Email Signatures - Making the Most of a Simple Marketing Tool

Everyday I receive about a couple dozen non-spam emails. In a very unscientific poll, about half of them either have no automatic signature or the signature lacks significant information about what the sender does. I'm on a crusade to put an end to this.

The signature file is the information that is automatically printed on each mail you send if you've set it up. In Outlook Express, you can set it up in Tools, Options, Signature. A standard signature will have your name, title, company, email address, web site and a line telling what you do.

If you sent out 20 emails a day, you can market yourself and your business 20 times a day. Putting the right information there can drive people to your web site or promote a new product you're offering.

I have different signatures for different emails I send out. I do subcontract work for one company, so when I contact clients for this company, I use that signature. When I contact my own clients, I use the signature for Green Chair Consulting (www.greenchair.net).

In the signature for my own company, I usually highlight my most recent work. This way I show what I can do, as well as provide a small marketing opportunity for my client, something they appreciate. Here is an example of my most recent signature file:

Dave Carlson
Green Chair Marketing Group| Your Internet Marketing Dept.
dave@greenchair.net
http://www.greenchair.net
720-922-3124

One important thing to remember is to put HTTP:// in front of your web site addresses. Most email programs support hot links to Web sites when you put the HTTP:// in front of the address. That way a person can go straight from the email to your Web site.

In its most basic form, the signature file should have the information that I wrote about early. You want people to be able to contact you in multiple forms. If they can't contact you, then you can't get their business.

Some personal signatures I've seen have quotes that they like or communicates something important to them. It might be religious or philosophical, or just something funny.

I urge you not to pass up this opportunity to make your mark. If you don't have a signature file, create one today and use it on every email you send out. You never know how it will pay off for you.

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Dave Carlson is the owner of Green Chair Marketing Group, a boutique marketing firm specializing in developing comprehensive marketing plans focusing on Internet strategies, such as Denver email marketing, to help businesses succeed. He can be reached at 720-922-3124. See his Web site at www.GreenChair.net.