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Create a Custom Email Signature

One easy (and free) way to promote your brand is to add a custom footer to all of your outgoing emails. This space is commonly used to include contact information.

Think about other creative uses of this "billboard" real estate that all of your email recipients will see. How about:

• a current coupon code to use on your website?
• a link to the latest article posted on your site?
• an invitation to take a survey or sign up for your newsletter?

To create a signature for the footer of your outgoing emails*:

1. In Microsoft Outlook, choose Tools, Options
2. Choose the Mail Format tab
3. Click the last button in the window labelled Signatures. . .
4. Click the button labelled New . . .
5. Enter a name for your signature and choose Start with a blank signature. Click Next>
6. Type your text in the window. You can add styling with the buttons below (e.g. Font . . ., Paragraph . . .) Click Finish
7. Click OK
8. Under Signatures choose the email account from the drop down menu
9. Choose your new footer from the drop down for Signature for new messages (and replies and forwards if desired)
10. Click Apply. Click OK.

When you compose a message in Outlook for this email address, your footer will be placed automatically at the bottom of your email.

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*applies to Microsoft Outlook 2003

Laura A. McArtor is the owner of Widow's Peak Web Design (www.widowspeak.com).