Most of us see several email signatures every day, but we may never consider the impact that they have, and what they can do for our own professional endeavors. Data reveals the reality.
The main objectives of those who do use the free space at the bottom of their emails for marketing purposes are to raise brand awareness (82%), drive traffic to a website (48%), boost lead generation (34%), and increase sales (25%).
Want to step up your email signature game and start seeing the business benefits? Consider this post your complete guide to email signature best practices, inspiration, and design.
Why Signatures Are Important in Emails
Adding a signature at the end of a message is nothing new, unless you’re trying to remain anonymous. Today, email signatures are more than just a name and a way for recipients to know who they’re communicating with.
Email signatures serve as digital business cards—but better. They include information that people need to know, including what you do and how to get in touch with every email you send. Unlike most things in life, you can set it and forget it until you take on a new role or change career paths.
Beyond that, email signatures can act as one way to create a cohesive experience when you send messages to others. When you include elements of your branding, recipients become more familiar with them.
3 Tips for a Minimalistic But Interesting Email Signature
We know there’s a lot of pressure when you’re creating your email signature. It’s a small space and you need to create something that leaves a lasting impression without going overboard.
These tips will help you design an asset that’s right for you.
1. Consider Readability
Choosing a clear font doesn’t have to mean choosing a boring one. (Please, no Times New Roman.) However, you should be mindful when selecting your font and ensure that people can actually make sense of what they’re looking at. If you don’t, your signature won’t be effective.
2. Only Include the Essentials
Having too many things in your email signature will make it look cluttered (at best), and make it useless (at worst).
Email signature essentials typically include:
- Your name
- Job title
- Phone number
- Website
- Relevant social media handles
If what’s essential to you looks a little bit different, that’s okay. The key is to be intentional about what you add and to make sure that every element serves a purpose. If you include too many things, you may not drive traffic or attention where you want it.
3. Add Personality
In the past, email signatures were just a block of text, but that isn’t the case anymore. You can choose to add a touch of personality by adding a business logo, an image of yourself, or even choosing colors that represent you and your brand.
Examples of Engaging Email Signatures
Before you put your own design together, check out these email signature templates to get inspired.
1. All Business
A bare-bones design can still capture attention. Keep things professional with this black and white design and clear text.
2. What’s in a Name?
Ensure recipients never forget your name! Emphasize it in your email signature with large, bold text and subtle color complements.
3. Signature Look
This design has simple and few components: square graphics, two fonts, and two predominant colors. If you can identify which artistic elements you need, you can build from there.
4. With a Twist
Showcase your talent with an email signature design that includes creative elements and design choices.
How to Create an Email Signature in Create
Want to create your own engaging email signature from scratch? Use our online editor to design your own high-quality asset in just a few steps.
1. Choose a Blank Canvas
In Create, click File > Create new > Blank Canvas and scroll to the Email Signature template option. Or, you can use Command+F (or CTRL+F on PC) to search for it.
The email signature option is 600 x 200 pixels. If you know your specs by memory (impressive), you can just type them into the Create custom section and click Make it!
2. Add an Image
Your logo or a headshot is a good option here. Head to the Graphics tab and select Upload to choose a personalized graphic or peruse our thousands of options for the exact right design. We chose the Concentric Half Circle.
To duplicate your graphic as we did, simply right-click and select Duplicate layer. You can hold down the Shift button, select the top circle of the highlighted graphic, and drag to skew it 90 degrees. Done!
3. Add Text
Click the Text tab. From here, you can upload your brand fonts or click Add text to select one of ours. Enter the information you want on your signature and move the text box to where you’d like it to appear.
If you want to use multiple different fonts and sizes, just select a line of text to make changes. Adjust sizing, bold, italics, Shadow & outline, or click the Curved text option on the left toolbar for instant creativity.
If you’d like to include other graphics, like a line to separate your words from your logo, go back to the Graphics tab. Search “line” and select your favorite.
As you can see from the above image, you can also Add your own graphic at any point to ensure brand cohesion.
4. Download and Use
Finalize your email signature by ensuring everything is in the right place and change the color of any element by clicking on it. When you’re ready to download, click the red Download button in the top-right corner and select your preferred format. Then, go into your email settings and upload your masterpiece from your desktop.
Remember, whatever you create in Create will be autosaved and available for future edits anytime. So, whether you want to create a creative email signature design or something that’s minimalistic and modern, what matters most is in the details.
Putting thought into your signature strengthens your professional image and gives recipients the information they need.
With the help of Create’s artistic email signature templates, you’re only a few clicks away from improving your sign-off in every message.
Looking for more email inspiration? Click through to check out these email design ideas next.
Cover image via GoodStudio.
