Having a professional signature to wrap up your emails is a priority that many freelancers overlook. However, it is a fantastic opportunity to offer potential customers more information about you and your business. How to create a professional email signature?
Your email signature should be part of your marketing strategy and be one more element in your personal brand. Therefore, you must carefully analyze how to create this email signature to obtain the desired results .
The email signature will help customers identify your brand, so it is key when you think about taking care of your brand image or branding.
Next, we will address different points that will help you create your email signature:
What to include in your email signature as a freelancer
A good email signature should be short, concise, and include essential information that you want your recipients to know.
As a freelancer, it is important that with your signature you attract the attention of the recipient of your mail, who could be your next client.
Here are some of the things you should put in your email signature:
1. Your name, profession and contact
These are, for obvious reasons, the essential details to include in your professional email signature. Since you want your recipients to know at a glance who you are, what you do to understand why you send the e-mail.
Adding your name and your role is the way to achieve it. For example:
Perico Pérez
Expert in WordPress and Woocommerce
You must also provide the ways by which they can contact you. Depending on your business and your preferences, this may vary.
For example, if you work with international clients and use Skype a lot, feel free to add it as an alternative to your landline. Or if you are available to your clients on WhatsApp, you can also inform them of this option.
Note: do not overload. You will always have time to give more options once the conversation starts.
2. An image of you
Incorporating a professional photo can add a human element to your email. Whoever receives your mail will be able to put a face on you since you present yourself as a real person and not as a mere blank message.
This is a simple, yet effective way to build trust and a connection with who is going to receive your email.
Of course, make sure that it is a small image (it is not the main element of the signature) and professional (no photos on your favorite beach).
3. You logo
Do you have a logo that you use on your website, social media channels, invoices, etc.? So, you should add it to your email signature to create cohesion within your brand .
If you don’t have a logo, it may be something to consider in the near future, just as you’ve come to the conclusion that a professional email signature is going to help you present a more engaged and professional image to your future clients.
There are people for and against including links to social networks in the email signature. We believe that as freelancers, it can be a great way to connect more personally with potential clients.
Nowadays, it is logical that clients want to know a little more about the profile of the professional before answering. Therefore, including all the links they need to find you on the Internet is the best way to direct them to the spaces in which you are most active and that best show your work.
For example, you can add a link to your profile on freelancermap with one of our available widgets that you can choose here , or the link to your portfolio, your blog, etc.
When it comes to social media, select only the most professional social media channels and avoid linking to accounts you use personally.
5. A biographical line
Adding a short bio to your email signature can be a great way to provide a little more information about yourself in an interesting way. For example, if you work in a very specialized niche, this is a good place to emphasize that to your recipients.
Or add a funny line, with a customer problem and how you can help.
You can be inspired by the biographical line that Neil Patel, an expert in online sales and digital marketing uses.
In his signature we see his name, an image, a link to social networks and some phrases that offer more information about him.
Neil’s bio line shows that he is an expert in digital marketing, noting that he has helped prestigious brands increase their online income.
Any potential customer who sees a bio like this will pay more attention to the email. You may not have the experience of Neil Patel, but you can craft an appropriate bioline to make a big impact.
How to create a professional email signature
Now that we know the information that we are going to include in the signature, it is time to know how we can create it.
Fortunately, you don’t need to be an experienced designer to create a truly effective professional email signature .
To design an email signature that is convenient you can use templates available online and edit them with your own branding, links and other elements that you want to include.
If you prefer to use a simpler template, you can create your own directly with Gmail or your email provider, although it won’t have the same customizable options as an online template.
When creating an email signature , there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure you’re giving the right impression to the recipients of your message. Two key aspects:
- Colors – Do you use a brand with specific colors, for example, on your professional website? So, you should use those same colors in your email signature to promote brand consistency.
- Brevity – Although you want to include some key information in your signature, you don’t need it to be the same length as your email, right? Keep it short and simple, using icons and links where necessary.
Create an HTML signature
Some email managers like Outlook will ask you for your HTML signature. The HTML code allows you to customize your email signature to the maximum, in terms of format, colors or functionalities.
We bring you two examples of HTML email signatures that you can copy and adapt according to your needs.
