By June Campbell
Does your email signature contain a humorous quip or a
philosophical quote from a dead poet? If yes, you're wasting a wonderful
opportunity to promote your business for free!
To a business person, an e-sig is an advertisement and the
basic guidelines for writing advertisements apply. However, modifications for
online use are required. Keep the following guidelines in mind:
1. Less is more. Some email systems and mailing lists will
automatically cut off any signature exceeding 4-6 lines. Many email programs
will allow you to set line lengths to about 60 characters - the ideal length
for readability.
2. Attract attention to your signature by creating "borders" of
text or special characters.
3. Include the name of your business and a short, pithy
marketing statement.
4. Sell benefits, not features.
5. Offer something free - i.e. free information, free contest,
free samples, etc.
6. Make it easy for people to contact you by providing
clickable links to URLs and emails. For example, if you add "mailto:" in front of
an email address, most email programs will allow the user to open a new
message to that address simply by clicking on the link.
For example:
"A healthy puppy is a happy puppy! " For a FREE report on
canine health and
nutrition, send a blank email to mailto:report@mypetstore.com
My Pet Store-- For All Your Pet's Needs!
(http://www.mypetstore.com)
In the simulated example above, the mythical Pet Place sells a
benefit (i.e.
a happy pet), offers free information that pet lovers will
appreciate,
provides contact information, states the business name, and
gives viewers
two methods to quickly contact The Pet Place. All in 31 words
plus two lines of border!
Related Articles:
The Two Sentence Advantage
I call it The Two-Sentence Advantage. You'll be heard if you stand up and
introduce yourself in two succinct sentences -
who you are, who your company is and what services your company
offers.
The Power of Seven
A
prospective customer has to see your ad on an average
of seven times before they will buy from you. Does this
mean that you can run your ad in one publication seven times
and expect to start receiving orders?
