How to create email signature + professional email signature templates
American humorist Evan Esar once said, “A signature always reveals a person’s character - and sometimes even their name.”
American humorist Evan Esar once said, “A signature always reveals a person’s character – and sometimes even their name.” He was talking about signatures of the handwritten kind, but it’s true for your emails too.
Spend a minute in your inbox and check a few emails. Chances are, you see the sender’s name in their email signature. But what else do they say? What do you think of it? Is it professional? Memorable? Funny? Useless?
They say first impressions matter. But how you end a conversation matters too. More so when an email is the first touchpoint that potential customers, partners, and clients have with your business, which is often the case.
Sure, a weak email signature isn’t as bad as a weak subject line or the message within. But the sign-off at the end, it shapes how the recipient of your email sees you. You put a lot of thought and time into crafting a winning subject line and email—why risk the reader thinking, at the very end, that they shouldn’t take you seriously?
TL;DR Your email signature shapes how you are perceived. It affects your business.
Read on for the dos and don’ts of how to craft a professional email signature.
To create an email signature, go to your email client and look for the Signature option in Settings.
For example, in Titan, you click the gear icon to access your preferences and then go to the Signatures editor. You can now create a new signature and add text, links, and images. Format the text as you like too, you can edit font colors, sizes, and styles. (But don’t go too crazy!)
Here’s a simple email signature format with name, preferred pronouns, job title, company and contact info as well as social media links:
Katherine Holmes (she/her)
Communications Manager, Titan.
555-555-5555 | Twitter | LinkedIn
That’s quick and easy. But how about email signatures with a photo like the one below?
You can create a table with two or more columns, and play around with the table borders and formatting options. Then, add an icon or two to link to your social media profiles. And play with formatting again to align everything well.
Head on to one of these free email signature generators built by our friends at HubSpot, Mention, and Woodpecker. Enter the relevant information into a free template and voila, your email signature is ready. Copy and paste the content into your email client’s signature editor, or copy the generated HTML code if your email service supports it.
Let’s keep it simple. Your email signature is your digital business card. So, only the essentials should be included. As the adage goes, less is more, and four lines of text is usually enough.
Here are a few tips on what to include in your professional email signature:
Pretty much anything that is not essential. So, for one, you don’t need to include your email address. You’re sending an email so your recipient already has that information. In most cases, you don’t need to include your business address either — that’s easy to find with your company name. Finally, avoid listing personal information on a professional email signature. Your work phone number is good. Your personal phone number? Not so much. Likewise with personal social media accounts that aren’t aligned to your work.
Your email signature is prime real estate for your business. Especially for people who are just getting to know you. You can use it to promote your brand’s social media accounts, website, or blog. Just make sure all links you include are up to date. When email recipients click to visit your social media accounts and find fresh content, they are more likely to stay engaged. You could also include a call to action (CTA) that directs recipients to subscribe to a newsletter or schedule a meeting.
Have you ever seen a billboard ad with so much going on, that you just don’t understand it? It’s the same with your email signature. So, prioritize. The fewer links you have, the more likely a recipient will click on one. Plus, too many links, and your signature looks unprofessional. Same with call to action. Limit to one.
A plain email signature is just text with little to no formatting, though you can add a link too in most email clients allow. It’s raw but works everywhere.
Katherine Holmes (she/her)
Communications Manager, Titan.
Say hi at 555-555-5555 or on LinkedIn
As we saw earlier, you can add a profile photo and format your email signature too. In this case, we have a left-aligned profile photo with social media icons as links. Remember to use a professional headshot and keep it simple. Free online image editing can also be used to get qualitative photos.
Or you could add a banner with your company branding too. Maybe your logo? Or a banner showcasing recent awards? Or one announcing a new product? It’s prime real estate, so choose wisely. You can build these manually with tables and table borders, or use one of the email signature generators listed above.
Looking for an email service to easily generate a professional email signature? Try Titan, share one of these email signature templates with your team, and start making the best impression on your prospects, customers, and partners.