Make Your E-Mail Signature File WORK for You!

Need free advertising? Could it be you are overlooking a major source?

by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”
You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files — they're the few lines of contact information that many of us put at the bottom of every e-mail we send. Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and use sig files — even the newer versions of AOL.

I've heard some people who don't use sig files defend their position by saying, "All my clients know my info — I don't need to remind them with every e-mail." Stop! You're missing a perfect opportunity to promote your business, as well as do your clients and prospects a favor.

When you think about how many e-mails you actually send a day, it's probably more than you realized! Some people send over 100 a day. That's a lot of mail — and a lot of chances to slip in your own subtle marketing messages.

Sig Files Put You at Their Fingertips
People love it when you make information easy to find. Sure, your clients have your phone number somewhere, but they'll really appreciate it when they can grab your number right from an e-mail they're looking at. In fact, e-mail is such a part of our lives now, that if someone needs your phone number quickly, she may be more likely to grab it off your latest e-mail than to dig up your business card. (Don't underestimate this occurrence — there are many disorganized people in the world!)

Also, if people want to put your info into their contact management software (Outlook, ACT, Palm, etc.), they can simply copy and paste it right from your sig file.

Good Sig Files Tell Strangers What You Do
As a former co-chair of New York's Women in Communications Inc. (WICI), I booked speakers for our monthly cocktail events, conducting most of this work via e-mail. The speakers I corresponded with only knew me as a representative of WICI; they had no idea what I did for a living. But one woman, after spotting my sig file, promptly wanted to learn more about my copywriting services. She then hired me for a $5,000 project. Thank you, sig file!

Sig Files Are Ready to Travel
E-mails are forwarded all the time. You never know where yours may end up, and one of the recipients may be very interested in your service or product. I learned this when I got a call from a prospect in Israel. A colleague of hers here in the U.S. had forwarded her an interesting issue of my newsletter. She learned about my services and got my phone number from the sig file at the bottom.

Sig Files Are a Great Promotional Tool
Now, let's move beyond the obvious stuff. Think of your sig file as a little messenger who speaks to everyone you send an e-mail to. What do you want him to say? Do you have great news? A new product or service? A free newsletter or report? Let us know via your sig file!

Your Sig File Checklist
Here are several items to consider putting into your sig file. CAUTION: Do not attempt to insert them all! Choose what's most important for you and your business.

your name and title
your company name
your company tagline, or a short phrase that describes what your company does
your address
your phone, cell phone, and/or pager numbers
your fax number
your e-mail address (sometimes people can't get it directly or quickly from your actual e-mail)
your Web URL (be sure to include the "'http://" prefix to ensure it will translate as a hyperlink on most e-mail programs)
Now, also consider putting promotional info in your sig file, such as:

an offer for a free report or product you offer
an offer for a free consultation or trial offer
a company announcement (new client, new product, award won, etc.)
a hyperlink to your latest press release, article, or Web site feature
an invitation to subscribe to your free e-newsletter
In the interest of space and your reader's time, keep your offer or announcement to one or two sentences only. (Tip: Always throw in the word "free" when possible. It's everyone's favorite word!)

Bonus: Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and keep several signatures on file, so you can change them easily and often. This makes it a cinch to switch your messages weekly or even daily, and maintain ones for different businesses.

Choose What's Important to You
Of course, it's possible to get carried away and include too much information. We don't need random quotes that have no relation to your business, cute illustrations made up of keyboard characters, or your weekend phone number in the Hamptons.

Try to keep your sig file to a maximum of eight lines. More than that will overwhelm the reader, and it will look silly if your sig files are always longer than your e-mail messages!

Here's a good example:

Jane Smith, President
Smith I.T. Consulting
'Take a Byte Out of Network Headaches'
ph: 800-321-0000 fax: 212-321-0001
jane@smithitconsulting.com
*Visit http://www.smithitconsulting.com and get your FREE report on the top 10 most common computer network problems and how to solve them!*

Notice that "Jane" opted not to give her mailing address here, in order to use the space for her tagline and an invitation to receive her free report. It's all up to you. If your customers frequently need your mailing address, then you should include it. (I don't include it in mine, since 99% of my work is done via e-mail.) Decide what bits of info are most valuable to keep, and use the rest of the space for a unique message or promotion!

One Last Thing: Make Sure We "Get" What You Do
I've seen some seemingly complete sig files that still leave me wondering, "Thanks for all the info, but what do you DO?" We all know what IBM and Kodak do, but the whole world doesn't know what your business does (yet). For now, it's your job to help us all learn. Include a tagline that describes what your company does or a short phrase that helps us understand. If your sig file consistently delivers a clear impression of what you have to offer your prospects, it will reward you numerous times in the future!