A simple signature example we use at freelancermap is:
The code for this html signature is as follows:
<strong><span style=»font-size:small;»>[TU NOMBRE]</span></strong>
<div><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>[TU PAPEL] |<a href=»https://www.freelancermap.com»>[TU SITIO WEB]</a></span></div>
<div><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>E: <a href=»mailto:[TUCORREO ELECTRONICO]«>[TU CORREO ELECTRÓNICO]</a> </span></div>
<div><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>[TELEFONO]</span></div>
<div></div>
<div><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>Follow us:</span>
<div><span style=»font-size: x-small;»><strong><a href=»[LINK AL BLOG]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>Blog</a> </strong></span><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>|<strong> <a href=»[LINK A FACEBOOK]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>Facebook</a></strong> </span><span style=»font-size: x-small;»> | <strong><a href=»[LINK A TWITTER]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>Twitter</a></strong> </span><span style=»font-size: x-small;»>| <strong> <a href=»[LINK A LINKEDIN]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>LinkedIn</a></strong></span><span style=»font-size: x-small;»> |<strong> <a href=»[OTROS ENLACES, POR EJEMPLO PORTFOLIO]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>Portfolio</a></strong></span></div>
<span style=»color: #666666; font-size: xx-small;»><span style=»font-family: arial, sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff;»>[TU DIRECCIÓN (Opcional)]<br /></span></span>
Another example of photo signature:
To get this signature, this is the HTML signature you’ll need to edit:
<div>
<table style=»border: 3px solid #41c0eb;» border=»0″ width=»600″ cellspacing=»0″ cellpadding=»0″>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style=»border: 1px solid #41c0eb; border-right: none; border-left: none;» align=»right» valign=»top» width=»170″ height=»170″><a href=»[LINK A TU WEB]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»><img style=»padding-top: 20px;» src=»[LINK A TU FOTO O LOGO]» width=»150″ height=»150″ /></a></td>
<td style=»padding-left: 25px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border: 1px solid #41c0eb; border-left: none; border-right: none; line-height: 16px;» valign=»bottom» width=»430″ height=»170″>
<p style=»font-size: 18px;»><strong>[NOMBRE]</strong></p>
<p style=»font-size: 16px;»>[TU PAPEL] · <a href=»[LINK A TU WEB]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»>[TU WEB TEXTO]</a></p>
<p style=»line-height: 18px;»>T: [TU TELÉFONO]</p>
<p style=»line-height: 18px;»>E: [TU CORREO]</p>
<p><strong>Me encuentras en:</strong></p>
<p><a href=»[ENLACE A TU PORTFOLIO]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»><img src=»[URL IMAGEN LOGO FACEBOOK]» width=»30″ height=»30″ /></a><a href=»[ENLACE A LINKEDIN]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»><img src=»[URL IMAGEN LOGO LINKEDIN]» width=»30″ height=»30″ /></a><a href=” [LINK TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE]» target=»_blank» rel=»noopener»><img src=»[URL IMAGEN LOGO FACEBOOK]» width=»30″ height=»30″ /></a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
In many email providers, such as Outlook or Thunderbird, you can easily add your HTML code to create your email signature:
- In Outlook: Account Options > Write Mail > Format, Font, and Signature
- In Thunderbird: Account settings > Signature text (activate use HTML)
Tools to create your email signature
You can start from scratch by designing your own signature, use one of the HTML examples we’ve shared, or use one of the many free resources for generating email signatures .
Many email signature generators offer their services for the first signature for free. We recommend you look at:
- HubSpot has several different email signature templates that you can customize and edit however you need.
- WiseStampt is also an email signature generator where you can get inspired and create your own signature.
- Htmlsig also gives you 30 days to create your email signature and edit it. It gives you several options such as the ability to make appointments on the calendar or connect on Whatsapp .
- Newoldstamp also allows you to create a single signature for free.
How to put your email signature in Gmail
Gmail is one of the most used providers, so we will focus on this provider and explain in detail how to add your email signature to your Gmail account .
First enter your account and once you are in your inbox, you will see the configuration wheel in the upper right corner, very close to your photo. Click on this cogwheel and when the settings open, click on the “ See all settings ” button.
You will see that there are many options to configure, but to add a signature we will stay in the general configuration and go down to the Signature point.
There you can add the format you want, with links, images, icons, etc.
Gmail also allows you to have multiple signatures available. You could set one that catches more attention for the first email and a different one for the replies.