Email signatures are an important tool for every business, but not everyone is doing them right. We have previously written about how to create an email signature in Outlook. Overall, there is an understanding that adding a signature to emails is a good way through which to boost trust in a business among the people with which it interacts.
Not only that, but email signatures are also a tool that brands can use to provide useful contact information to potential clients. As an example, you can have your email address, your physical address and links to your social media pages as part of your signature.
Unfortunately, a lot of people out there believe simply having a solid image as an email signature is enough. It’s probably easier to do things this way, but easy is not always the best way to go. Yes, an image that contains your logo, as well as your contact and other details, may look good, but it only does half the job as far as the purpose of email signatures is concerned.
Why solid image email signatures are not the best
There is a reason why solid image email signatures are not the best; they can only have one clickable element on the image itself. Perhaps you will add a link to your home page. But what if you have other elements that are supposed to be clickable?
An example would be your email address. You can format it in such a way that a person who clicks on it is directed to an email client through which they can send you an email. Email signatures these days also have social media links as part of their elements.
Again, you will want to make this clickable. Let’s assume that you have added a link to your Facebook Page to your signature. Or maybe you have added a link to your Twitter or Instagram handle. You will want to have people who click on these directed to relevant pages. It won’t do to have everyone directed to a home page or to another single page.
That’s the major reason why it’s important not to have a single image as your email signature. Yes, it may look good, but it’s not the best way to represent your business. The usefulness of email signatures goes beyond mere aesthetics. They are a tool through which clients and others are supposed to find you.
What alternatives are there to single-image email signatures?
We have already noted that single-image email signatures are not the best because they do not allow for interaction between important elements and your clients. But what options are there when it comes to creating email signatures?
Plain Text Email Signatures
In the first instance, you can create Plain text email signatures. That’s possible in HCL Domino and in Microsoft 365. Plain text signatures are probably some of the simplest that you will be able to find anywhere out there.
This type of signature has no imagery. Neither does it allow for formatting of the text such as changing the font type and size and bolding the text. Plain text email signatures can have links, however. That makes them useful to some degree when compared to single-image signatures.
However, that usefulness is toned down by the lack of appealing imagery. Today, the average person is unindicted by advertising copy that they have developed what’s referred to as ad blindness. As a result, people may not even notice a plain text signature.
HTML email signature
Another alternative to using a single image as your email signature is an HTML signature. HTML email signatures are great in that they allow you to add, not just text, but also images and graphics to your signature.
You can format text in an HTML signature to achieve different colours, sizes, shapes and much more. All these elements combine to make your signature visually appealing. That goes a long way in breaking the ad blindness that we have just talked about.
When it comes to comparing single-image email signatures with HTML signatures, there is really no comparison. HTML signatures are superior. Not only can they include images, but each element can also be made clickable.
So, you can have a clickable link to your website on your URL. You can also have a clickable logo directing to another part of your site. Another option is to have clickable social media icons that direct to relevant pages. As an example, you can have a Facebook icon with a link directing to your business’ Facebook page.
Email signature management with Crossware
Most businesses understand the importance of email signatures, but very few are willing to go the extra mile to create signatures that bring results. If you really want to have a signature that works for you, you need to use email signature management software such as Crossware.
We are one of the most trusted brands in this regard. Our software is designed for easy management of email signatures in Microsoft 365, HCL Domino and Microsoft Exchange. But who should consider hiring our services?
If you run a small business, then you probably won’t have issues managing your email signature(s). However, as your business grows, it can become an issue. What you need is Crossware, a platform that’s designed to centralize the management of your signatures.
Crossware allows you to create signatures that work well not only on mobile devices but also on larger screens. Our platform provides a drag-and-drop functionality that makes it easy for anyone to create professional-looking email signatures.
Wish to learn more? Sign up for a free Crossware trial today! We simplify the company-wide email signature management process.
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