They contain life mottos, price lists, and sometimes even mini photo galleries and motivational quotes. Over the years of working with clients, our experts have seen thousands of them. At first glance, email footers seem to be negligible. However, during a campaign, they become one of the most crucial factors, which can decide whether your emails are delivered or not. We’ve collected examples of footers you should and absolutely shouldn’t emulate.
Email signatures have one basic function – informative. They should be simple and clear. This sounds like a cliche, but a surprising number of people seem to not realize this.
Footers build trustworthiness. Thanks to the information included, the recipient knows you actually exist. He can look up your LinkedIn, learn more about you and your business.
Email signatures also affect the delivery rate. The shorter the HTML code of the footer, the better. Every graphic element or a photo increases the risk of the message going into spam because the code gets more extensive. If your footer contains a large graphic or an error, chances are your emails will be considered spam.
WHAT SHOULD A FOOTER CONTAIN?
1.Your full name and position
The position you hold within the company affects the tone of the conversation. The way you talk to an owner or a marketing director differs from the way you talk to an intern. If you’re responsible for cold emailing, and you only just started your career, it’s better to leave this information out of your footer. There’s a chance people won’t be willing to talk to you.
2. Company address and website
A short URL makes your business more trustworthy. If interested, the message recipient can learn more about how you operate, what projects you have completed thus far, and your offer. Don’t paste user tracking links (UTMs, for instance) into the footer, though. They significantly lower the delivery rate.
Your actual postal address can be omitted in the footer. If you’re sending cold emails abroad, no one’s really interested in the fact your company is located in Waterbury, Connecticut at 8 Commercial Street, or at 15d/7 Fabryczna St in Lublin, Poland. Put the company address in if you’re operating in the domestic or local market. Definitely leave the floor number out. Trust me, I’ve seen such blunders too.
3. Phone number
Include your phone number in the footer only if you actually use it on the regular. You don’t want a situation where a potential client calls you and can’t get through.
As it was the case with the company address, if you’re sending emails abroad, take time difference into account. If it’s the middle of the night where you are, and it’s noon where the email recipient is, there’s a chance the client will want to contact you right after reading the message. Are you going to pick up in the middle of the night? If not, leave the phone number out.
Footers often include Skype handles. If you’re not using it on a daily basis, don’t put it in.
4. Social media links
It’s worth showing the company has a Facebook page, but there’s no need to include all the social profiles and instant messaging apps. Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing, YouTube, G2Crowd, Clutch, Hangouts… I could keep going. Remember that the footer mostly serves the informative purpose. A potential client will find all your social media links on your website. There’s no need to paste them all into the footer. Even more so if you don’t update them regularly and they don’t offer any valuable content.
If you reckon it’d be good to include your company LinkedIn, make sure the link works. A brokenlink increases the risk of getting into spam.
Here, the country you’re trying to reach also plays a role. If you’re contacting German businesses, don’t use your LinkedIn. Most people there use Xing.
[latest-selected-content limit=”1″ display=”title” image=”large” url=”yes” linktext=”Read more” elements=”3″ id=”797″ orderby=”dateD”]
5. Email address
Seems obvious? Indeed, there’s no need to put the address you’re sending the email from in the footer. It’s like sending an SMS and saying “here’s my number” at the end.
Also, putting a different email address than the one you’re reaching out from in the footer is a major blunder.
6. Photo
You like knowing who you’re talking to, right? You can adjust the tone of the conversation knowing it’s a 30 year old sales manager, or a 50 year old director on the other side. That’s why having a photo of yourself in the footer helps. Make sure it’s a professional shot, though, and not a terrible selfie in front of the company building.
7. Motivational quotes
Absolutely not! Do not put any in your email footer. No inspirational life motto, or motivational quote will affect your business relation. Keep it professional and provide only the crucial information.
Wrap-up
When sending emails, keep the recipients in mind and try on their shoes. Adjust your footer language-wise. An email sent in English should have a matching footer, including the properly translated job title or address. You want the addressee to have no trouble understanding you, right?
Surely, you also want your messages to reach the target recipients. Make sure to get rid of all the mistakes and broken links, and trim the code. The footer is a kind of a business card – it should remain simple, clear, and concise.
