What do you mean by
signatures?
You can manually add a signature to each and every message you
write, of course. Signatures are such common practice, email programs will add your
signature to your messages for you, automatically. It identifies who you are, what you do and
where you reside. If done right, it allows the recipient to visit
your web site with just one click of a mouse button. A signature is
a short text to finish your emails with. It can include your name, a
witty quote, or the URL of your homepage.
If you already have a signature file, you may want to review it to see
if it is still meets your needs. It should be short and clear. Try to avoid
anything fancy as it is more of a distraction than anything else you
may hope to achieve. Don't include your own e-mail address, since it is listed at the top
of your e-mail.
Unless you know that the other person is using the same mail
program forget about special fonts and other formatting tricks
(especially colourful backgrounds). Formatted messages are slower to
load and might crash slower computers.
Personally, I don't like the view card at the bottom. I have found it distracting
on other people's messages. It can appear as an attachment in some emails - especially free accounts like hotmail. Sometimes it is
distracting but that is my bias.
How to Add Signatures to Your Messages
(Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger)
Signatures, Step by Step
The first step is the same for both Outlook Express and Netscape
Messenger. It will not be much different for other email programs
such as Eudora, which we won’t be describing since I don’t use
this program.
Let us assume that your signature looks like mine:
---------
Roberta F. Hill
Leadership Coach
http://www.coachingoption.com
You will notice that I have included the complete URL.
You should not need to include the http:// part but I have found
that it is needed in at least 50% of the cases where other people
are using older versions of their browsers.
| Outlook Express
|
|
From the menu in
Outlook Express, select "Tools" and then
"Stationary...".
Select the tab named "Mail". Select the tab named "Signature".
(Please note that to the best of my knowledge, this is how the
latest version of Outlook works. If not look under
"Tools" or "Options")
Click on the button
that says "New" to create a new signature. (Apparently,
you can create more than one signature and "attach" them
to certain folders. I don’t use Outlook, so I don’t know how to
do this. There is also an option for a business card
attachment if you what to try to figure it out.)
The keyboard focus and
the cursor are both in the field where you can edit your signature.
Type your signature
into the box, just the way you want it to appear in your messages:
---------
Roberta F. Hill
Leadership Coach
http://www.coachingoption.com
Finally, make sure
that the box before it says "Add signature to all outgoing
messages" is ticked. Then click "OK" and you have set
up Outlook Express to include a signature every time you send a
message.
|
Netscape Messenger
|
|
With Netscape
Messenger, you first have to create a text file containing your
signature. Launch Notepad or your favorite editor, create a new file
and type the text of your signature:
---------
Roberta F. Hill
Leadership Coach
http://www.coachingoption.com
Save the file.
Remember to save it as plain text. Use the .txt
extension. Some people suggest you save it as
"signature" in your Netscape user's directory, something
like "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\[your user name]". I
find this complicated so I just put it directly into "C:\My
Documents" where all my word type files are located.
From the
"Edit" menu of the Messenger window select
"Preferences..." and then "Identity".
Under "Signature
File" user the "Choose" button to select the file you
just saved (Mine can be found as "C:\My Documents\sig). Click
OK. That's it.
What to include:
Begin the signature
with your name, in whatever form you prefer to sign your e-mails
with.
Add your title and the
name of your company, if applicable.
Add any contact
information you feel comfortable giving out. If you're creating a
professional signature, consider including your phone number, fax
number, e-mail address and mailing address. If your signature is for
personal use, include your e-mail address only.
Include the URL of
your personal or professional home page.
Add a clever or
meaningful quotation, company motto, or other statement if
appropriate.
An e-mail signature is
attached automatically unless you deactivate it. Make sure the right
signatures are going to the right people.
