What Does your "John Hancock" Look Like?

By Merle
Posted Wednesday, November 24, 2004

If you have a website and simply sign your e-mails with just your name, STOP right there! If you're not taking advantage of using a good signature line, you're missing out on promoting your business every time you send mail.

So you ask, what exactly does a good signature line look like?

It should read like a mini bio with the "Four W's:" Who, What, When, Where. The length is usually 4 o 6 lines (at no more then 65 characters per line). You should include your company name, URL, a business slogan, and a link to subscribe to your ezine or a freebie you may be offering. For example:

Sally Smith- Smith's Hardware Store (http://www.smithhardware.com/) "The Finest in Hardware Since 1910" Subscribe to "Smiths Hardware Post" send mailto:subscribe@smithhardware.com. "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy"

Take note of the special characters encasing the signature. This is optional but helps add a flair of creativity to your signature. Some people like to add a quote as in the example above. There are two excellent sites online for finding quotes you can use in your sig line:

(http://www.coolsigs.com) (http://www.siglets.com)

It's best to make a few different signature lines and switch them every so often so you don't get bored. If your site runs special sales or promotions you can make a signature line just for that occasion. In your email client make sure you set "add signature to all outgoing emails by default" so every time you send a new message the signature line will be included automatically.

Think of the amount of email you reply to weekly; that's a lot of people who will receive your mini billboard. It works silently in the background selling your site and services.

Signature lines are extremely important when posting to discussion boards and newsgroups. You can't just barge in and try to sell your products, but with a good signature line, you're doing it in an acceptable way when you post or reply to a message.

As in all of your advertising, try to pique the readers' curiosity with your signature, so they want to click on your URL and find out more about you.

Promoting your website means getting your URL seen in as many places as possible, and signature lines are one avenue in that direction. If you need more help with composing your signature lines or configuring your email client try:

(http://www.smithfam.com/news/june99r.html)

(http://www.earthlink.net/internet/email/signatures.html)

Although this may seem pretty elementary, you'd be amazed to see the amount of email I receive daily that's missing the signature boat. If you've overlooked your mini billboard I suggest you create one now, because you never know when someone may ask to see your "John Hancock."

About the Author
Merle's Cyber Promotions (MC) (http://www.mcpromotions.com) Creating Visibility Online for Small Business... because just having a site isn't enough. Visit the site to receive FREE e-books packed with marketing & promotional tips that will help your site get traffic. Also subscribe to MC Promotions Press Newsletter to subscribe mailto:subscribe@mcpromotions.com