How To Make A Branded Email Signature

I find this question landing in my inbox all the time: “How do I get a custom email signature like yours?” Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do—just follow the guidelines in this post!

What do I include in an email signature?

Here are a few items you might wish to include in your signature (not all of them! Just pick the ones that are most helpful to you):

Logo or Headshot
Name and Title
Business Name
Website
Phone Number
Tagline
Office Hours
Advanced Out of Office Dates
Social Media Links or Handles
Recognitions / Awards
Custom Handwritten Signature
Quote

Personally, I like to put a lot of information into my email signature. For me, it’s all about giving my customers easy access to relevant information—and setting clear boundaries for my business. I provide a handy link to my website and instagram, making it easy for email recipients to learn more about my services. To protect my own boundaries, I include office hours and advanced out-of-office dates. I do not include my phone number, because I prefer to schedule calls.

That being said—a more streamlined approach could work best for you! There’s certainly nothing wrong with a clean and minimal design. Feel free to give it a try and see what works for your brand.

How do I make it look good?

Here’s the secret to making your email signature look customized: Google Docs.

The custom colors, fonts, and images in Google Docs can be copy-and-pasted into your email for a more personalized touch. You can also use columns by creating a table, allowing for side-by-side layouts. Here’s how it works:

Open a new Google Doc.
Create a blank table.

3. Add any images and content you would like to include in your signature, using the columns to create a side-by-side layout if desired.

4. Customize your text with fonts and color selections.

5. Remove the black border outlines around the columns and make any final adjustments. Lookin’ good!

Just a few general design tips:

Keep it small. If you’re putting a lot of information into this area, it’s hard to keep it all looking clean and uncluttered. To establish a design hierarchy, type your name / title / business name at a regular font-size, but bump the details text size down smaller than you usually would—9pt or 10pt.
No more than two fonts. Keep your font choices minimal. You can use bold or italics when needed, but try to avoid cluttering your design with too many different fonts.

Let’s make it even easier: click here to access this sample page of templates! Save a copy for yourself and feel free to type your own information in the boxes, then customize the fonts and colors to your brand.

Now that you have a signature…