The Perfect Cold Email Signature Guide

You just drafted a cold email, and you’re feeling good. 

You’ve nailed your subject line, you’ve got your call to action, you know your content is on-point. 

But wait! 

Have you stopped to consider your email signature? 

It may seem like a minor addendum, but it can really pack a punch (if done right!).

In this guide, we explain why email signatures matter for sales experts and how best to optimize yours. 

What Is An Email Signature?

Your email signature is the section at the end of your email that identifies you, typically including information such as your name, position, company, and contact information. 

In the simplest terms, your signature is like a digital business card, but it can be so much more than that. While the email body is all about your recipient, the signature is your chance to shine. 

Importance of Email Signatures In Cold Emails

While a solid email signature is helpful in all business emails, when it comes to cold email outreach, the signature is particularly important. 

When you have no pre-existing relationship, your email could either be the equivalent of someone shoving a flyer in your face in Times Square or a friendly handshake. 

A good email signature can:

– Create brand recognition – Introduce your cold email prospect to your company and give them a sense of what you can provide them

– Establish credibility – Let them see that you’re legit and that other people can vouch for you

– Increase trust and authority – Show them what you have accomplished and why they can trust you

– Make it easy to reach you – Give your cold email prospect the information they need to get in touch and start building a relationship

– Promote special offers – Encourage them to engage by promoting special offers on your latest product or service

Don’t neglect your chance to make an impact with this little bit of real estate!

Introduce Yourself In Your Email Signature

But how do you accomplish all this, and what exactly should you include?

Put in too much content, and your signature could become off-putting or simply be ignored. Then there’s also the risk of not sharing enough information and missing out on an opportunity. How do you find that perfect balance to create an effective cold email signature? 

Begin With Your Name

Always start with your official name. Avoid nicknames and simply use whatever you go by in professional contexts. 

What Sort of Picture to Use In Your Email Signature?

Including a profile photo with your headshot can leave a lasting impression on your prospect and remind them that you are a real person – there’s a warm body behind that screen.

The type of photo you use can differ depending on your role – are you in sales? A link-building strategist? Consider your target audience. 

You can play it safe by using a formal picture or get a little creative. You don’t need to go full corporate in a suit and tie, but make sure to keep it professional. Finding a professional headshot photographer can ensure you’re leaving the right impression with your connections.

If you want to edit, crop, our tailor an image you have to make it more suitable for your email signature (e.g. making it a square image), consider using a picture editor.

Should You Add Your Position / Role?

By adding your designation in your email signature, you let people know immediately what your role is at your company. 

Are you the founder, a sales associate, a blogger? This is especially relevant content when reaching out to peers at other companies. 

How Necessary is It To Add Your Phone Number?

Again, this depends on your role. 

If you’re in sales or applying for jobs, this is a useful addition. The recipient may want to reach you right away and not wait around for an email response. Make yourself accessible by providing your digits.

In other cases, for example, if you’re a blogger, it may not be necessary. 

Should You Include Email Address in Signature?

Typically this is something you can leave out (everyone knows how to hit reply!). You want to keep your signature short and sweet, and that means leaving out unnecessary information. 

However, if you know your prospects are likely to forward your email without including the email address line, it’s a good idea to keep it in. 

Physical Address (for Legal Compliance)

With many of us working remotely these days, you may wonder, “does my physical location even matter anymore?” But physical location is actually an important inclusion due to data regulations, so don’t leave it out! 

For example, in the U.S., under the CANSPAM Act, if you are sending someone a cold email, you must include a physical business address along with a way for people to opt-out of your emails (for example, a message that says “let me know if you want me to take you off the list”).

In most cases, you want to include your company’s physical address. But, if you are a freelancer or working from home and don’t want to list your home address, you might want to consider a virtual office address or P.O. Box.  

If you are sending cold emails, they must comply with the data laws of where you are sending your emails to and from, like GDPR (E.U.), Data Protection Act (U.K.), and CANSPAM Act (U.S.).

Opt-Out

As mentioned above, you will want to have a way for people to opt-out of your cold emails if you want to comply with the CANSPAM Act. You can have a line in your signature that says something to the effect of, “If you would not like to receive any future emails from me, please let me know,” or an unsubscribe link.

Establish Authority & Authenticity

Your email signature is a chance to establish your authority and demonstrate your authenticity to your audience. You can introduce your company and explain why it should matter to them. And you can give them opportunities to engage with you beyond what was included in the email body. 

