An often-overlooked detail, email signatures have a larger impact on your reputation than you may think. A great email signature provides recipients with an easy way to contact you, leaves a positive impression, and markets your firm.
The Basics
Including vital contact information in an email signature is important. Imagine you are a claimant seeking representation and two attorneys email you about wanting to retain your case. One email was signed simply “Joe” and the other was signed “Joe Smith, Attorney at Law” with a phone number listed. Who would you hire?
That’s not to say that an email signature will make or break your chances of retaining a case, but a subtle change like including your phone number and official title could encourage a claimant to choose your over your competition.
A great signature should include:
- Full name
- Title or esq. after your name
- Firm name
- Phone number
- Office Address
- Firm website URL
Logos in Your Signature
Adding a logo to your email signature can make your emails look more professional and help build your firm’s brand. It is important to remember, however, that images do not always load for everyone and can occasionally show up as an attachment if they are too large. For this reason, avoid embedding important contact information in the image and make sure you size the image appropriately.
Choose .gif or .jpeg formats for images over .PNG as these are more widely supported across different web browsers. It is also a good practice to send yourself a test email to see what the email signature looks like to recipients and make sure the image loads properly.
Legal Disclaimer
Lawyers in particular need to be cautious when sending emails. Since you may be sending confidential information regarding a client or case, it’s important to protect yourself in case an unrelated third party receives the email by accident. Adding a simple legal disclaimer at the bottom of your email signature can show that you took precautions against disclosing confidential information.
Overall, the enforceability of email legal disclaimers is a topic of debate, so consider it an optional addition to your email signature. Some argue that legal disclaimers are enforceable but are more effective when placed in the beginning of the email rather than in the signature. Check with your State Bar Association to see what they recommend.
Marketing
Lastly, within your email signature lies a great opportunity to drive new business to your law firm. Some attorneys include a link to their social media sites to promote their Facebook or Twitter profiles. Another option is to add a link to your latest blog post, big case win, or a news article in which you were featured. Change your link every now and then to keep your signature interesting.
Adding something small to your email signature can be free advertising for you so it is worth taking advantage of. Just be careful not to list too many links in your signature. This can overwhelm readers and obscure your most important contact information.
Making simple updates to your email signature like those listed above can improve your firm’s reputation and encourage clients to choose you to represent them.
So… when is the last time you updated your email signature?