How to Write a Great One [+ Free Generator]

I send out dozens of emails every day. Like a letter, each ends with a handy email signature that shares a bit more information about the work that I do. It’s a little note that allows me to market myself. With over 300 billion emails sent and received daily worldwide, your email signature serves 300 billion opportunities to get that extra marketing boost.

Many people treat their email signatures like an afterthought, which is a big missed opportunity. I’ve found success leveraging that extra bit of real estate to tell others about me, how to reach me, and where to find out more about what I do.

In this article, I’ll share tips for getting your email signature right. Then, I’ll gather some of my favorite signatures to get you inspired.

Table of Contents

Don’t approach your email signature like going through a checklist. If I added every item above in my signature, it would be longer than some of my emails. Instead, consider which elements matter most to you. Your company may even have a suggested template for you to follow.

Below, I’ll share why these different elements are important so you can choose what to include.

1. First and Last Name

This is the only element that’s non-negotiable. People want to know who they’re talking to. Plus, you can save yourself some time. You can sign off your post with a nickname and have your email signature default to your full name.

Pro tip: I recommend starting your email signature with your name. Everything else can follow.

2. Affiliation Information

After your name, add your affiliation information in your email signature. That may be your job title, your department, or the company where you work. This allows your readers to quickly see which organization you represent.”In my opinion, affiliating yourself with a larger organization lends you more credibility, especially if it’s a recognizable organization.

Pro tip: When writing an email signature, I recommend using your formal job title, ideally the one on your LinkedIn profile. Avoid using vague or inflated titles, which may confuse recipients about your role.

Create a new, on-brand email signature in just a few clicks—it’s free.

3. Secondary Contact Information

Email isn’t the only way to reach me. I’ll also respond to phone calls and texts. If there are other ways for people to get in touch, include that in your email signature.

Pro tip: If you work in sales, consider including your direct phone number so leads can connect with you directly. You can cut out automated phone systems and other gatekeepers. If you don’t want to cough up your direct line, you can promote your website as another way to get in touch.

4. Social Profile Icons

Looking to reinforce your brand? Consider including links to your social media pages in your email signature. Not only is this another way to market your social channels, but you’re also providing your contacts with another way to reach you.

When crafting a professional email signature, I recommend using social media icons over plain text links. A list of URLs will appear cluttered, and most people already know which icons relate to each social platform. Beyond that, images are more engaging. Research from NeoMam Studios shows that color visuals increase a person’s willingness to read the content by 80%.

Pro tip: Before you connect your X account or Instagram, be mindful of your online presence. You may need to clean up your profiles before linking them in your signature.

5. A Call-to-Action

As a marketer, my team always has a new project to report. When I want to give my work an extra boost, I add it as a CTA in my professional email signature.

Choose a CTA that aligns with one of your current business goals, and update it when those goals change. The best email signature CTAs are simple, up-to-date, non-pushy, and in line with your email style.

Pro tip: Remember, less is more. If your email signature already has multiple contact methods and a laundry list of social media channels, your CTA will be lost in the clutter. If your main goal is to drive clicks via a CTA, reduce other links in your email signature.

6. Booking Links

If you have a client-facing or meeting-oriented role, include a booking link in your professional email signature. You can avoid a lengthy email thread to schedule a meeting, making scheduling a breeze. Clients can then know exactly when you’ll talk next.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot’s free meeting scheduler to help keep your calendar organized. You can easily share your personalized meeting link with anyone you want to book a meeting with.

7. Industry Disclaimers or Legal Requirements

This email signature element may be required in some roles and completely unnecessary in others. That all depends on the role you have. The legal, financial, and insurance industries have specific rules about email usage and etiquette to protect private information. Email signatures for these industries may require disclaimers to ensure compliance.

Here’s an example of an email disclaimer that can serve as a starting point:

“The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in the message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party without the written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.”

8. Photos or Logos

Looking to add a personal touch? Add your picture to your email signature. Your contact can then visualize what you look like, which may be helpful if you meet in person down the road. Make sure your image is professional, showing your face and body only from the shoulders up. The picture should also be high-quality to avoid pixelation.

Alternatively, you can feature your company’s logo in your email signature. This can increase brand awareness and create a more cohesive visual identity. Some companies even make special logos for employees to use during celebrations like Pride Month. Make sure the logo in your email signature reflects your company’s current branding.

9. Pronouns

Adding your preferred pronouns to your signature is helpful, especially if you’re working with people you’ve never met. A simple “she/her” or “they/them” takes ambiguity away, and so people know how to refer to you. This is also an easy way to build a more inclusive environment so everyone feels accepted by your business.

Now that you know what goes into a professional email signature, let’s talk about how to make your own.

