The other day while working with one of my marketing directors we were discussing creating a graphic to place in their email signature for an upcoming event. I’d been creating all the graphics for this fundraiser and why not promote it in everyone’s daily correspondence? Great idea, right? But the questions for me were what size, how are you placing it and is it clickable? Does the staff all work in Outlook or access mail via the web?

I looked through my emails to see who was doing what and well. I realized my own signature was just the basic information: company, phone, web, and my email. But my favorite inbound marketing people at OverGo Studio really had it going on. They’re using WiseStamp, an email app that enables users to add a whole new level of functionality and interaction to their signatures with social buttons, video — you name it. What I really liked was the icons and graphics do not show as attachments in the body of the email. The one negative is it only works if you email off the web, but not through Mac Mail or Outlook (it works on Outlook web access, however). I needed to look elsewhere. I found I can hyperlink my social icons to my signature through Mail on my Mac, and I even found a great link for how to add icons and links in Outlook for my PC colleagues. Check out this link for a how-to in Outlook.

I know this is nothing new, but when looking at the majority of emails in my inbox I realized most of us are not taking advantage of this opportunity. These little ways to interact and correspond with colleagues and prospects add up. I decided to add some social buttons to my email signature and see what happens. Why just have it on my monthly newsletter or website when I interact with more people on a daily basis through plain email? If you’re interested in adding some graphics or icons to your signature, give me a shout. Whether you want to promote an event, special offer, or just spruce up your emails, I’m happy to create and customize the right-sized icons and graphics in keeping with your branding and look.