OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
I get emails every day from people commenting on the blog, asking questions or telling me about their books which I love to receive and happily reply to. However, over 50% of those emails do not have any links in their email signature, and many have no email signature at all. Some have an image of a business card with no clickable links to their website or book for sale which is not very useful either.
How many emails do you send a day? To friends, your accountant, business colleagues, potential clients, potential readers and more. If your email signature is set up, you are constantly sending people your information and doing ‘passive' marketing, spreading the word about you, your brand and your books. Use your email signature wisely and those people might click through and read more about your book/join your email list or contact you for business.
So, today's book marketing advice is to sort out your email signature right now!
What information should an email signature contain?
To make sure people know who you are and can buy your books, you should include some of the following aspects:
- Your full name, your business name and tagline if you have one, or an explanation of what you do. Don't assume people know what you are about.
- Your website and blog URL prefixed by http:// which makes it directly clickable (you should always use that prefix on the web for clickable links)
- Your book titles and where people can buy them or find out more information e.g. Amazon.com links or specific pages of your website
- A hook or offer for the reader that catches their eye if it is a topic they are interested in e.g. I mention my Author 2.0 Blueprint
- Social media links including Twitter, Facebook and any other main site that is relevant (you don't have to use them all!)
- Address and phone details if they are relevant to how you run your business
- Logo or picture of you or your books if you want to include them. This is not mandatory, but if you do include them, make sure you also include plain text links as well.
I don't use any fancy formatting or images right now but there are plugins and code you can use to make it look prettier. That is great but just get something basic up for starters and worry about formatting later. If people want to know more about you, they want the information right in front of them. They don't want to search for it.
If you're having problems with your email, try Gmail
Some people have problems with their email accounts and providers. It seems some of them make it very difficult to set up email signatures. If you're struggling with email, I highly recommend using http://www.gmail.com which is Google's own free online email service. You can set up a signature through the Settings page, and then the General area. There are also a host more benefits including easily searchable text, contacts and tasks integration and much more.
What do you include on your email signature now? Do you have any favorite tools for making it attractive?
Image: Flickr CC LarimdaME
View Comments (11)
I just changed my email signature last week to promote my book. I haven't noticed any increase in sales because of it though. It could because most of the people I email are related to me and already well aware of my novel.
Hey Lovelyn, I think it is a general awareness thing with at least a link to your website. I just noticed it on many of the emails I get. It's surprising especially when people are writing to tell me about their book :)
There is also a saying about marketing. 50% of it works. But no one knows which 50% !
Thanks, Joanna
I have the website for each of my pennames, followed by the latest title from each, in my signature. I also have my blog and Twitter links there too. But I wonder how effective it is: a friend I've been emailing quite a lot recently asked me on Twitter what my blog address was. It's right there on every email I've sent her! I think if there's too much information people often don't look past the first line--if they look at it at all.
Hi Kate, good point "if they look at it at all"
I guess I mean it's really useful when people ARE looking for the information and can't find it.
Thank you for this post. I always know it is important but I haven't done it yet. This was the kick for me :)
Best, Astrid.
Great - thanks Astrid. This post was for you then :)
Hey! This is such a great point! Too many people forget about the power of their e-mail signature.
But I think I fall into a different camp than you -- I think it's possible to include *too* much in an e-mail signature. I think people are more likely to read your signature if it's short, or more likely to click if you only offer them two or so links. When I see more than that in a signature, it all becomes one big block, and I gloss over it completely. So I usually advise people to pick the two things that they most want people to know about, and write that in their signature.
Such different approaches! I wonder if there's any research to support either one... I may hunt around on the Internet today :) Thanks for this, gonna tweet it!
Thanks Alexis. I guess I want to find people's Twitter handle first and foremost. It annoys me when I have to hunt for it so I can reply on twitter (which is what I prefer!)
Great tips, I just started using Wisestamp:)
I sort of use email sig. but not the way you have wrote here. Now, I am open to future possibilities of exposing my blog in better ways,
Did anyone tell you, you look bit like Julia Luis Dreyfus?
Hi Mike, that's funny because I do get told that a lot! I think it's a compliment! Glad to have helped with the post.
Thanks, Joanna