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Email signatures are so easy to do well, that its really a shame how often theyre done poorly. Many people want their signature to reflect their personality, provide pertinent information and more, but they can easily go overboard. Why are email signatures important? They may be boring and the last item on your list of things to get right, but they affect the tone of every email you write.
Email signatures contain alternative contact details, pertinent job titles and company names, which help the recipient get in touch when emails are not responded to. Sometimes, they give the recipient an idea of who wrote the email in case it has been a while since they have been in touch. They are also professional: like a letterhead, they show that you run a business (in some countries, youre required to do so). Here are some tips on how to create a tasteful signature that works .
Be Concise
First and foremost, the senders header (the From field) should have a name, and you should use a company email address if you can. If someone sees stevies747@hotmail.com, theyll suspect its spam. If the senders header reads, Steve Stevenson Mister Stevenson Design Company <steve@misterstevenson.com>, theyll know its a professional email from Steve, their trusted designer. Start by making your website a link. Many email clients convert email addresses and websites into links automatically, but not always. When youre creating the HTML for an email, make sure the link will appear by adding writing it in HTML. And instead of linking text like My website, type out the URL, which will be useful for those who want to copy and paste the address. An email signature shouldnt double the emails length, so make it as short as possible (three lines is usually enough). Dont get into your life story here. The purpose of a signature is to let them see who you are and how to get in touch with you.
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MA K E S UR E T O I NC L UD E Your name, Your company and position, How to get in touch with you.
No need to include 10 different ways to get in touch with you. As in website design, less is more; and then theyll know which way you prefer to be contacted. Go to two or three lines, with a maximum of 72 character per line (many email applications have a maximum width of 80 characters, so limit the length to avoid unsightly wrapping). An optional fourth line could be your company address, but use caution if you work from home.
S t e v eS t e v e n s o n ,W e bD e s i g n e r w w w . m i s t e r s t e v e n s o n . c o m|s t e v e @ m i s t e r s t e v e n s o n . c o m
S HO R T A ND C O NC I S E , B UT C HE C K T HE R UL E S
In some European countries, laws dictate what items you must put in your email signature if you are a registered company. For example, UK law requires private and public limited companies to include the following:
D O N T I NC L UD E Personal Twitter, IM or Skype details; Your home phone number or address (unless you want to be called by international clients early in the morning);
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The URL of your personal website; Random quotes at the bottom; Your entire skill set, CV and lifetime achievements in point form.
Random quotes are fun for friends, but you risk offending business associates with whom you dont have a personal relationship. Unless you want clients contacting you while youre watching Lost, dont share your home details far and wide. Also, dont share your personal contact information with your corporate partners. They certainly wont be interested in it, and you may not want them to know certain details about you. However, mentioning your corporate Twitter account or alternative means of contact in your signature might be useful, in case your correspondent is not able to get in touch with you by regular email.
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W HA T A B O UT C O NF I D E NT I A L I T Y C L A US E S ?
If your emails include confidential information, you may need to include a non-disclosure agreement to prevent information leaks. However, good practice is never to send sensitive information as plain text in emails because the information could be extracted by third parties or forwarded by recipients to other people. Thus, including a non-disclosure agreement doesnt make much sense if you do not send sensitive information anyway. Keep in mind, too, that the longer a confidentiality clause is, the more unlikely someone will actually read it. Again, check your countrys privacy laws. Some big companies require a disclosure with every email, but if youre at a small company or are a freelancer and dont really require it, then dont put it in. The length of such clauses can be annoying, especially in short emails.
