Email Signature Etiquette

I remember, as a kid, I used to practice my signature on paper and try all different ways of calligraphy to make my signature as different and unique as possible. Am sure you all would have been through the same phase. But, every time I proudly came up with a new signature, my dad would smile and say; "don't make it so unique that people get confused." Nowadays, we hardly use our signature on paper for people to notice and admire our uniqueness. But sending and receiving emails is something we do on a regular basis, be it at a personal, or a professional level. Just like your paper signature, there is no hard and fast rule or a specific etiquette to follow for an email signature, but always keep in mind that you want people to know your identity and not your resume! We all have an email account irrespective of our age, sex, country, or profession. But the point to be noted here, is that your email signature also depends upon what kind of relationship you share, and the response or reaction you are seeking from the receiver's end. The following are some email signature etiquette examples that would give you an idea what information should be included in what kind of email signatures.

Student Email Signature Etiquette

This is for users who are communicating via email as students. I mean, if you are sending an email to your mom, wouldn't you prefer using a personal email signature? An ideal student email signature would include the following points:

• Your signature should be brief (4-5 lines) and informative.
• Mention your full name, your university and department name, your phone number, your mailing address and your email address, although, try to be as brief and to the point as possible. The email address can be avoided if you wish to be contacted in the same email address which you have used to send information to the recipient.
• If you have a lot of qualifications to write, then I would suggest you to always pick what is relevant to the receiver, make it an email signature and not an 'about me' section.

Student Email Signature Example
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Name
Name of university
Qualifications
Cell phone number, email address
Mailing Address

Personal Email Signature Etiquette

A personal email signature is the informal email signature that is used for sending personal emails to your friends, relatives, or people whom you are not formal with! You can also use personal email signature to promote your business in a very less formal way. Technically, for personal email signature, just writing your name at the end of the mail is enough because the receiver personally knows you. So there is no point mentioning your email address, phone number, or your mailing address in the email signature. But no matter what, we all do follow email etiquette at all levels, so why leave the email signature etiquette behind, even for a personal email? Let's have a look at some key points that should be kept in mind:

• Your name is the first thing on the list as always! It's not necessary to write your full name, your first name or nick name would be just fine, whatever you prefer!
• A link of your website or your blog is another thing you can include. Even though personal, it's always a nice feeling to share with your loved ones about your blogs or website. So, you can always add a link to them. When you do that make sure that you add the "http://" before the url because some websites don't take it as a link without that and the link may not be accessible from your email.
• Keeping your email signature simple and brief is what is always recommended. If you want the receiver to concentrate on the signature then send him a separate email for that. An email signature is only to reveal your identity.

Personal Email Signature Example
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Name
Blog
Skype
Twitter

Business Email Signature Etiquette

When it comes to business, we never want to miss a chance for marketing and advertising our business to each and every person we contact. In this case, we tend to put in a lot of information into our email signature, which in turn, makes the signature line appear more space consuming than the actual content! Of course, you are willing to attract the reader towards your signature line so that he or she gets to know all about your business and stuff, but, this in turn, might also irritate the receiver! You need to draw a line between trying to attract the client towards your signature line and making it look too desperate. Remember, if your signature line has the basic information, the client can always contact you to know more. Here are some points that can help you:

• Try not to extend your signature note more than 5-6 lines, or else it will end up looking like a signature paragraph, and not a signature line!
• Include your contact name, department, company name, company phone and fax numbers, company mailing address, company website, and marketing slogans or specialties. (you can avoid this at times if your website shows everything clearly).
• Make sure you include contact email address, so that the receiver knows how to get in touch with you.
• Don't include your personal details like your home address or phone number. Or your personal website, twitter, IM, or Skype details.
• Don't include any random quotes.

Keep in mind that certain countries have certain codes or formats when it comes to email signature etiquette for business purposes. So make sure that you follow your country's policies regarding the same. As for now, have a look at the example given below.

Business Email Signature Example
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Contact Name
Department
Company Name
Company phone and fax
Company Mailing Address
Company Website
Contact Email Address
Disclaimers (optional)

If you have different email accounts like work email and home email, why not use different email signatures for different people, with different approaches in your life? I mean, you can well imagine how annoying it is when we open an email from our friend, and the signature line flashes with the office information, as if sending you an email is just a way to promote himself. Or if you receive an official email and the signature line is filled with the personal twitter, Skype, blog details. Not all information should be shared with everyone, so just use your judgment to decide what information needs to be included and what doesn't. Hope the above points have proved to be of help!