E-mail presents an incredibly easy way to brand your enterprise and promote your products and services, without even thinking about it.
Okay, you have to think about it at least once. And it is probably a good idea to think about it again, every now and again. But it is still incredibly easy. Here’s how.
Use your automatic e-mail signature to great effect.
Many people don’t even think about their e-mail signature even though it goes out to every single person to whom they send an e-mail. The e-mail signature presents a perfect opportunity to catch the attention of the recipient. Compare the following two email signatures:
Signature 1:
—
Cliff Rohde
Principal, GoatCloud Communications
Tel. 518-641-1005 | Email: [email protected]
Signature 2:
—
Cliff Rohde
Principal, GoatCloud Communications | Your guide to an effective online presence.
Tel. 518-557-7613 | Direct 518-641-1005
Find and follow: Facebook | Twitter @GoatCloud | goatcloud.com
About the goats.
E-mail signature 1 is pretty standard. It says who I am and how to contact me. That’s good. If you are in contact with someone, you want to facilitate their getting back in touch with you.
Now let’s look at e-mail signature 2. It also provides the basic contact information, with the exception of e-mail address. If the person has received your e-mail they have your e-mail address, so repeating it may be redundant. (There are reasons to include it, too. Remember that people forward e-mails on to third parties who may not have heard of you but once they do, want to contact you!)
Signature 2 also explains via a tagline what it is I do.
Signature 2 additionally offers a number of ways to connect with the enterprise via popular social media outlets, as well as the business website.
Finally, signature 2 also –and this is pretty important– offers a bit of whimsy and a reason to visit the website. How? Well, I can’t tell you how many people ask me “why the goats?” There are many reasons, but one of them is that I donate a percentage of our profits to organizations that provide goats to communities in the developing world. Most people view that as a positive thing, and that may give them additional reason to do business with me. Providing a link to that information permits the e-mail recipient to further engage with me, and to understand what my business stands for. That last line just as easily could promote a particularly noteworthy event, such as a special promotion.
The entire e-mail signature is still only five lines. That is probably as long as you want to get. It is also textual (no images), but with hyperlinks. Did you know that some people receive only plain text e-mail? Most do not, so the hyperlinks should work in most instances. They won’t in all. If your URLs (sorry, jargon: links) are not too long, you could consider spelling them out expressly in the signature.
So let your e-mail go to work for you in more ways than one. No need to run around like a chicken with your head cut off finding other ways to let the world know about your business.
Some basic e-mail signature tips:
- Use no more than five lines
- Do not use graphics/images (they often display incorrectly, if at all, and take up bandwidth)
- Consider using a tagline
- Include links to your website and social media properties
- Provide one special message (e.g., in the signature above, “about the goats”)
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