Email signatures

Contacting people via email has become the popular method of communication and it’s easy to see why. Email is quick, convenient and can include information that would be difficult to convey in a telephone conversation. However, many therapists are missing an important element to sending an email to a potential client – the email signature.

An email signature is a container that is automatically created at the end of your email to convey information. This information can include:

- Name
- Contact information
- Website address
- Professional qualifications
- Professional membership
- Company logo

Creating a signature with your email client is a simple process but before we show you how, here are some tips on email signature etiquette.

Do

• Align your information to the left (this includes any images or logos you may want to include)

• Have a closing statement on your first line such as “Sincerely”, “Kind regards” or “Best wishes” followed by your first name

• Include all your contact details: email address, website URL, telephone number, fax, address (if you practice from home you may not want to include this)

• Include a logo if you have one but make sure the image isn’t too big

Don’t

• Use unusual or fancy fonts (some computers may not recognise them)

• Use large font sizes or different fonts (if you want to be creative, stick to fonts in the same family i.e. Arial Narrow and Arial Bold

• Use too many font colours

• Use animated graphics for a logo (these may not load correctly on the recipient’s computer)

Below is an example of an email signature:

Kind regards John Smith Account Manager Tel: 020 8446 2224 John@gotosee.co.uk www.gotosee.co.uk GoToSee.co.uk 8th Floor Northway House 1379 High Road London N20 9LP SAVE PAPER – Please do not print this e-mail unless absolutely necessary

Use your GoToSee profile page in your signature

Having a web presence is really important these days but if you don’t have a website then you can use your profile page as a mini website instead. Where you would usually link to your website in your email signature, you can link to your profile page. With a GoToSee profile page you can add unlimited text and images etc.

A good example of one of these profile pages can be seen here

If you would like a website GoToSee can help you build a professional low-cost site. For more information click here

Creating a signature in Outlook Express, Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail

Below are links on how to go about creating your email signature using the most popular email clients. Some clients do not support graphics, or HTML in your signature so you’ll be limited to text only.

Click on the links to learn how to create an email signature in your client:

Creating an email signature in Outlook Express
Creating an email signature in Gmail
Creating an email signature in Yahoo
Creating an email signature in Hotmail

If your client is not listed here, visit their support pages for more information.

About The Author GoToSee are online marketing experts for the health sector. With a wealth of experience in online health promotion and internet marketing knowledge, they can help drive web traffic and potential clients to your business. Find out how GoToSee can help you by getting in touch here