Your email signature is a valuable piece of real estate. That short little blurb at the end of each email you send is a useful reminder of who you are and what you have to offer.

But few people use this powerful marketing tool to its full advantage. Most people don’t use it at all, and those who do tend to do it all wrong. This article will share some do’s and don’ts for creating effective email signatures.

What Not To Do:

Do remember to provide a link back to your site. Keep in mind that not all email providers will allow active links. Formatting your link and using anchor text in place of your URL may backfire if your link shows up as plain text to your reader. You should always include a simple link that can be cut and pasted into a browser. Example: http://www.yourwebsite.com

Don’t just give them your name and website, or you’ll be making the same mistake as countless other website owners. Your email signature is too important to waste by being boring. You have to give your readers a reason to go back to your site.

Do remember that your email signature is in fact an ad. Be prepared to spend some time crafting and perfecting your message. Try several variations and test which brings the best results.

Don’t get carried away. Many of us run several different websites and it’s tempting to mention them all in your signature. But it leads to information overload for your readers. Keep it simple.

Do feel free to use bribery in your email signature. Offer something of value such as a free report or eCourse. Discounts and coupons also work great for generating traffic. Put a deadline on the discount to make it clear they’ll miss out on something good if they don’t click your link right then and there.

You may even want to set up a special landing page just for your email signature. It will make tracking easier and you can customize the page specifically for the offer you advertise in your signature. You can then funnel the traffic in any direction you choose.