How to Create a Professional Email Signature in 30 Seconds

Author: Adrien James

Just as important as the first impression you make with initiatives on your website, social profiles and elsewhere else, the same goes for the last impression you leave with your email signature. This is especially true when emailing inquiries to people who don’t know you well enough to get a sense of who you are from a plain text email.

Beyond displaying your contact information, having a well-designed email signature can convey your personality and provide thoughtful information in your place. It can even be the catalyst that moves leads to explore more about the business and services you are offering. Luckily, creating a beautiful email signature is very quick and easy. With a client management software for small businesses, you can use an email signature generator to create one in just seconds.

Why You Need a Business Email Signature

If you’re still on the fence about creating a unique email signature, consider how you interact with new names in your inbox. Of course, you’ll read what they’re inquiring about, but you’ll also likely scroll down to their signature to understand who they are, who they work for, what they do and where you can find more information about them.

In just a few lines, an email signature is just like a digital business card. It allows the people you communicate with online to save your information and get to know you better.

7 Easy Steps to Make a Professional Email Signature

Ready to get started? In seven easy steps, you can create a professional email signature that your leads and clients are sure to notice.

1. Use an Email Signature Generator

Signature generators may not seem like they offer the personality and customization you need, but in actual fact, they make it much easier to create a professional signature. An email signature generator is the perfect tool for professionals, independent business owners and freelancers, and it only takes about 30 seconds to use.

By inputting your important details, the generator does the rest for you – it takes all the information and creates a unique and professional design that looks great. When you’re ready to drop your signature into an email client, you can always adjust it as needed as well.

2. Pick a Template for Your Email Signature Design

Select an email signature template that’s most aligned to your branding. Also consider the latest trends in email signatures and which styles would look best for you. Don’t forget to choose the right font style (we include both serif and sans-serif options), how front and center you’d like your logo or headshot to be, and the types of social icons that are included. To select your template, simply hover over it and click "Use this template."

3. Enter Your Contact Information

A preview of the template you’ve chosen will now appear on the top right of the page. Fill in the required details on the top left side of the page and it will automatically update on the right so you can see a preview of what it will look like. Not sure what fields to complete? Follow our email signature best practices to ensure you’ve included all the important ones. In general, you’ll need your primary contact details, such as:

  • Name

  • Company Name

  • Job Title

  • Phone Number

  • Email Address

  • Office Location

  • Website

Another inclusion worth considering, especially for independent business owners, is links to your social media pages. Our email templates automatically include these as social icons so you can save space, but still have a link to each profile. You can toggle each profile on or off to only include the ones you use or want to link from your emails.

4. Drop In Your Headshot or Company Logo

Incorporating a visual in your signature is vital in order to establish your branding and include a more human element in your email. If you’re an independent business owner, it’s a good idea to go with a headshot so everyone can see who they’re communicating with. Otherwise, drop in your logo to make sure your emails are consistent with the branding on your website and social profiles.

5. Include a Call to Action

Certain calls to action can be beneficial to have in your email signature, especially if you’re promoting a particular campaign for your business. Instead of directing contacts to your website homepage, you can use the space for some short CTA text that links to a specific landing page.

For example, some business owners might find it helpful to have their online meeting scheduler linked directly in their signature so that potential leads are able to book a meeting without getting distracted on their website.

Whichever link you choose, make sure that your CTA is clear and concise. With the scheduling tool, you could write, "Book a free consultation," or something similar that aligns with your business. In general, your contacts should know why they want to click on the link.

6. Save Your New Email Signature

Once you’re satisfied with how your email signature looks, you’re almost there! Just click on the Finish button, confirm your email address, then finally check your email for your new email signature.

7. Include Your Signature in All Your Business Emails

Ensuring your new professional email signature is included in every email message is simple. To update it in Gmail, go to your inbox, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner, and then click on Settings.

Under General, scroll down to the Signature section and there you can paste in your generated email signature. This stage is where editing your signature is easy, so you can consider including a CTA or anything else you might have missed in the generator. Don’t forget to click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. If you use an email client other than Gmail, the steps will be similar.

And voila! Any time you now create a new email message, your professional email signature will be already included automatically. You can see exactly how your signature will look by sending a test email. Don’t forget to preview it on a mobile device as well just to be sure that your photo or logo and text look correct.

Use More Professional Email Communication

An optimized email signature can help you improve your client communication by making your messages more memorable and actionable.

Are you now ready to upgrade your email signature? Design one that represents your brand as well as you do. Using an email signature generator is completely free and enables you to include design elements in all the emails you send—no coding or Illustrator skills needed—in just seven easy steps.