1. Emphasize your name, affiliation, and secondary contact information.

Step one of creating a professional email signature: Prominently feature your name, affiliation, and contact information. That includes your job title, company, or any other organization relevant to your role. You can use this information to establish credibility and provide context.

The sample email signature below hits on all three points. Kevin’s email signature includes his first and last name, along with his affiliation with the University of Connecticut. He also promotes his personal website so his recipients have another outlet to see his work and contact him.

Want to write a signature like the one below? Use HubSpot’s Email Signature Generator.

2. Keep the colors simple and consistent.

When designing email signatures, it’s crucial to maintain consistency in your branding. That involves limiting your color palette. A splash of color helps your email signature stand out. Too many colors or clashing hues distract from your message.

In my opinion, most of the text in your email signature should be dark. Most people will read your email over a light background. Then, I recommend choosing one to two accent colors. Use subtle highlights to match your logo or branding, like Brittany Hodak does in her email signature below. Notice how her social media icons are the same blue hue as the ZinePak logo.

3. Use design hierarchy.

Here’s the funny thing about design: Great design often goes unnoticed. However, poor design creates a huge distraction. Making logical design choices helps your email signature look professional and convey information effectively.

Remember: A professional email signature is essentially a list of information. Use design hierarchy to help guide readers’ eyes to the most critical elements. For example, your name should be the largest element. Your title should be underneath in a smaller font. Your reader then knows exactly what to look at first.

Pro tip: Scale your name to a larger font to attract the most attention, like you would on a resume. Then, pick and choose information to bold and color based on importance.

4. Make links trackable.

So, you put a few links in your email signature, including your CTA and your social media icons. How can you tell if anyone is clicking on them? That’s where tracking links come in. You can then see how much traffic comes from your email signature.

Additionally, HubSpot’s free email tracking software takes the guesswork out of your inbox. HubSpot notifies you when a prospect opens your email and clicks a link. You can understand exactly who’s engaging with your emails and what their interests are. These interactions are then saved in your HubSpot Smart CRM database, so you can personalize your follow-ups and build meaningful connections with leads.

Pro tip: Occasionally, switch up the format of your signature or the wording inside your signature to see what drives the most clicks.

5. Use space dividers.

Want to pack a ton of details into your email signature without sacrificing style? HubSpot’s email signature generator lets you easily add space dividers!

These nifty design elements can help you fit a lot of text into a compact area, while keeping your email signature sleek and organized. Take a look at this example signature created using HubSpot’s tool.

Pro tip: Another option is to use glyph dividers, those cool vertical bar symbols (you know, these things: |). They’re a great way to separate different pieces of information in your business email signature without taking up too much space.

6. Include an international prefix in your contact number.

If you‘re collaborating with people from all over the globe, remember to include your country’s international prefix with your contact phone number in your email signature. It’s easy to overlook this step if you’re not used to dialing international prefixes. However, it’s helpful for your overseas colleagues and clients.

Check out Kit Smith’s signature for an excellent example of incorporating an international prefix. He used to work at Brandwatch, a company with offices in the United States and Europe that collaborates with global clients.

Including the U.S. country code makes it easier for folks in other countries to reach him by phone.

7. Make your design mobile-friendly.

According to Truelist, over a third of professionals open emails on their phones. Here’s what that means to me: Mobile users should be top-of-mind when I’m writing emails — including my email signature.

One significant way to make your email signature mobile-friendly is to ensure the design is easy to read and click for mobile users. Scale is key here. Make sure your text is large enough to read on small mobile screens and that your buttons can be easily tapped on a phone.

Pro tip: Note how much space there is between different clickable elements, like the social media icons in the example below. These images can be easily tapped on a smartphone.

8. Use an email signature generator.

Want a professional email signature quickly? Try a free email signature generator to do the heavy lifting for you instead.

How to Make a Great Email Signature! (FREE Tool)

Rather than choosing the colors, fonts, and layout yourself, this generator gives you several combinations to choose from. Simply add your info, photos, and links. Then, choose your colors. Once you’re satisfied, you can easily add it to your email account.

Pro tip: When reviewing email signature examples from a generator, consider how well they align with your brand’s visual identity and the overall tone you want to convey.

9. Check your new email signature for quality.

After implementing the steps to create a professional email signature, test and evaluate the final results. Be sure your new signature looks polished and displays correctly across various email clients and platforms.

Pro tip: Some email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, may not recognize background images, so try to avoid using those in your email signatures. Specific email clients don’t load images by default, so your signature may initially appear as plain text until the recipient allows image rendering.

Professional Email Signature Examples

Any time I update my email signature, I like to review examples from my colleagues and peers for inspiration. Before you start your refresh, check out my favorite role models.

