How to Turn Your Email Signature into Cash

I'm amazed at the number of emails I get that don't have personalized signatures. If you have a reason to email someone, you should take full advantage of it.

What Is An Email Signature?

For those of you who don't know what an email signature is, it is the information that appears at the end of all of your emails automatically. Usually, the host you use has their information there, eg, Hotmail, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.

How to Create a Personalized Email Signature

As my browser is Internet Explorer and I use hotmail, following are directions on creating a personalized email signature in this software.

1) Log into your email account

2) Click "Options": It's to the far right of your screen once you log into your account.

3) Click "Mail": This will appear to the far left of your screen. Other links there are Personal, Calendar, Contacts, & Upgrade.

4) Under "Mail Options", click "Personal Signature."

5) Type your message, eg, what you want to appear at the end of every email.

TIP: Put a check in the box that says "Show the rich-text toolbar." This allows you to add color, links, bold and other dress-up formats to text.

Now that you know how to create a personalized email signature, following are three ways you can turn it into cash:

I) Use Color: Instead of the old staid black and white, use color in your signature. Remember to activate the rich-text toolbar, as mentioned above.

Color draws your eye to the bottom of the page, where you can list your services, which will be discussed below.

Which colors should you use? If you're promoting a product and/or have a website, make the colors the same as your website and/or product colors. This will create uniformity, which makes you look professional.

II) Use Photos: A recent trend in email signatures is photos. Photos can be of you, the proprietor, or something that is indicative of your product/service.

How do you determine which to use? It depends on the nature of your product service.

Eg, if I ran a lawn care service, I might use a picture of a lawn mower, instead of a photo of me. Why? Immediate recognition of what your business is all about.