W a r mR e g a r d s&S t a yC r e a t i v e ! A i d a nH u a n g( E d i t o r ) O n e x t r a p i x e l S h o w c a s i n gW e bT r e a t sW i t h o u tH i t c h w e b.h t t p : / / w w w . o n e x t r a p i x e l . c o m t w i.h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / o n e x t r a p i x e l T h i se m a i la n da n yf i l e st r a n s m i t t e dw i t hi ta r ec o n f i d e n t i a la n di n t e n d e ds o l e l y f o rt h eu s eo ft h ei n d i v i d u a lo re n t i t yt ow h o mt h e ya r ea d d r e s s e d .I fy o uh a v e r e c e i v e dt h i se m a i li ne r r o rp l e a s en o t i f yt h es e n d e r .T h i sm e s s a g ec o n t a i n s c o n f i d e n t i a li n f o r m a t i o na n di si n t e n d e do n l yf o rt h ei n d i v i d u a ln a m e d .I fy o u a r en o tt h en a m e da d d r e s s e ey o us h o u l dn o td i s s e m i n a t e ,d i s t r i b u t eo rc o p yt h i s e m a i l .P l e a s en o t i f yt h es e n d e ri m m e d i a t e l yb ye m a i li fy o uh a v er e c e i v e dt h i s e m a i lb ym i s t a k ea n dd e l e t et h i se m a i lf r o my o u rs y s t e m .I fy o ua r en o tt h e i n t e n d e dr e c i p i e n ty o ua r en o t i f i e dt h a td i s c l o s i n g ,c o p y i n g ,d i s t r i b u t i n go r t a k i n ga n ya c t i o ni nr e l i a n c eo nt h ec o n t e n t so ft h i si n f o r m a t i o ni ss t r i c t l y p r o h i b i t e d .
T h i se m a i la n da n yf i l e st r a n s m i t t e dw i t hi ta r ec o n f i d e n t i a l .I fy o uh a v er e c e i v e d t h i se m a i li ne r r o rp l e a s en o t i f yt h es e n d e ra n dt h e nd e l e t ei ti m m e d i a t e l y . P l e a s en o t et h a ta n yv i e w so ro p i n i o n sp r e s e n t e di nt h i se m a i la r es o l e l yt h o s e o ft h ea u t h o ra n dd on o tn e c e s s a r i l yr e p r e s e n tt h o s eo fC o m p a n y . T h er e c i p i e n ts h o u l dc h e c kt h i se m a i la n da n ya t t a c h m e n t sf o rt h ep r e s e n c e o fv i r u s e s .C o m p a n ya c c e p t sn ol i a b i l i t yf o ra n yd a m a g ec a u s e db ya n yv i r u s t r a n s m i t t e db yt h i se m a i l . C o m p a n ym a yr e g u l a r l ya n dr a n d o m l ym o n i t o ro u t g o i n ga n di n c o m i n ge m a i l s ( i n c l u d i n gt h ec o n t e n to ft h e m )a n do t h e rt e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n so ni t se m a i l a n dt e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n ss y s t e m s .B yr e p l y i n gt ot h i se m a i ly o ug i v ey o u r c o n s e n tt os u c hm o n i t o r i n g . * * * * * S a v er e s o u r c e s :t h i n kb e f o r ey o up r i n t .
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D O N T B E A F R A I D T O S HO W S O ME P E R S O NA L I T Y
Although your email signature should be concise and memorable, it doesnt have to be boring. Feel free to make your email signature stand out by polishing it with your creative design ideas or your personal touch. Using a warm greeting, adding a cheeky key as Dan Rubin does or encouraging people to stalk you as Paddy Donnelly does, all show personality behind simple text. The key to a simple, memorable and beautiful email signature lies in balancing personal data and your contact details. In fact, some designers have quite original email signatures; most of the time, simple ASCII is enough.
h :h t t p : / / d a n i e l r u b i n . o r g w :h t t p : / / s i d e b a r c r e a t i v e . c o m b :h t t p : / / s u p e r f l u o u s b a n t e r . o r g m :+ 12 3 45 6 78 9 0 1 i :a n i n s t a n t m e s s a n g e r k :h=h o m e ,w=w o r k ,b=b l o g ,m=m o b i l e ,i=a i m ,k=k e y
P a d d y T h eS i t e :h t t p : / / i a m p a d d y . c o m S t a l kM e :h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / p a d d y d o n n e l l y
W i t ho p t i m i s m , D m i t r yB e l i t s k y h t t p : / / b e l i t s k y . i n f o
W i t hg r e e t i n g sf r o mF r e i b u r g ,G e r m a n y , V i t a l yF r i e d m a n( e d i t o r i n c h i e f ) S m a s h i n gM a g a z i n e h t t p : / / w w w . s m a s h i n g m a g a z i n e . c o m-h t t p : / / w w w . t w i t t e r . c o m / s m a s h i n g m a g o n l i n em a g a z i n ef o rd e s i g n e r sa n dd e v e l o p e r s
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HT ML ?
