How to Write Your Email Signature – Part 2

Establish Authority and Trust in Your Emails

If you remember, last week we started to look at the utterly mundane and magically powerful business practice of having a well-crafted email signature.

It’s one of the details that most of us rush through, if we have one at all. And, when we take the time to get it right, it finishes all of our business correspondence in a way that we can be proud of – and in a way that can get us clients and establish our expertise.

Last week, we looked at the Closer. Those oft neglected 2 or 3 words that come before the signature. If you missed that article, you can get it here.

This week, we’re continuing to answer that RESOURCING question from our Seasons of Success group about how to craft a solid email signature. Let’s dive in…

Part 2: Your Signature, Name, Designations, and Credentials

Underneath your closer, it’s customary to add your signature. Now, you could, if your email allows, insert an image of your actual signature, or you could use a handwriting font to kind of mimic a signature.

The problem with those options is that email goes through a lot to get delivered and there’s no guarantee that your fancy image or fancy font will display properly at the other end. And a whacked out signature or blank box with a question mark isn’t the impression you want to make… right?

That’s why the customary way to do your signature is simply this: two dashes and your first name. Just like I do at the bottom of these emails.

Warmest regards,
–Vanessa

Easy. 

Great! Now we’ve established rapport. We’ve shown warmth and built connection. We’re good.

Establish Authority in Your Email Signature

Now, it’s time to establish authority, expertise, and credibility. It’s time to toot our horn, just a little bit.

How do we do that?

With our credentials and designations. What’s your title and what letters do you have that go after your name? This is the place to take a stand for your training, skills, and expertise. It can look like this:

Warmest Regards,
–Vanessa

Vanessa Long, MTLT, NLP Trainer, BScEng, BSc, MNLP, CCHt, ACE, CRB, …

Master Coach | Trainer | Speaker | Author | Engineer (Chem) | Master Hypnotherapist | Master NLP Practitioner | Exist Strategist | Executive Coach | …

You get the idea. Now, let’s get real. I’ve received emails that look like that and, I’m embarrassed to say, I’ve also sent them. I was told to include ALL the letters and, over the years, I’ve accumulated A LOT of them. The Personal Training industry LOVES designations, and so does the Coaching industry. It’s, perhaps, a little bit of over-compensation… no?

I decided years ago, that not only did having all those letters and labels after my name look pretentious and, well, kinda poncey, but that it was confusing and overwhelming as heck for anyone looking at my signature.

They made it pretty much impossible to have a clear voice and to establish my expertise as THIS ONE THING.

So, I’ve narrowed it down.

I actually dropped ALL the letters. You may choose to keep a few and that is totally valid. Just make sure you’re including them to add clarity for your Ideal Clients and not because your ego is screaming that you MUST be seen or your guilt is sobbing that you paid $40K for those letters so you’d better include them. 🤦‍♀️

For me, I realized that my clients didn’t care AT ALL about my letters, they just wanted to know that I could help them. So, I dropped them.

Simple is beautiful.

And I dropped most of the labels as well. And I continue to re-visit and tweak my labels as my own understanding of the work that I do grows and evolves.

Sometimes I use: Trainer | Master Coach | Author

Ooh! One thing I can whole-heartedly recommend are pipes. They’re the vertical line “|” that I use to separate each label. It creates visual clarity without consuming a lot of space. They get a big thumbs up from me. Of course, in this font, they also just look like a capital “I” but, c’est la vie, it works in most fonts. 🤣🤷‍♀️🤣

Sometimes it’s: Exit Strategist & Coach Trainer

Recently, I’ve started working in: Executive Coach, and I like how that sounds.

But, most of the time, I stick with: Business Coach + Exit Strategist

Simple. To the point. And a clear definition of my niche.

And that’s what you want.

A set of labels that are simple and clear to quickly establish your niche and expertise.

So! What’ll it be? How will you establish yourself as an authority while maintaining the warmth and rapport that you worked so hard to build with your Closer?

Let me know. And next week, we’ll start the ‘official’ marketing section of your email signature and learn how you can generate clients from every email you send.

Vanessa Long

Vanessa Long is creator of the Seasons of Success and author of Discovering Your Passionate Purpose. Focused on providing straight-forward, no b.s. solutions, strategies, and support to move you from where you are to where you yearn to be. It’s time to tap into your purpose and build a life that expresses all of who you were designed to be.