I’ve been recently thinking about optimizing my email signature. The problem is, I have too many things to include there and at the same time want to keep it simple and clean. Running a few experiments I came to important (yet evident) conclusions:
- email / digital signature is of great importance: it influences both the response rate and the conversion (in my case, that’s signing SEO consulting service agreement, but that can be anything from backlinks to growing your social community friendship).
- email / digital signature makes your business / brand look solid and trustworthy;
- email / digital signature should comply with your main purposes.
The last point is both obvious and unclear to me. What’s my purpose? I want people to respond (i.e. I want to get them interested); in some cases I want them to become my Facebook friends (or Twitter followers). Besides, I definitely want to provide them with as much information about myself as I can to cut off unnecessary back-and-forth messaging that takes time and lowers the chances of a positive result.
So what to include in my SEO consultant‘s digital signature:
- my DBA name;
- my area of expertise;
- my email address;
- my business-related website URL (at least one of them)…
Well, the above points seem necessary. What about the following ones?
Twitter profile URL or Facebook page URL? Or both? Or LinkedIn resume URL? Depending on where you are most active, it seems to make sense that you should link to your social media profile(s) to [first] let people know more about yourself and your community and [second] let them become your friends and thus grow your social media popularity and influence. What if I am active at numerous social media sites and many of them are important to me?
All the above things definitely make sense but doesn’t that look too much?
Please share your tactics!
Post image: lightkeeper’s signature
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That does seem like a lot. How do the majority of your clients contact you? For me, it would look something like this:
Name, Title
Business Name
Email address
Web URL
Phone number
This way, people know who I am and have two different ways of contacting me, plus a link to my website — that covers the basics. Twitter and LinkedIn info can be found on my site, and I tend not to use Facebook for business contacts unless we know each other well. Most people don’t need to know my mailing address, Skype, or IM info — when they get to that point, I’m happy to communicate it directly.
FWIW, I don’t bother with the confidentiality stuff in my email. Nobody reads it anyway.
That’s definitely too much to include in an email signature.
I think you’re better off just including the basics (ie, name, title, email, URL, etc), and only include a single URL to your key website. On that website, you should then have an “about me” page or similar, that then links to the other sites (or maybe even include the direct URL to that page in your signature).
That’ll ensure your signature stays clean and lean, but if required, people can still find the additional info.
I think its a wonderful signature like it is! Unfortunately in the real world people will not read it all. Therefore its better to make smaller. I really liked the part where you mention a call to action. I think that a great small signature with a call to action at the end – maybe with a link also in the call to action is a great signature.
Normally people at the end of signatures put some random quote that they like but to really take advantage of the reader’s time and to promote yourself a call to action would be the best in my opinion.
Obviously a call to action that provides value to the reader… Maybe the call to action can change depending on the recipient of the email 😉
Dittos to and agree with Cat. I do add a tagline and a link to my LinkedIn profile.
I used to include the confidentiality notice but don’t anymore. Emails were too long, yet I should probably reconsider in this judicious society. However, it’s laughable to see such notices at the bottom of friend’s emails who are sending out jokes from work, during work hours.
Thanks for the food for thought!
A big email signature. I would agree with cat and all the info on your social profile can be found on your website.
Thanks for the post. Very interesting.
“Twitter profile URL or Facebook page URL” and so much more all so much easier now to handle with http://www.wisestamp.com
Make a signature that stands out!
I just don’t have to much info to put into a signature. I do think that it is a good idea if you have many different way for people to contact you.
in some things these are really difficult.
Definitely include your phone number. Sometimes when I’m on my way to meet someone I need to call them. If I don’t have their phone number in my address book, then I go through my emails on my blackberry and am thankful when I find it in their signature.
Smarty,
I include this call to action in my email signature.
“Want to learn more about search engine marketing? Read and comment on the SEM Group Blog”
The the other simple information below the call to action.
✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿
Make a SEO signature that really
STANDS OUT!
☛with http://www.wisestamp.com
✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿
@ Wisestamps
I tried your firefox plugin.