If you can, stay away from HTML formatting. Every Web designer knows the pain of HTML newsletters, and while HTML is supported for email signatures, youll likely have problems with images and divider lines in different email clients. Some nice ASCII formatting may work in some cases.
c a r o l eg u e v i n.e d i t o r / / / /d e s i g n+d i g i t a lc u l t u r em a g a z i n e / / / /h t t p : / / n e t d i v e r . n e t
G e o f fT e e h a n T e e h a n + L a x W e bP l a t f o r m s | D i g i t a lC a m p a i g n s | M o b i l eA p p l i c a t i o n s | S t r a t e g i cC o n s u l t i n g T :4 1 61 2 34 5 6 7x8 9 0 | t e e h a n l a x . c o m | t w i t t e r . c o m / @ t e e h a n l a x
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D m i t r yD r a g i l e v Z U R B|M a r k e t i n gL e a d g e t s t a r t e d @ z u r b . c o m h t t p : / / w w w . z u r b . c o m F o l l o wo u rb l o ga t : h t t p : / / w w w . z u r b . c o m / b l o g F o l l o wu so nT w i t t e r :@ z u r b h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / z u r b C h e c ko u tN o t a b l e-E a s i e s tw a yf o rt e a m st o p r o v i d ef e e d b a c ko nw e b s i t e s . h t t p : / / w w w . n o t a b l e a p p . c o m -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ W e b s i t e :w w w . w e b d e s i g n e r d e p o t . c o m T w i t t e r :w w w . t w i t t e r . c o m / D e s i g n e r D e p o t
D a nR u b i n S i d e b a rC r e a t i v e{D i r e c t o ro fT r a i n i n g&U s e rE x p e r i e n c e} m o b i l e :+ 12 3 45 6 78 9 0 1 h t t p : / / s i d e b a r c r e a t i v e . c o m
D a v i dL e g g e t t T u t o r i a l 9F o u n d e r 5 5 5 . 0 1 2 . 3 4 5 6 7 @ t h e l e g g e t t T u t o r i a l 9 . n e t
G a r e t hH a r d y G r a p h i cD e s i g n e r|D o w nW i t hD e s i g n w w w . d o w n w i t h d e s i g n . c o m g a r e t h @ d o w n w i t h d e s i g n . c o m + 4 4( 0 )0 1 2 34 5 67 8 9
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G r a n tF r i e d m a n w w w . c o l o r b u r n e d . c o m F o l l o wm eo nT w i t t e r ! h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / c o l o r b u r n e d -
M a n yt h a n k s , Y a i l i . y a i l i . c o m|w e b d e s i g n e r n o t e b o o k . c o m|l o n d o n c h r o n i c l e s . c o m + 4 4( 0 )1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 0 s k y p e :i n a y a i l i
T h a n k s ! J o n a t h a nC u t r e l l ,E d i t o r F u e l Y o u r I n t e r f a c e . c o m|@ F u e l I n t e r f a c e|@ j C u t r e l l
A r s e n y P l e a s ec o n s i d e rt h ee n v i r o n m e n tb e f o r ep r i n t i n gt h i se m a i l . A r s e n yV e s n i n h t t p : / / d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r . n e t C a l e n d a r :h t t p : / / 2 0 1 0 . d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r . n e t P r o f i l e :h t t p : / / d e s i g n h u b . r u T w i t t e r :h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r F l i c k r :h t t p : / / w w w . f l i c k r . c o m / g r o u p s / d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r 6 V i m e o :h t t p : / / v i m e o . c o m / c h a n n e l s / d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r F a c e b o o k :h t t p : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / d e s i g n c o l l e c t o r
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W a r mr e g a r d s , D i p t iK a n k a l i y a {d i p t i . k a n k a l i y a @ s t u d i o m a r c h . c o m} S t u d i oM a r c hP r i v a t eL i m i t e d 1 2M o l e d i n aR o a dC a m pP u n e1I n d i a P h o n e :+ 9 1 2 0 2 6 3 3 4 0 0 2 {h t t p : / / w w w . s t u d i o m a r c h . c o m} M a r c h C a s tT h eS t u d i oM a r c hb l o g {h t t p : / / w w w . s t u d i o m a r c h . c o m / m c} T h i si sa no f f i c i a le m a i lf r o mS t u d i oM a r c hP r i v a t eL i m i t e da n di sp r o t e c t e d b yad i s c l a i m e r .I fy o ua r en o tt h ei n t e n d e dr e c i p i e n to ft h i se m a i l ,p l e a s e v i s i t :h t t p : / / w w w . s t u d i o m a r c h . c o m / l e g a l / e m a i l .
