HTML signatures. It also gives you the option to add a customized unsubscribe link (eg: Not Interested) by default on all cold emails. So your recipients can simply unsubscribe instead of marking as spam.
To sum it up, email signatures are a valuable tool for businesses and individuals alike. They can be used to make a good first impression, promote your brand, and connect with recipients.
When creating your email signature, follow these best practices:
- Keep it concise.
- Use professional fonts and colors.
- Include your contact information.
- Consider adding links to your website and social media profiles.
- Use a professional headshot(Picture).
- Proofread your signature carefully.
There are many free email signature generators available online that can help you create a professional signature quickly and easily. Some popular options include-
| HubSpot Signature Generator | Adobe Acrobat E-signature |
| WiseStamp | Rocketseed |
| Newoldstamp | MySignature |
| RocketSeed | signature.email |
| Mention | BrandCrowd |
By following these tips, you can create an email signature that is both professional and effective. It will help you make a good first impression, promote your brand, and connect with recipients.
Don’t keep these tips to yourself, share it with your team. Let’s grow together with SmartReach.io