1. Vertical Email Signature Example

Create a professional email signature like this one with HubSpot’s free signature generator.

If you’d like your email signature to be low-effort and high-impact while drawing attention to a call-to-action, this is a great option.

What I like: Set in a vertical layout, this email signature uses a yellow box to draw users toward the CTA. Beyond that, the narrow width is mobile-friendly. This business email signature is ideal if you know your recipients prefer checking their emails on mobile.

2. Beige Email Signature Example

Here’s a beautiful, image-based email signature. While you might not want to use image files for your signature, it still deserves a spot on this list.

What I like: The layout, fonts, and colors of this template are great. The primary benefit of using an image as an email signature is that the fonts don’t change, allowing you to create a stronger branding story. Just remember, they can be less accessible to recipients using screen readers or other assistive technologies.

3. Shorthand Email Signature Example

Here’s a simple email signature example using HubSpot’s free email signature generator. It uses icons to identify each piece of the sender’s contact information, making it easy for recipients to quickly find the details they need.

What I like: Using icons in your email signature is a trendy move that can help your signature stand out from the rest. It‘s a great choice if you’re in a more informal or casual industry.

Pro Tip: You can also use shorthand to identify each piece of information, such as “e” for email and “m” for mobile phone.

4. Business Professional Email Signature Example

This comprehensive email signature example is ideal for professionals who want to provide multiple ways for their contacts to reach out. It has two phone numbers, a website link, an email address, a physical address, and five social media buttons, all in one signature.

What I like: If you value accessibility and want your contacts to find the best way to contact you easily, this email signature is a great choice. Providing a few communication methods increases the likelihood of making a connection. People can reach out on any platform they prefer.

5. Instagram Influencer Email Signature Example

Whether you’re an influencer on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, it’s essential to still have a professional email signature — especially if you’re hoping to land corporate partnerships and deals. Including relevant information about your niche, audience demographics, and past collaborations, demonstrates your value as an influencer and makes a compelling case for why brands should work with you.

What I like: This signature has a clever prompt for the recipient to download her media kit. Even more importantly, it features a button at the bottom to “Like me on Instagram” — essential for professionals whose main key performance indicators are engagement metrics.

6. Simple Email Signature Example

When in doubt, keep it simple. This email signature sample contains all essential pieces of information with plenty of space in between. If you’re looking for a minimalist signoff, this is a great template to follow.

What I like: This template makes it easy to showcase your LinkedIn, Twitter, or other relevant profiles. And if you edit it using HubSpot’s free email signature generator, you’ll find that you can add a photo of yourself, a CTA button, and more.

7. Formal Email Signature Example

If you ever need a formal email signature, this example made by the University of Illinois is an excellent source of inspiration. This email signature example is practical, simple, and frills-free, making it great for professionals in traditional industries, such as academia.

What I like: If you work in a traditional industry, this signature offers a great role model. I like that it has a privacy disclosure at the bottom, which is especially important to include if you plan to share your emails with anyone. Be sure to consult with your legal or HR department to ensure that your email signature complies with any specific requirements in your industry.

8. Real Estate Email Signature Example

HubSpot’s email signature generator tool allows you to easily adjust your signature to your industry’s needs. Even though this real estate email signature is similar to the one for business professionals, it has a few key differences. There are fewer social platform links, only one phone number, and the name of the real estate agency.

What I like: The social buttons at the bottom are less prominent compared to other email signature designs. This allows an agent to prioritize other elements of their signature, such as their contact information. This design is perfect for real estate agents who want to maintain a professional appearance.

9. Branded Entrepreneur Email Signature Example

With a branded signature, entrepreneurs can combine essential information with some eye-catching imagery. In this example, Jenay Sellers listed her name, title, phone number, and email alongside a branded image and a link to a pretty compelling article.

What I like: This email signature is a strong example of keeping things clean but still ramping up credibility with the right link and branded image. At first glance, it seems simple enough, but it packs quite a punch.

10. Horizontal Email Signature Example

Take this spacious email signature example as inspiration if you’d like to include plenty of details — all while keeping the attention on your CTA. You can use this template on HubSpot’s email signature generator to show off your expertise and encourage recipients to take action.

What I like: This signature’s simplicity and customizability are fantastic. Positioning your CTA separately from the rest of your contact information, you can draw your recipients’ attention to the desired action, whether scheduling a consultation, downloading a resource, or visiting your website.

Writing the Perfect Email Signature

The best professional email signature will be true to who you are both in and outside the workplace. Once you add the basic contact information, the rest of your email signature is a blank canvas on which you can add personality to each professional email you send.

Armed with these best practices for email signatures, you can create your own signature that aligns with your brand and gives your emails a little extra oomph.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.