Make sure it still looks good in plain text. Use black and standard-sized fonts, and stay away from big, tiny and rainbow-colored fonts. Dont use CSS. Inline HTML formatting is universally accepted. Use common Web fonts. Including a logo? Make sure the signature looks nice even when the logo doesnt load or is blocked. Check how it looks when forwarded. Do all the lines wrap correctly? You may want to load your company image as your gravatar from Gravatar.com as Joost de Valk does. Feel free to experiemnt with your e-mail signature: Jan Diblk uses a signature with dynamicaly changed promo image.
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There are other less standard ways to separate your signature. While not automatic formatting, a line of , ======, or _______ or even just a few spaces will visually separate your signature from your email.
D a nO l i v e r( e d i t o r ) . n e tm a g a z i n e( w w w . n e t m a g . c o . u k ) T w i t t e r :d a n o l i v e r E m a i l :d a n . o l i v e r @ f u t u r e n e t . c o m P h o n e :0 1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 A d d r e s sf o rd e l i v e r i e s : . n e t ,U n i t s1&2C o t t r e l lC o u r t , M o n m o u t hP l a c e ,B a t h ,B A 12 N P -
# # # C h e e r s , D a n
V e n n l i gh i l s e n L a r sB k B y r l e d e r&T e k s t f o r f a t t e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J S S ! S t o r g a t a1 5 ,2 4 0 8E l v e r u m M o b( + 4 7 )0 12 34 56 7 x x x x @ j o s s . a s|w w w . j o s s . a s
I n f o r m a t i o nA r c h i t e c t sI n c . T o k y oZ u r i c h O l i v e rR e i c h e n s t e i n ,F o u n d e r h t t p : / / i n f o r m a t i o n a r c h i t e c t s . j p h t t p : / / w e b t r e n d m a p . c o m h t t p : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / i A -
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Resources
About the Signature Block on Wikipedia 5
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Email Signature Etiquette 6 Creating, Installing and Using HTML e-Mail Signatures: Technical Considerations 7
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You may be interested in the following related posts:
How To Create A Great Web Design CV and Rsum? 8 Business Card Design: Better Than A Plain Ol Business Card 9 Invoice Like A Pro: Examples and Best Practices 10
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Kat Neville - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/author/kat-neville/?rel=author ASCII - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/ascii/ Email - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/email/ Inspiration - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/inspiration/ About the Signature Block on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signature_block
Email Signature Etiquette http://www.hanselman.com/blog/EmailSignatureEtiquetteTooMuchFlair.aspx Creating, Installing and Using HTML e-Mail Signatures: Technical Considerations http://www.digitechbranding.com/pages/email-signature-HTML-programming.html How To Create A Great Web Design CV and Rsum? http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/01/10-handy-tips-for-web-design-cvs-andresumes/ Business Card Design: Better Than A Plain Ol Business Card http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/20/effective-business-card-design-better-than-aplain-ol-business-card/ Invoice Like A Pro: Examples and Best Practices http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/11/05/invoice-like-a-pro/
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Kat Neville is a freelance Canadian web designer (living in the UK) who is constantly coming up with too many ideas for new websites. She also loves arts and crafts, gardening and going on adventures. You can find her design work at safetygoat.co.uk.
With a commitment to quality content for the design community. Made in Germany. 2006-2013. http://www.smashingmagazine.com
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