(c) 2000-2003 Alexandria K. Brown. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.ezinequeen.com.

"Sell More Online By Offering a Big Fat BONUS!"

by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen"

[NOTE: Some words in this article have been disguised to avoid triggering sp^m filters.]

I don't know about you, but I secretly love watching infomercials. I enjoy dissecting how they sell, how they get people excited, how they entice people to take action now and pick up the phone and order something they completely don't need!

As you know, these programs always offer a huge bonus or multiple bonuses for people who buy. Often the bonus is worth even more than the featured product itself. You know what I mean... they're selling you a little vegetable chopper, but they also throw in a blender, toaster, and coffeemaker!

Why do they do this? Because it makes the offer completely irresistible. The prospect thinks, "Jeez, I'd be crazy not to buy this right now!"

The same strategy works extremely well online too. Using BONUSES is also a great way to add more value to your program or package, enabling you to raise your price point. And you don't have to spend any money creating your bonus products if you don't want to.

Here are 7 ideas to get you started offering a bonus ASAP:

1. Special Report
Think of some information that relates to what you're offering that would be very helpful for the customer. Exciting titles with numbers are shown to work best, like "31 Easy and Fast Ways to Get More Clients" or "5 Mistakes Most Families Make When Choosing a Puppy." Write it in Microsoft Word, format it so it looks nice, and then use Adobe Acrobat to save it as a PDF file for easy downloading. (Be sure to promote your business and website in there too - remember it may get passed around.)

2. Resource List
Compile a list of your personally recommended resources, websites, books, and vendors that are related to your product or service. You can set this up as a PDF file as well, or create a password-protected area of your website that customers and clients can access. Example: One bonus that comes with my Boost Business With Your Own Ezine system is the "Ezine Queen Private Resource Library." It's simply a select collection of links to websites and tools that can help my customers grow their lists and run their online businesses.

3. Checklist
Are there any checklists that would be a good tie-in to what you offer? That help people do what you're teaching them to do, better or easier? Example: I have a program called "Insider Secrets to Making M0ney With Teleseminars," and one of the bonuses is the checklist that I myself use when I plan any teleseminar event! My customers love it because it makes it super easy for them.

4. Collection of Articles
Hopefully you write articles or tips on a regular basis for your own ezine or newsletter, and you may even have them posted at your website as well. Why not package your favorites into a PDF document and title it your "Top 10" or "Best of" collection?

5. Action Guide
Look at the principles, strategies, and tactics you teach in your program, and put together a separate guide to help the user do assignments, stay on track, and document her progress. (Some marketing experts say calling it an "action guide" or "success journal" is better than "workbook," because "work" can subconsciously deter people.)

6. Audio Class
Record a 60-minute audio introduction or orientation to your program. If you already offer a free introductory teleclass or do live speeches, you can simply record that. Offer it online as an MP3 download, or even better, let people listen right from the website. (You can see exactly how I set mine up here.)

7. Consultation With You
A consultation is a great bonus to offer, for several reasons. First, it lets you get to know your customers better and hear the questions they ask and issues they face. This will help you further improve your products and services to offer what they want. Second, it's a great opportunity to upsell these folks to a higher-priced program at the end of the call. For example, if they enjoyed the advice you provided on the call, they may be interested in your six-month coaching program. Don't fear that everyone who buys your product will actually take advantage of your free consultation - they won't. When I got started, I offered a free 30-minute consultation to all purchasers of my Boost Business ... system. I estimate that less than 20% of the people who bought it actually scheduled a call with me.

Digital or Physical?

I'm a big fan of digital bonuses because they cost nothing to create and there's no packaging or shipping involved. But of course you can also go with physical bonuses, especially if you're already shipping the main product to the customer anyway. My Boost Business... system is a physical package that we ship, so we add in a 2-CD program that teaches people how to get more sales from their ezine. It's simply a recording of a great teleseminar I did about two years ago.

If you're offering printed material as a bonus, don't go crazy spending a ton of money making it look great. "Good" is okay! A simple report that you have printed and bound cheaply at a copy shop is fine. Remember that people are paying you for the information you provide.

What's most important is the cover -- even if you only produce a digital report or audio product, having a graphic of it will help increase your response and make you look more professional. I use and recommend Killer Covers.

Give Your Bottom Line a Bonus This Month

So get YOUR bonuses in gear! Make a note of how your sales have been so far, and then add some bonuses and watch the numbers rise.

© 2005-2006 Alexandria K. Brown

"The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 19,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small