It is really cool but seems like it only works with webmail. I use thunderbird. Too bad it doesn’t work with this.
Hi Ann
Whilst all that information may make sense it is, trust me on this one, way too much! Small is often better.
I agree with Cat about info necessary. Also Dana.
Hi Ann,
I was thinking about the same recently. I have read back in 2006 that it’s cool to include the URLs in the email signature, and the guy who wrote that article swore that he always visited a webpage if it was mentioned in the correspondent’s signature. I started including the URL, but by experience not many people actually visit. However, I noticed some friends creating signatures after they saw mine 🙂 Nevertheless, when I recently had to update my signature, I included: my name, the key services I deliver, the links to my 2 main websites, and the phone number. I will be updating it soon again, and I think I will have to include my email: by experience, people may not realise that if it was me who contacted them first, they can simply reply to my email or copy my address. Also, a Skype link is a good idea, too. But no Twitter or Facebook. And only the 1-2 main URLs (although in my case it means I’d have to drop my Russian blog…)
I hope you’re doing well anyway. Congratulations on your organic achievement ;-))) and looking forward to your articles in 2009!
Julia
This may seem like a silly question, but why the gmail address? It always seems more professional to have an email address with your domain name at the end.
I totally agree with leaving out the snail mail address and the IM until you need to give it out. Also if you really want to put in the twitter and social stuff, why don’t you try something like:
Socialize: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook
and just make those links to your pages
@Willow, valid point! That’s just a matter of old habit. I do have email address at my domain but juts got used to the Gmail one 🙂
I have heard that you can format your phone number in your email signature so that people opening your email on a blackberry or handheld device can link the number like an email and call you directly from the number in your email, does anyone know about this or how to format this?
Internet marketing is indeed very different from traditional marketing. In the field of internet marketing the webmaster uses all possible means for promotion just from the comfort of his small office or his bedroom.
I agree regarding the length and the gmail signature being less than ideal (but not bad!). That said, thank you for this article, which was helpful.
For all the social network sites or IM clients, you can add them as small icons on the bottom then just make them hyperlinks. So for example, when someone clicks on the little Facebook icon in my signature, it takes them to the URL. Looks much cleaner and actually pretty cool. I have my Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo IM, etc. all running along the bottom so it takes up hardly any space.
Interesting and thought provoking article, I agree with Lorne small is best, maybe not always but.. You can definatly have too much info.
I’m all for more information, provided your target audience actually uses all of the aforementioned means of communication. That said, I agree with Willow on creating links to your social media pages. Makes for a bit less clutter.
Name, website.
That’s it.
great information , there are tactics to SEO and web earnings and proper methods have to be followed .
I include my full name, title, mailing address (P.O. Box), phone, fax, e-mail, LinkedIn profile URL, and confidentiality disclaimer in my e-mail signature. I believe including all of this information in my e-mail signature looks professional and increases credibility.
The field of Internet marketing and SEO prefers standard ensuring correct means of online promotions .
Great post. thanks for this one.i am always optimizing my sigs.
Great post! Want to learn more about key work marketing
Great tips thanks, they helped me out.
Here is my own tip to ad:
I’ve been using Wisestamp.com and have had people tell me they like the features. However, I wanted to track how many click-throughs were coming from my signature link. So, I created a unique bit.ly link to track it.
I like SMM and SMO as best in SEO
E-mail signatures should NOT be so long.
I personally believe it should be
Name
Title
Phone
Website
No need for e-mail as most can just hit reply..
or look in header.
remember, many people read e-mails on their phones so short and sweet works.
Most people are smart enough to get address from website link.
signature should be
Name
Position
phone
website or linked logo
Website and e-mail should be same same domain, especially in SEO and web based businesses. So many people say they are http://www.wegetyoutraffic.xxx and their e-mail address is jow@abc.com. Make sense?
Too much information does not read well if recipient is on their mobile device.
I say never give your cell.
Have your IPPBx or phone system forward to your cell.
Michael Fahey
I recommend SMM, SMO and Google Adwords as the fastest methods to get more traffic and ROI in Digital Marketing. Please do try and let me know.