Your headshot, your logo, social media icons, an embedded video introduction, the quote that makes you get up in the morning, the book you’re currently reading—quick: Which of those things belong in a real estate agent’s email signature? We’ve seen them all, and it’s safe to agree that email signatures need to include some basic information, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and it’s really easy to get there with your email signature.
How do you know what’s just enough, what’s too much, and when you should add or delete an item from your email signature? These 12 tips will help you build an email signature from the ground up that will include all the basics, plus just enough extra to make you look a little, well, extra!
Tip 1: Make sure the basics are in plain text form
The basics include your name and your contact information (your phone number or numbers, your website, and your email address are all a good start—yes, even though it’s in an email; make it easy for them!). It’s up to you whether or not you want to include your brokerage’s physical address.
Tip 2: Add some (light) branding
Adding your personal logo (or brokerage logo) and a little bit of color to your signature will give it a little bit of polish to make you appear that much more pulled together and brand-aware. It’s not critical, but it’s definitely a nice-to-have!
Tip 3: Link out to show your socials
Icons with links to your social profiles help show your recipients that you’re a real, live human being, and they’re also casual invitations to follow you on Instagram and friend you on Facebook.
If you’re truly on every last social platform known to man and adolescent, be selective and opt for your top three to four choices. Remember: Less is often more, and that’s doubly true when it comes to email signatures.
Tip 4: Insert your actual signature
Many of us spent dozens, even hundreds, of hours as youngsters crafting a signature that really spoke to the essence of who we are as people. And you don’t have to leave that behind!
Embedding an image of your actual signature is one way to personalize and customize your email signature, especially if your signature is something special
Tip 5: Smile for the camera
Real estate agents are going to need a headshot for all kinds of other purposes, and if you’re especially enamored with yours, then know this: You can also add your headshot to your email signature, giving everyone a clear idea of who you are, your style, and your confidence.
Tip 6: Include professional details
Whether or not you have to include your license number in your email signature is going to vary from broker to broker, but it’s something you might consider so that your recipients can easily look you up (you could even link to your license page with the state if that’s an option). Your job title and any professional certifications or designations might also find their way into the email signature if that’s something you want to promote!
Tip 7: Add even more ways to get in touch
In 2021, access goes well beyond email and cell phones, so what else can you share with your email friends so that they know you’re just a touch away? Fax numbers and landlines are a start.
If you have an assistant, consider including their email address and phone number, too, with a clear note on who they are and how they help you. In an emergency when you’re unavailable, that kind of information can make or break a deal!
Tip 8: Link to reviews
Your past clients speak louder than any words possibly can, and you can showcase how they feel about you and your services by including a link to reviews or a star rating (or both) in your email signature.
Linking to reviews offers recipients some confidence that you’ve satisfied people like them before, boosts your social proof, and gives you a way to showcase your expertise without coming out and saying for yourself “I am an expert!” When someone else says it, it sounds much more plausible.
Tip 9: Add a call to action
Hopefully, you’re sending email for a reason—there’s a specific action you want your reader to take, a button you want them to click, or maybe you want them to ask you a question. Whatever the case, you’re going to have to spell it out with a clear call to action, or CTA, that screams, “Now that you’ve read this email, here’s your next step!”
This might change depending on the email you send, and that’s OK! Switching up your CTA regularly ensures that it’s fresh, and that practice will also help you identify which CTAs really work well and which ones are just so-so in your email signature.
Some options for a CTA might include property search (and that also encompasses specialized options), Google Calendar or Calendly integrations to book an appointment with you, a chatbox to answer questions, or even your latest blog post or neighborhood guide.
Tip 10: Consider a banner
A banner can be one way to provide a really compelling CTA, or to condense information about you. Banners might have an IDX search integrated into them so that recipients can type in an area or ZIP code and hit “search” to get redirected to your IDX page, or you might use them to promote a listing.
Generally, it’s best to make your banner part of your CTA if you’re going to include one, so that your readers are clear on what you want them to do. Banners are big; you don’t want it to distract from your core message!
Tip 11: Know what not to include
Some things are simply not appropriate for work signatures, while others are resource-consuming from a file perspective and will cause your email to take forever to load. Consider your users and shy away from videos or GIFs that increase your load time, eye-searing color palettes, and inspirational quotes.
(Hear us out: Yes, that includes the words that meant so much to you as a child, or the religious verses that most inspire you—some of your clients are going to be experiencing some pretty unpleasant life events around their home sale transaction; you never know what might strike a nerve, and it pays to be kind and sensitive before you know their circumstances.)
Tip 12: Don’t do everything at once!
It’s easy to make fun of over-the-top email signatures, but you might sincerely not know when you’ve reached the point of “too much.” Send a test email to some trusted friends with your signature and ask them to be brutally honest about whether the signature reflects you, and whether you could stand to remove any components.
If they’re really good friends, ask them to send a few missives back-and-forth with you so that you can see how easy it is to dig up the email signature and what components (if any) seem to get “lost” or distorted as the thread lengthens.
Your email signature is often the last thing that a buyer or seller sees before they pick up their phone to call you or click a link to book an appointment. Make sure it reflects both your professionalism and your personality!