Even your formatting can convey your professionalism and trustworthiness.

If your email signature has a bunch of different items like social links and other calls-to-action, you will want to be mindful of your signature’s layout, graphics, typeface, and color scheme as well. It should all work together.

Should You Include Your Social Links in Your Email Signature?

Social media links can be a fast-track to establishing trust and credibility. After all, your followers and connections already trust you, and that fact alone holds a lot of influence.

However, you want to keep your signature concise, so include only the most impactful social profiles. Overdoing it on links could get you caught in someone’s spam folder. 

That means you might not be able to incorporate every social media profile you have. Consider which account you are most active on in a professional context and will carry the most weight in demonstrating your authority.

For company founders, LinkedIn and Twitter are often the most important. If you’re in sales, LinkedIn is likely your best choice. However, influencers might find it useful to include Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. 

Don’t Forget To Add The Domain

Another important link is in the domain of your company (or the company you work for). You may also want to include a branded company image.

Add A Self-Promotional Quote in The Signature

With all that being said, if your potential prospect doesn’t understand what your company does and why your offering is valuable to them, they’re unlikely to click on any of the links.

That’s why it’s a good idea to include your company tagline, to sum up, what you do in just a few words. 

If you’re a link builder, that could be something like “Let’s get you ranked.” For a photographer, it could be “memorable clicks.”

Why should your company matter to your potential prospect? How will it benefit them? Let them know with a brief tagline. 

Importance Of Call To Action In Email Signature

You also want to encourage a potential client to engage with you directly. The signature is a good place to include a link to your calendar so they can easily set up a time to meet with you.  

Added A Promotion Link Yet?

This is also an opportunity to keep your email recipients informed of your latest offerings, be it a new service or a blog post. Mention it in your email signature to get their attention.

Is It Good Looking?

Aesthetics come into play here as well. With mismatched text, and an overabundance of images and links, this section could easily become an eyesore and even make you look like a spammer.

Keep your signature neat and clean. Make sure fonts and colors are consistent. If your company has branding guidelines, stick to those. A tidy signature will convey professionalism and increase trust. 

Mistakes To Avoid In Your Cold Email Signature

We threw a lot at you, but there are some important things to avoid when creating your email signature as well. Here are five common mistakes to avoid when creating your email signature for cold emails.

You Include Irrelevant Information 

Take the time to really consider who your target audience is and what information is relevant to them. 

It’s not necessary to include every single piece of information about yourself and your company. Add too much, and it’s information overload.

Your Signature Has Too Many Links

While it’s a good idea to link to your content, you don’t want to go overboard. Keep it to:

– no more than one call action link

– no more than one promotional link

– no more than three social links

Remember, too many links can impact your email deliverability since you risk getting flagged as spam!

Email Signature Doesn’t Follow Color Pattern

Often, people neglect to consider the color palette. Stick to your brand colors, and keep all buttons consistent. A sloppy signature is an ignored signature. 

You Include Multiple Images, or the Signature is an Image

Images are another trigger for spam filters, so avoid including anything here other than your profile picture or branded company image.

Also, don’t make the entire signature an image! If it doesn’t appear for your recipient, they’re missing out on all that information. 

And if the signature itself is just a static image, it is not searchable if someone wants to search through their inbox to find you by your full name or company name, and it wasn’t included in the main email body.

You Add Too Many Elements

When you think you’ve added everything you need, take one last look and examine the balance of all the elements. Remove anything that feels like too much, so you are left with a clean, professional email signature.

Top Free Cold Email Signature Generators

Admittedly, there is a lot to consider when crafting an effective email signature. Luckily, there are free email signature generator tools out there that can help you create yours. 

To find the best fit for your company, make sure to choose one that has templates and fonts that are consistent with your branding. Many generators offer paid options as well, which allow for more customization, consistency for large sales teams, and analytics. For freelancers or small teams, though, a free generator will do the job.

Here, we’ve rounded up a few to help you pick the best for you. 

Conclusion

Though often overlooked, your email signature is a prime opportunity to introduce yourself to your prospects and enhance your cold email strategy. With the right balance of elements, your email signature can gain trust, create brand recognition, and show that you’re legit. 

Rather than shoving a flyer in your prospect’s face, let your email signature shake their hand and guide them to your services. Your Signature is just one element of your cold email, hundreds of things can go wrong. Learn to stop making common cold email mistakes.

FAQs