A signature file is a short block of text that goes at the end of all of your emails, forum posts, newsgroups and email discussion posts. It is used to identify the author, and to provide additional information about them. A signature file should contain your name, website URL, the name of your company, and a couple of lines about your offer. You may also choose to include your phone number, physical address, and email address. A signature file should be arranged as follows:

Your Name
Your Company Name
http://www.yoursite.com
The best prices and information
On widgets worldwide. Our best
Selling widget is half price this week.

The signature file benefits both the reader and the sender. It tells the reader how to contact you, and it provides you with a form of free advertising. If used correctly, your signature can become the most effective form of advertising you use. It is also the easiest advertising you will do. By using a signature file on all of your electronic correspondence, you are constantly advertising just by going about your day to day business.

When you are writing your signature file, there are several things to keep in mind. First, do not create a signature file that is more than seven lines long. In most cases, five lines is more acceptable. Each line should be no more than 60 - 65 characters wide. You want your signature to look professional. Therefore, you should never use all capital letters, and avoid using exclamation marks.

Writing your contact information is the easiest part of creating a signature file. The hard part is writing the two to three lines that let your readers know about your offer, what your company does, or how you can help them. That is not a lot of space to get your message across to the reader, so you have to make good use of the space.

Do not waste words. Your sentences must make sense, but your space is limited, so do not use unnecessary words. In the sample signature file above, we might use the ampersand ( & ) sign instead of the word “and” to save space. We could also shorten the word information to info. In the last sentence, we could remove the words “Our” and “is.”

Signature files should be tested, much in the same way that ads are tested. You would not continue to use an ad that is not pulling in sales. Therefore, if your signature file isn’t increasing traffic to your website or increasing your sales, change it. Find the signature file that creates traffic and sales, then use it consistently as often as you can.